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Firdgum - Koehool | Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail: Circular walk 3

(14.1 km)

The first farmers settled here in the Middle Ages. They were drawn to the area by the Wadden Sea and the salt marsh at Firdgum made it possible for them to survive here. At the Archaeological Resource Centre you can see a reconstruction of a medieval turf house that shows how these farmers must have lived in the 5th century CE.  

Another structure that will immediately catch your eye is the narrow 13th-century church tower at Firdgum. The church itself was demolished in 1794 because the building was structurally unsound but the narrow tower was preserved. The large bricks used to build the tower were made from sea clay and are known as ‘kloostermoppen’ or ‘monastery bricks’. These were often produced in wood-fired kilns by the larger monasteries.   

Today the villa…

The first farmers settled here in the Middle Ages. They were drawn to the area by the Wadden Sea and the salt marsh at Firdgum made it possible for them to survive here. At the Archaeological Resource Centre you can see a reconstruction of a medieval turf house that shows how these farmers must have lived in the 5th century CE.  

Another structure that will immediately catch your eye is the narrow 13th-century church tower at Firdgum. The church itself was demolished in 1794 because the building was structurally unsound but the narrow tower was preserved. The large bricks used to build the tower were made from sea clay and are known as ‘kloostermoppen’ or ‘monastery bricks’. These were often produced in wood-fired kilns by the larger monasteries.   

Today the village of Firdgum consists of a cluster of houses. There were once a couple of large country houses here but Camstra State is the only one that has been partly preserved. The walk starts and finishes on Camstrawei road. 

The monasteries in this area, such as the one built at Lidlum in 1182, were founded after the first defensive dikes had been constructed. But monks helped repair and strengthen the existing flood defences and drain coastal land to create farmland.  

You descend from Firdgum to the sea dike near Westhoek and then walk along the green sea dike towards the hamlet of Koehool, where there was once a lock. 

This circular walk is part of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail.

Sights on this route

TOP Firdgum/Koehool

Vanaf Toeristisch Overstap Punt Firdgum/Koehool kun je zo het gebied rondom Unesco Werelderfgoed De Wadden intrekken!

TOP Firdgum/Koehool TOP Firdgum

Sint-Nicolaastoren Firdgum

Een bijzonder gezicht: de kerkloze toren die op een verhoogd kerkhof in het kleine terpdorpje Firdgum staat.

Sint-Nicolaastoren Firdgum
30

Westhoek: verzilting

Al eeuwenlang plukken kustbewoners vruchten van deze bodem, die ooit zee was. En dat is letterlijk zo, de (poot)aardappelteelt van deze streek is bijvoorbeeld van wereldklasse.

Westhoek: verzilting
62

The Waadfisker statue

The Waadfisker or Wadden Sea Fisherman statue is a reminder of the coastal fishing industry in the former Frisian municipalities of Franekeradeel and Het Bildt.

The Waadfisker statue

Koehool: de dijk

Wat een dijk! Het is een flinke klim, maar bij helder weer kun je de waddeneilanden zien liggen. Niet alleen de hoogte van de dijk imponeert, maar ook de strakke en rechte vorm. Vroeger was die veel grilliger.

Koehool: de dijk

Bunker Koehoal

The only remaining bunker of the Koehoal Defense Line is a lasting reminder of the air war over Friesland.

Bunker Koehoal
74

Sint-Martinuskerk Tzummarum

Neogotische kerk. De sierlijke toren met rijke plastiek van blindnissen. De relatief nieuwe kruiskerk is een ontwerp van Herman Rudolf Stoett. De kerk heeft een Van Dam Orgel.

Sint-Martinuskerk Tzummarum
72

TOP Firdgum/Koehool

Vanaf Toeristisch Overstap Punt Firdgum/Koehool kun je zo het gebied rondom Unesco Werelderfgoed De Wadden intrekken!

TOP Firdgum/Koehool TOP Firdgum

Directions

TOP Firdgum/Koehool

Vanaf Toeristisch Overstap Punt Firdgum/Koehool kun je zo het gebied rondom Unesco Werelderfgoed De Wadden intrekken!

TOP Firdgum/Koehool TOP Firdgum

- Gratis parkeren bij de TOP Firdgum-Koehool 
- Volg de knooppunten tot aan de zeedijk nabij Westhoek
- Bij de zeedijk linksaf wandelen tot na Koehool en dan weer landinwaarts
- Via het dorp Tzummarum terug naar Firdgum

TOP Firdgum/Koehool

Vanaf Toeristisch Overstap Punt Firdgum/Koehool kun je zo het gebied rondom Unesco Werelderfgoed De Wadden intrekken!

TOP Firdgum/Koehool TOP Firdgum
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