Visit the charming Dutch village : Giethoorn

 In Giethoorn, a typically Dutch village in Overijssel, you can perfectly see how the Dutch love to live with and on the water. 

Giethoorn, located in National Park Weerribben-Wieden, is an idyllic village in Overijssel. Giethoorn has 176 bridges

Giethoorn used to be a pedestrian precinct, but nowadays exceptions are made. It became locally famous, especially after 1958. 

Giethoorn was a separate municipality until 1973, when it became part of Brederwiede, which lost its municipality status in 2001 to merge with Steenwijk.

Best Things to Do in Giethoorn:

1. Boat Hire: 

Easily the most popular option is the fluisterboot (electric motorboat), and this company alone has a fleet of 40 to rent out.

Other hire companies in Giethoorn include Broer Botenverhuur, Koppers Giethoorn, Botenverhuur Brunink and Smit Giethoorn and Frank Raggers.

2. Museum Giethoorn ‘t Olde Maat Uus:

This newly renovated museum on an old farm opens a window on different aspects of Giethoorn’s past, like fishing, agriculture and peat-cutting.

You can see the interior of a typical farmhouse, fisherman’s house and boathouse to get a feel for local domestic and working life in times past.

3.Weerribben:

This spreads over more than 100 square kilometres and is made up of two distinct areas: Weerribben in the north and Wieden in the south, both of which owe their appearance to hundreds of years of peat-cutting.

4.Doopsgezinde Kerk Giethoorn:

It is thought that Giethoorn was founded by 14th-century flagellants escaping the Black Death, and this sort of religious fervour has persisted.

A Mennonite congregation was founded here in the 1551 and is one of the oldest in the Netherlands.

5. Vollenhove:
A few kilometres south of Blokzijl is Vollenhove, which also prospered in the 17th century, shipping peat to Holland.
A large portion of Vollenhove is a Dutch protected cityscape and there’s a host of historic buildings, among them two historic late-Gothic churches, the Grote of Sint Niklaaskerk, and the Kleine of Lieve Vrouwekerk, which stands out for its tower crowned with a lantern.