The old women of Spakenburg
Last month, before Dutchman and I went to the Alps for our winter sport holiday, we visited this pleasant and traditional once sea-side little town in the north of Utrecht province situated along the IJsselmeer (lake) which was once the Zuiderzee (sea).
Fishing was the main industry of Spakenburg which is part of the Bunschoten municipality. Since the closure of the Zuiderzee due to the construction of the 32-kilometer afsluitdijk (closure dike) sealing off the northern part of the lowlands, a crucial project driven by the Dutch government with the aim to protect its citizens and their beloved (take note: the Dutch made the Netherlands) below sea level country from the ferocious and intimidating ocean, the trade has since suffered and many fishermen have moved on to other professions. To save lives and to save the country, this economic livelihood has to go. Having said all that, there are still a few fishing boats left today serving this dying industry.
See here my picture essay entry of Havenstraat, Spakenburg where many boats are docked.
Winter is not a good time to visit this little town as the beautiful wooden boats docked in the wharf (located right in the Centrum) are covered for the season.
Nowadays, Spakenburg is mostly famous for its ‘klederdracht’ tradition. Yes, culture is very much alive in Spakenburg!
Traditional Dutch women from the older generation still wear the time-honored ‘klederdracht’ dress. It is said that there about 350 women in Spakenburg that wears them today. When we were there, I saw 4, and all of them were on or with a bike! Ha-ha, so cute! See below for a back snapshot foto of a woman in costume that I took. Helaas this is the best I could do but for a front and close up version, I found a nice foto on the website of Spakenburg Tourism, click HERE.
The best time to see more of these inspiring women is on Saturdays at the Spuiplein (main square of Spakenburg) during the weekly open-air market when they go about their shopping chores. The square is transformed into a busy place full of delightful stalls selling a wide variety of items from food to wares. Definitely the perfect time for sightseeing the increasingly popular and crowd-drawer ‘klederdracht’ women and if you are lucky you can even pose with them for a souvenir shot, that is if they don’t mind.
It was a cold day when we were there and it didn’t help much when we strolled down the new wharf facing the modern white windmills. The chilly wind blew against our almost frozen and parched from the cold faces. You can imagine the Dutchman complaining like an oud wijf. So we hurried back and took shelter in a comfy café-restaurant in Spuiplein. We took our seats at the back and I noticed that the café-restaurant is admirably inspired by the Parisian scene. Mural paintings of the Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe marked the walls. Nice.
Our late afternoon snack arrived and we helped ourselves to some tea and poffertjes with whipped cream. It would be nice to come back in the summer when its good weather, hopefully, and there will be more women in ‘klederdracht’ prancing around the streets.
Travel Period: January 2008
Destination: Spakenburg (Utrecht), The Netherlands
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
The old haven of Spakenburg at dusk - as you can see in the foto, the boats are covered for the season, which is an eyesore really but that’s winter in this once thriving fishing village.
Fishing was the main industry of Spakenburg which is part of the Bunschoten municipality. Since the closure of the Zuiderzee due to the construction of the 32-kilometer afsluitdijk (closure dike) sealing off the northern part of the lowlands, a crucial project driven by the Dutch government with the aim to protect its citizens and their beloved (take note: the Dutch made the Netherlands) below sea level country from the ferocious and intimidating ocean, the trade has since suffered and many fishermen have moved on to other professions. To save lives and to save the country, this economic livelihood has to go. Having said all that, there are still a few fishing boats left today serving this dying industry.
See here my picture essay entry of Havenstraat, Spakenburg where many boats are docked.
Pretty shops line up in the Centrum.
Winter is not a good time to visit this little town as the beautiful wooden boats docked in the wharf (located right in the Centrum) are covered for the season.
Nowadays, Spakenburg is mostly famous for its ‘klederdracht’ tradition. Yes, culture is very much alive in Spakenburg!
Traditional Dutch women from the older generation still wear the time-honored ‘klederdracht’ dress. It is said that there about 350 women in Spakenburg that wears them today. When we were there, I saw 4, and all of them were on or with a bike! Ha-ha, so cute! See below for a back snapshot foto of a woman in costume that I took. Helaas this is the best I could do but for a front and close up version, I found a nice foto on the website of Spakenburg Tourism, click HERE.
Here is the foto I managed to capture (left), the Spakenburg woman in traditional costume. Yes, they really wear this for their day to day wear. Amazing how people still lived up to their culture and traditions.
The best time to see more of these inspiring women is on Saturdays at the Spuiplein (main square of Spakenburg) during the weekly open-air market when they go about their shopping chores. The square is transformed into a busy place full of delightful stalls selling a wide variety of items from food to wares. Definitely the perfect time for sightseeing the increasingly popular and crowd-drawer ‘klederdracht’ women and if you are lucky you can even pose with them for a souvenir shot, that is if they don’t mind.
Typically Dutch - Poffertjes (little pancakes).
This is Spuiplein, main square with the statue of the traditionally garbed Spakenburg woman.
It was a cold day when we were there and it didn’t help much when we strolled down the new wharf facing the modern white windmills. The chilly wind blew against our almost frozen and parched from the cold faces. You can imagine the Dutchman complaining like an oud wijf. So we hurried back and took shelter in a comfy café-restaurant in Spuiplein. We took our seats at the back and I noticed that the café-restaurant is admirably inspired by the Parisian scene. Mural paintings of the Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe marked the walls. Nice.
Our late afternoon snack arrived and we helped ourselves to some tea and poffertjes with whipped cream. It would be nice to come back in the summer when its good weather, hopefully, and there will be more women in ‘klederdracht’ prancing around the streets.
Travel Period: January 2008
Destination: Spakenburg (Utrecht), The Netherlands
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
