Discover Puiflijk: Church History and Tobacco

Puiflijk brings together medieval architectural history, memories of tobacco cultivation and open fields. The Oude Toren, St. Johannes de Doperkerk, the former St. Maarten Monastery and paths through the open countryside offer different perspectives on the town. When planning your trip, you can balance cultural and historical interests with time outdoors.

Churches and Historic Buildings

The Oude Toren is the only surviving part of Puiflijk’s medieval church. The three-storey tower with a pyramidal roof dates from the first half of the 15th century. Ground surveys carried out after the restoration of the Oude Toren revealed remains of a Romanesque church. At the church site, a surviving medieval structure and archaeological traces of a Romanesque church thus come together; the finds add to our understanding of the town’s history. The Oude Toren is not open to the public. Check locally for current access arrangements before planning a visit.

St. Johannes de Doperkerk is listed as a national monument in the Netherlands’ Rijksmonumentenregister. Another historic building is the former St. Maarten Monastery at St.-Maartenshof 1–14. It was built around 1910 as a monastery and school. Together, these buildings illustrate different aspects of the town’s history: a church with listed-monument status and a monastery and school building with a known construction date and former dual function.

Tobacco History

Puiflijk was a centre of tobacco cultivation. In the mid-19th century, the Kersten family was involved in tobacco processing here. The sculpture De Tabaksnijder depicts a tobacco cutter sitting on an auction crate. Two perspectives on tobacco history therefore stand side by side: local economic activity and a specific visual depiction of the craft. If you are interested in the town’s history, this topic brings together a particular family, a time period and an image.

Open Countryside and Paths

The area around Puiflijk features open fields with a linear pattern of land division. In Puiflijk, you can walk out into the fields and spend time in nature. The landscape thus adds an outdoor focus to the architectural and tobacco history: time in nature and the fields’ linear structure can be part of your plans alongside the historic buildings.

The walking routes in Puiflijk include both recreational routes and functional paths. Several walking routes were created in collaboration with the Wandelcafé. These two types of route offer different considerations when planning: you can decide whether recreational routes or functional paths better suit your plans.

A recreational cycling route passes through Puiflijk and includes cycling junction 58 there. If you are weighing up cycling and walking routes, you have different options: the recreational cycling route and the walking routes, with their recreational and functional purposes.

If you are looking for a hotel for a trip to Puiflijk, this distinction can help structure your plans: consider whether the church and tobacco history or the open countryside and paths are more important to you.

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