Visit Unesco World Heritage in Friesland

Many of our B&B guests use our Mauritius Church to visit five (5!) Unesco World Heritage sites. Yes really, five top attractions by car or bike from Jirnsum (and sometimes by public transport).

1. Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker (Friesland)

In the beautiful Franeker - an old university city - you will find the youngest (2023) UNESCO World Heritage: the Planetarium of astronomer Eise Eisinga. This is the oldest, still working, planetarium in the world. You will experience a real Xperience here; back to the future. Every year we are amazed when we visit this beautiful museum with family or friends (and the apple pie in the garden or cafe is delicious!).

Eisinga's clock is hand-built and completely intact. On the ceiling of Eisinga's home you can see our solar system with all the planets revolving around the sun. There is a museum with a large collection of astronomical instruments and a cinema where videos are shown continuously. Young and old will be amazed in the Planetarium.

Don't go home after your visit: Franeker offers many beautiful things and plenty of entertainment. Say hello to the ice cream vendors at the ice cream shop across from the Planetarium. Did you know that Franeker once had a university? Yes, after Leiden, a university was founded in Friesland - Frankeker. Napoleon decided to close it down unfortunately - otherwise not Groningen but Franeker would have become and remained the smartest city in the North. (You can see everything about this special history and more in the Museum Martena in Franeker, a 3-minute walk from the Planetarium. Our tip: buy or reserve a double ticket for both museums).

And after that: walk through the living museum called Franeker, an Xperience of your own with so many nice people. Franeker also has enough to offer in terms of culinary and shopping pleasure.

Franeker and the Eise Eisinga Planetarium is 24 km from Jirnsum and our Mauritius Church B&B.

Tip: Due to the popularity of the Planetarium, you should book your tickets online in advance

Tip 2: bring a 50 euro cent coin if you want to let the miniature funfair shine, spin and sound on the 5th floor of the Martena Museum!!! A must for lovers of the (authentic) funfair.

2. Wadden Sea (Friesland)

The largest wadden and coastal island system in the world can be found 'just' in Friesland. The Wadden Sea has been an official world heritage site since 2009.

Our B&B guests like to drive to the port city of Harlingen for a walk on the beach and the Wadden coast. Or, tip of the day: go to restaurant De Zwarte Haan uniquely situated at the foot of the Wadden Sea dike. From here you can get a breath of fresh Wadden Sea air and walk or cycle for miles along the dike. While enjoying the Wadden Sea Nature Theatre (free of charge!) Every day, every performance is different.

The menu of De Zwarte Haan is local and mostly organic. So it is possible.

Distance Jirnsum – Harlingen: 40km, also easily done by train from Grou-Jirnsum station (change in Leeuwarden), distance Jirnsum-Zwarte Haan: 33km.

3. Woudegage pumping station in Lemmer (Friesland)

Special piece of Dutch-Frisian water management and high-level technology. Spectacular when it is windy and raining: ir. DF Woudagemaal near Lemmer. Unesco World Heritage since 1999.

Less than half an hour's drive from Jirnsum is the famous Ingenieur DF Woudagemaal in Lemmer. It is the largest steam pumping station in the world ever built. The crown jewel dates from 1920 and has been on the World Heritage List since 1999. Even though the monument is more than 104 years old, it still works. During high water levels, Wetterskip (water board) Fryslân still uses the pumping station to ensure dry feet in Friesland. The pumping station is open to visitors on certain days.

Also visit the exhibition space and learn all about the consequences of climate change and water management. You can also see the operation of the pumping station with VR glasses and walk around the pumping station via two nature trails. A visit to the Woudagemaal is both fun and educational.

Distance Jirnsum – Woudagemaal: 33 kilometers.

4. Schokland (Northeast Polder)

Don't be alarmed: Schokland was, like Urk, an island in the Zuiderzee (now IJsselmeer). Since the draining of the Noordoostpolder in 1942, Schokland has been part of the mainland of the current Dutch province of Flevoland.

Schokland has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1995, because of the archaeological wealth and history of the area.

The rustic area is managed by the Het Flevolandschap foundation and has an area of approximately 150 ha. On January 1, 2023, only five (!) people officially lived on Schokland, which now also has the status of a village.

The island of Schokland used to be an important landmark for shipping in the Zuiderzee. It was located at the mouth of the IJssel on a busy shipping route. Due to its years of isolation, the island population of Schokland had its own culture, its own costume and also spoke its own dialects, known as Schokkers.

On Schokland, traces of human habitation can be found that date back to prehistoric times. The subsoil of Schokland is grey, sandy, flint-rich boulder clay as a remnant of a moraine, on which Texel, Wieringen, Urk and Vollenhove also lie. The fortunes of Schokland were processed by Harry Mulisch, who doesn't remember him?, in the novella Desprong der paarden en de zoete zee (1955).

Distance Jirnsum-Schokland near Ens: 59km.

5. Colonies of Benevolence (Drenthe)

In 2021, the Colonies of Benevolence in Veenhuizen and Frederiksoord were added to the Unesco World Heritage List. And rightly so, because both villages show the unique history of poverty reduction in the Netherlands (and Flanders!). The 1818 project was a social experiment that is unique in Europe and was at the beginning of the Netherlands as a welfare state (yes, even then!).

In this Society of Benevolence, poor city dwellers were given the chance to start a new life as farm workers in Drenthe and Overijssel in the 19th century. In Frederiksoord, the Experimental Colony was established, in Veenhuizen a penal colony.

The past of both colony villages can still be seen in the landscape. Also visit the Prison Museum in Veenhuizen and Museum De Proefkolonie in Frederiksoord.

The colonies were designed as settlements; they have residential buildings, farms, churches and other communal facilities. At their peak in the mid-19th century, over 11,000 people lived in such colonies in the Netherlands. In Belgium, Flanders, their number peaked at 6,000 in 1910.

The colonies have recently become known again through the book/bestseller by Suzanna Jansen: Het pauperparadijs: een familiegeschiedenis (The pauper paradise: a family history) from 2010.

Extras: get on your bike and take a trip over the beautiful Fochteloërveen to Veenhuizen. Or ride your e-bike through the Drents-Friese Wold, over the Doldersummerveld and the forests near Vledder towards Frederiksoord. More than worth it.

Distance Jirnsum – Colonies of Benevolence in Drenthe: 47.5km (Frederiksoord) to 53km (Veenhuizen).

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