Tweede Exloërmond: Moorland Landscape and Church Architecture

If you’re looking for a hotel in Tweede Exloërmond, you can get to know the place through two distinct themes: the landscape shaped by peatland reclamation, and its church and cultural history. These perspectives can help you decide before your trip whether you’d rather explore how the village came into being, its architectural history, or a cultural event.

Peatland Colony and Landscape

Tweede Exloërmond was founded around 1840 as a peatland colony. As the land was reclaimed, the area was divided into long, narrow strips. The village is one of the Mond villages in the Hunze Valley. These were laid out across the older peat villages, along the canals used to transport peat. The settlement layout and the pattern of the agricultural land can therefore be understood as part of the same development.

The historic canal system included the Zuiderdiep and the Noorderdiep, which was dug parallel to it. Both canals have since been filled in. Their names refer to parts of a former system, not to two waterways that still exist today. Numerous traditionally styled farms stand along the Zuiderdiep. They provide an architectural link to the history of the settlement, while the strip pattern describes the layout of the land.

Behind Tweede Exloërmond lies Exloërkijl, a 70-hectare nature area. It was planted in the 1970s and 1980s around a sand-extraction lake between old peatlands. Several periods in the area’s development can be seen side by side: the former peat landscape, sand extraction, and the later creation of the nature area. Exloërkijl adds a more recent, clearly defined phase of landscape development to the history of the peatland colony.

Churches, Architecture and Culture

The former Gereformeerde Kerk combines architectural history with its present-day cultural use. Architect Klaas Prummel built it in 1908, blending Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance elements. Under the name ODEON Cultuurhuis, the church is rented out for cultural and community activities, including concerts, workshops, theatre performances, exhibitions, and conferences. The building can thus be understood both through its historic architecture and its current use. If you’d like to plan your stay around a particular event, check the date in advance.

The other two churches also display distinct architectural features. In 1922, the Baptist church acquired its own small church building with a tower on the façade. The hervormde kerk dates from 1939 and has a tower that stands to one side. The differences are easy to see: the tower defines the façade of the Baptist building, while the hervormde kerk is distinguished by its side tower. Together, the three buildings reflect different architectural forms and periods of construction in the village.

An Activity That Depends on Frost

Skating is possible at the Tweede Exloërmond natural ice rink when bodies of water freeze. The activity therefore depends on actual frost conditions and is not available year-round. If skating is important to your trip, check in advance whether the water is actually frozen.

If architecture is more your interest, the three churches offer clear points of comparison; ODEON Cultuurhuis adds a cultural and community-use perspective.

Discover more destinations: Drouwen, Drouwenermond, Odoornerveen, Valthermond, Ees, Valthe, Buinen, Borger

For the wider travel overview: Borger-Odoorn.