Dokkum - Niawier - Hantum | Circular Walk 4 of the Bonifatius Kloosterpad Monastery Route
This circular walk leads you from the marvellous town of Dokkum past the little villages of Niawier, Hantum and Hiaure in the north of Friesland.
After the elderly Archbishop of Friesland, later known as Saint Boniface, was murdered here in 754, Dokkum was declared a place of pilgrimage. In the centuries that followed many pilgrims flocked to the monastery on the mound at Dokkum. In 1580 the Reformation put an abrupt end to these pilgrimages in honour of Saint Boniface.
The spring that flows from the mound at Dokkum is said to have healing properties. In 2018 an ice fountain was installed here as part of an international art project to celebrate Leeuwarden-Friesland’s status as Cultural Capital of Europe 2018.
From Dokkum you walk nort…
This circular walk leads you from the marvellous town of Dokkum past the little villages of Niawier, Hantum and Hiaure in the north of Friesland.
After the elderly Archbishop of Friesland, later known as Saint Boniface, was murdered here in 754, Dokkum was declared a place of pilgrimage. In the centuries that followed many pilgrims flocked to the monastery on the mound at Dokkum. In 1580 the Reformation put an abrupt end to these pilgrimages in honour of Saint Boniface.
The spring that flows from the mound at Dokkum is said to have healing properties. In 2018 an ice fountain was installed here as part of an international art project to celebrate Leeuwarden-Friesland’s status as Cultural Capital of Europe 2018.
From Dokkum you walk northeast through farmland to the little villages of Aalsum, Wetsens and Niawier, past Romanesque churches on mounds and along historic ring roads. Sion monastery, which once stood to the west of Niawier, owned much of the land in this region.
In the village of Hantum you will see a remarkable Buddhist temple complex built in 1985. The stupa is nestled in a meditative landscape with a wide open sky and green as far as the eye can see.
Picturesque farm trails lead you to the village of Hiaure and back to Dokkum on the Wadden Sea coast.
Sights on this route
Starting point
Markt
Dokkum
Navigate to starting point
Grote kerk of St-Martinuskerk Dokkum
De Grote kerk, ook wel de St-Martinuskerk gevestigd op de terp van Dokkum, aan de zuidzijde van de Markt. De bedevaartsplek voor Bonifatius, die in 754 bij Dokkum werd vermoord.
Buddhist Centre at Hantum
Hardly what you would expect! In the middle of the Frisian landscape at Hantum, there is a Tibetan Buddhist temple or stupa. It is believed that the presence of the stupa will bring good fortune to the region.
11Fountains Dokkum
The Ice Fountain is a toy for the elements and no two days are the same. The ice draws patterns on the copper surface layer of the sculpture.
Directions
Vanaf de Markt in Dokkum naar knoopunt 39, 99, 75 (in Niawier langs voormalig kloosterterrein naar 51 en weer terug naar 75, nu richting Hantumeruitburen)
Knooppunt 71 - 57 - 78 (naar centrum Hantum over de Tille, eind dorp linksaf Tsjerkstrjitte, Hearrenwei, rechtsaf Stoepawei) naar knooppunt 55 - 97 - 90 - 99 - 39 naar de Markt in Dokkum terug.
- 39
- 99
- 75
- 51
- 75
- 71
- 57
- 78
- 55
- 97
- 90
- 99
- 39