Giethoorn

Giethoorn
Village

Canals of Giethoorn in 2014

Coat of arms
Giethoorn

Location in the province of Overijssel in the Netherlands

Coordinates: 52°44′20″N 6°4′41″E / 52.73889°N 6.07806°ECoordinates: 52°44′20″N 6°4′41″E / 52.73889°N 6.07806°E
Country Netherlands
Province Overijssel
Municipality Steenwijkerland
Population
 • Total 2,620
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Giethoorn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣitɦoːrn]) is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk.

Giethoorn used to be a carfree town known in the Netherlands as "Venice of the North"[1] or "Venice of the Netherlands".[2] Giethoorn has over 180 bridges.[3] It became locally famous, especially after 1958, when the Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra made his famous comedy Fanfare there. In the old part of the village, there were no roads (though a cycling path was eventually added), and all transport was done by water over one of the many canals. The lakes in Giethoorn were formed by peat unearthing.

Giethoorn was founded by fugitives from the Mediterranean region in around AD 1230.[4] Giethoorn was a separate municipality until 1973, when it became part of Brederwiede.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Giethoorn travel guide". Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  2. ↑ "Photos from Giethoorn, Venice of the Netherlands". Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  3. ↑ "Holland.com Giethoorn guide". Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  4. ↑ "Foundation of Giethoorn". Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  5. ↑ Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten, KNAW, 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giethoorn.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Giethoorn.