Giethoorn village Netherlands is a picturesque village that attracts tourists from all over the world. You must visit Giethoorn at least once in your life. Join Holland Windmills on our day tour to this lovely village.
Giethoorn village Netherlands is the most famous of the so-called ‘water villages’ in the east of The Netherlands. The villages in this area don’t have roads: all transport is done by boat through a maze of canals.
Giethoorn village Netherlands lies in the middle of the beautiful national park Weerribben-De Wieden (we dare you to pronounce that!).
Largest wetlands in Europe
This national park was many times voted the most beautiful of The Netherlands. It’s the largest wetland in western Europe. Think of it as the Everglades of Holland. And yes, it comes with the mosquitos, too. There’s even a village here called Mosquito Bite.
The landscape is the breeding ground for special plants and animals. The area is very important as a habitat for animal species such as the big fire butterfly, the grass snake, the pine marten, dragonflies and the otter.
It is a true paradise for reed and marsh birds such as the black tern, reed warbler, the great reed warbler, the harrier and the purple heron. Special plants that grow here are the large rattle, real cuckoo flower and many types of orchids.
The national park was man-made. Peat cutters and reed cutters worked here for centuries, creating a maze of waterways and an area of unparalleled beauty.
Maze of waterways
Making peat was very hard work. Because there was a lot of water, most peat makers also earned some extra with fishing. Illegally, sure, but the fishermen were impossible to catch in this maze of waterways.
Later, when the waters slowly close up with reed, people switched to reed cultivation. Even today, reed is still cut here, a profession that often goes from father to son. The reed is used as roofing material.
There are more water villages in the area like Giethoorn village Netherlands. Equally picturesque are the wooden bridges, waterways and thatched farmhouses of Belt-Schutsloot.
Until 1959, this village was only accessible by water. The authentic character has never been lost. The water village is hidden in the beautiful nature between lakes, canals, canals and endless hectares of reed land.
Moving water villages
Peat workers moved on when their source of income was no longer in the ground. Villages like Dwarsgracht and Wanneperveen moved with it. Traces of the past are visible everywhere in these ‘mobile peat villages’.
At Holland Windmills we can arrange a trip to Giethoorn village Netherlands as a day tour from Amsterdam. This tour takes about 7 hours.
We pick you up from your selected hotel. From Amsterdam it takes 90 minutes to drive to Giethoorn, where we will embark in our boat and drive our boat through the canals. You can drive your boat yourself, or you can let us take care of it.
On our way back to Amsterdam we can have a look at the amazing UNESCO World Heritage site of Schokland. This is a former island in the Zuiderzee or South Sea. When the surrounding area was reclaimed, Schokland ended up on dry land.
