Menaldum: Village History and Historic Routes

Menaldum (Menaam) combines an early village history with churches, a historic café building, a polder mill and routes to other places. When planning your stay, you can decide whether to focus on monuments and local history, a cultural heritage cycling route or the connection to the waterways.

Village History and Monuments

As a terp village, Menaam was established several centuries before the start of our era on a salt-marsh ridge between Dronryp and Bitgum. Its early origins give the village a clear historical setting. The Protestant Church at Skilpaed 2 is listed as a Rijksmonument under monument number 28569. The resistance monument is located at the corner of Rijksstraatweg and Mieddyk and provides another specific point of reference in the village’s history.

De Aardappelbeurs is a striking former café building at Lytsedyk 16. It was built around 1857–1858. Potatoes were auctioned on the quay in front of the café, making this part of the building’s history rather than a currently described event offering. The village’s agricultural background is also tangible: the residents of Menaam worked in agriculture, particularly potato growing.

The Lambertuskerk has the largest still-original village church organ in Fryslân. Willem Hardoff built the organ in 1861. De Aardappelbeurs is a former café with a history of use connected to potatoes; the Lambertuskerk, by contrast, is notable for its musical heritage. Together, these two buildings show different sides of the local cultural history.

Another historical landmark is the polder mill De Kievit. It was built in 1802 to drain and supply water to the 265 ha Berlikumerpolder. Its name, construction year, the size of the polder and its two water-management functions make the mill a distinct subject alongside the churches and café building.

Routes, Water and Travel Planning

The cultural heritage cycling route through the former municipality of Menaldumadeel passes through Marsum, Ingelum, Bitgum, Berltsum, Wier, Slappeterp, Menaam, Dronrijp and Ritsumasyl. Menaam is therefore part of a sequence of places that includes several villages. Another route, called Berltsum–Menaam–Kleaster Anjum, leads to Menaam; via Gernierswei and Kleasterdyk, it continues to the former Mariënberg monastery grounds.

The two land routes differ in their points of reference: the cultural heritage cycling route names nine villages, while the route via Gernierswei and Kleasterdyk leads to a specific named historical destination, the former Mariënberg monastery grounds. This lets you compare the sequence of places on one route with the specific destination of the other, without assuming a particular duration or level of difficulty.

Water is also part of the way to get around: the Menaldumervaart is navigable from the Van Harinxmakanaal. Menaam is also accessible by public transport. Check your specific connection against current travel information before departure. If you are looking for a hotel in Menaldum, these highlights can serve as a starting point when planning your stay around architectural and village history, a route or the connection to the waterways.

Discover more destinations: Boksum.

Back to the main travel overview: Menaldumadeel.