About us

We - Bonnie, Charles & Yara - have been living in the Mauritiuskerk in Jirnsum since the end of 2019, a picturesque village between Leeuwarden, Heerenveen and Sneek. We enjoy the area and look forward to receiving you as our guest - and telling you more about this beautiful part of Friesland.

Bonnie, as a true Frisian, knows the area like the back of her hand. After more than 20 years of living & working abroad - China (Beijing), Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg) - we decided it was time to go back to our roots and look for a new challenge. So we bought a church that was threatened with demolition...

The former Dutch Reformed Church of #Jirnsum dates from 1877, the foundation stone was laid by the famous Frisian architect JR Nijdam. The Mauritius Church stood empty for years; in 2010 the last church service was held and the church was decommissioned.

We are the first residents of the Mauritiuskerk Residence - or State in Frisian. A church is a building to share and that is why we started in January 2020 with the construction of our B&B in the then neglected church tower.

We have furnished the church studios in the way we would like to stay on all our travels: fully equipped, excellent beds and high-quality mattresses, with self-catering facilities, a place where you can stay independently, but where - if you want - company is never far away.

We try to furnish our church B&B as circularly as possible. For example, Bonnie made the back wall of the double bed in De Kraak studio from a centuries-old church door. The staircase in De Pelgrim room is made from an old wooden church staircase that led to the organ. In both rooms, the renovated, original wooden church floor is located.

We, as a family, live in the nave of the church. We love walking, (train)traveling, reading, cooking, eating and socializing and we are very curious about your stories and what brings you to Jirnsum.

By the way, we speak Dutch, Frisian, English, Russian, Chinese, German and a little French :-) Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Dobro pozhalovat! Huanyng, huanyng! Willkommen! Bienvenue!

This is our own website with the best price. Click here for our accommodations or ask us your question.