Idskenhuizen: Sailing, walking route and village history

Idskenhuizen at a glance

Idskenhuizen combines water activities with a walking route through the village and historic buildings. During your stay, you can choose between sailing and exploring the water, a route on foot, and the village’s history and architectural styles. The waterways are distinct from the walking route; the architectural history, in turn, can be seen in both the churches and the streetscape.

Waterways, sailing and rentals

A buoyed channel runs through the Jiskenhúster Mar and the Jiskenhúster Feart to Jachthaven Idskenhuizen. From Zeil- en Surfschool Neptunus, you can sail directly to the Koevordermeer. Recreatiepark Idskenhuizen rents out sloops and bicycles, which you can use to explore the Friese Meren and the surrounding area. The rental service thus combines exploring the water with cycling trips. Recreatiepark Idskenhuizen also has a small marina on a dead-end waterway.

Walking and places of remembrance

The “Wandelrondje Langweer – Teroele – Sint Nicolaasga” passes through Idskenhuizen. The route’s title names Langweer, Teroele and Sint Nicolaasga; Idskenhuizen is also part of the route. This means there is a walking route with several named places alongside the activities on the water. A memorial stone in Idskenhuizen commemorates the founder of the Douwe Egberts coffee and tea company. The memorial stone marks a different historical theme from the churches’ architectural history: it commemorates a company founder, not the date a building was constructed.

Churches with different historical contexts

The Gereformeerde Kerk in Idskenhuizen is a hall church built towards the end of the 19th century. Its features include a straight-ended chancel and a wooden façade tower with a recessed spire. The years 1844–1994 appear in the façade window; they commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Reformed church in the village. Two different historical contexts therefore come together here: the construction date of the hall church and the anniversary of the Reformed church in the village. If you are interested in architectural styles, the hall church, chancel and tower offer specific features to look at; the window adds a commemorative element.

The former Hervormde Kerk on the west side of Idskenhuizen adds another architectural history to this picture. It is a hall church built in 1935 that replaced an earlier building dating from around 1800. Unlike the anniversary window at the Gereformeerde Kerk, the focus here is on the sequence of an earlier building followed by a new one. This allows two different historical questions to be distinguished: When was a building constructed, and which anniversary do the years on a façade refer to?

The streetscape of Bramerstraat

On Bramerstraat, the view expands from individual buildings to the streetscape. The street has a continuous and varied built environment, most of which dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “Continuous” and “varied” complement each other: the buildings create a cohesive impression while also differing from one another. This is a different scale from looking at individual churches; here, the focus is on the character of an entire street and its buildings, most of which date from two centuries.

Discover more destinations: Teroele, Rohel, Oldeouwer, Rotsterhaule, Boornzwaag, Terkaple, Sintjohannesga, Joure

For the full travel overview: Skarsterlân.