Can you imagine a village with no roads? There is such a place in the Netherlands called Giethoorn, founded by fugitives from the Mediterranean region in around AD 1230.
It is said that when they first arrived in the area, they noticed an unusually large number of goat horns that were left over after the big flood of St Elisabeth had ravaged the area in 1170. So they named their settlement Geytenhorn (horn of goats), but with dialect changes over the years the name gradually changed to Giethoorn.
If you are really interested in classic Dutch village architecture, you can check out some carefully preserved 18th and 19th century farm houses. The only access to the stunningly lovely houses in Giethoorn is by water, or on foot over tiny individual wooden bridges. Giethoorn is called the Venice of the Netherlands because about 7.5km of canals run through the little village.
The bridges, waterways and typical Giethoorn boats are unique in the world and have become trademarks of the area. The means of transportation that was once a necessity is now a huge tourist attraction.The canals are only about 1m deep and were dug out to transport peat, the digging of which resulted in many ponds and shallow lakes.
If there’s something that Giethoorn does not have in common with Venice, it’s history. The village became famous especially after the 1958 Dutch film "Fanfare", made by Bert Haanstra, was set there. Giethoorn is now an internationally known tourist attraction in the Netherlands.
Images: 1,2
I. C.
artline.ro editor
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