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Makkum-Witmarsum | Section 10 of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail

(17.1 km)

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Section 10 of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail takes you from the coastal village of Makkum, along the shore of Lake IJsselmeer and the Wadden Sea and past an old ring dike near Pingjum to Witmarsum.

At Makkum you climb up onto the Zuiderzee dike and head north along the shore of Lake IJsselmeer to the little village of Zurich. Several church towers can be seen in the low-lying landscape on your right. In the past, the clay soil here was dug out and baked into bricks and tiles. The monks showed the people of the Northern Netherlands how to build kilns in the fields.   

You walk under the highway …

Make it easy to navigate. Download the route in Google Maps!

Section 10 of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail takes you from the coastal village of Makkum, along the shore of Lake IJsselmeer and the Wadden Sea and past an old ring dike near Pingjum to Witmarsum.

At Makkum you climb up onto the Zuiderzee dike and head north along the shore of Lake IJsselmeer to the little village of Zurich. Several church towers can be seen in the low-lying landscape on your right. In the past, the clay soil here was dug out and baked into bricks and tiles. The monks showed the people of the Northern Netherlands how to build kilns in the fields.   

You walk under the highway that leads motorists to the Afsluitdijk and end up back at the familiar Wadden Sea coast. Here you turn eastward again and make your way to the dike known as Pingjumer Gulden Halsband, the Gold Collar of Pingjum.

This old ring dike that is so beautifully named surrounds the village of Pingjum and is still virtually intact. It is possible to walk along it. From this vantage point, you look out over the long clay fields used to grow potatoes and beets.

The Vinea Domini Monastery, which once stood northwest of Pingjum, owned ten farms and 300 hectares of land. To protect their farmland and mound villages from the sea, the monks and the people of Zurich, Pingjum, Witmarsum, Arum and Kimswerd, hauled no fewer than three million stretchers of soil to build a 20-kilometre dike. An incredible achievement! 

Witmarsum was the birthplace of the influential Anabaptist religious leader, Menno Simons. There is a charming little district around the Dutch Reformed Koepelkerk church with a bridge, a warehouse and a rectory. There is also still an Anabaptist church in the village. 

This route is part of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail.

Sights on this route

Starting point:

Markt 31
8754 CM Makkum
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Makkum

Makkum is a seaside resort on the IJsselmeer coast in Southwest Friesland, just south of the Afsluitdijk.

Visit Makkum

Makkum wapen van makkum

Van Doniakerk Makkum

De Van Doniakerk staat wat afzijdig aan de noordrand van Makkum, bovenop de duizend jaar oude Sint Maartensterp. Ooit was deze terp het middelpunt van het Friese Zuiderzeedorp.

Van Doniakerk Makkum Van Doniakerk vanuit de lucht
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Cornwerdermolen

This mill was built in 1907 by firm J.H. Westra from Franeker to drain the polder, 318 ha, the water board 'Cornwerd' in the same year by Messrs TH Rinia, R. Zwaagstra and T.P. Postma. A second mill on the canal near Wons milk was demolished in 1925....

Cornwerdermolen
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Cornwerd - Kijkpunt Cornwerd

Kijken over het IJsselmeer en de Makkumer Noordwaard.

Cornwerd - Kijkpunt Cornwerd
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Slaperdijk Willem Loré

De Zuricher Slaperdijk is een kort dijktracé dat in 1753 aangelegd werd achter het bedreigde Zuricheroord.

Slaperdijk Willem Loré
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Wadden Sea near Zurich - UNESCO World Heritage Site

The stretch of Wadden Sea that faces the little village of Zurich nestled at the foot of the dike is the largest UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Netherlands. Twice a day the tide laps against the dike and twice a day it goes a long way out.

Wadden Sea near Zurich - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Dorpskerk Zurich

De Dorpskerk van Zurich is een vrij zeldzame kerk, omdat er in Friesland weinig kerken in neorenaissance stijl gebouwd zijn. Deze jonge kerk werd pas gebouwd in 1864, op de plek waar daarvoor een andere kerk had gestaan.

Dorpskerk Zurich kerk Zurich
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Pingjumer Gulden Halsband inner dike

The Pingjumer Gulden Halsband is an inner dike that once protected the village of Pingjum from the waters of the Marne, an inlet of the Wadden Sea.

Pingjumer Gulden Halsband inner dike Pingjumer Gouden Halsband dijkje met wandelaar
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Witmarsum

Witmarsum is a cozy village northwest of the Eleven Cities town of Bolsward.

Visit Witmarsum

Witmarsum
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Koepelkerk Witmarsum

De Koepelkerk in Witmarsum is tot ver over de landsgrenzen van grote religieuze betekenis voor de doopsgezinde gemeenschap. Het kerkgebouw wordt dan ook jaarlijks bezocht door mensen uit vrijwel alle werelddelen.

Koepelkerk Witmarsum

End point:

Kerkplein 1
8748 BP Witmarsum
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