You can get the stamp at the former town hall of Bolsward at Wipstraat 1. City Hall has been converted into House of Stories, Cultural History Center De Tiid. Since the renovation you will find in this building, municipal office and archive, library and Museum de Tiid.
At times when Museum de Tiid is not open, you can get your stamp at Blend Eten & drinken, at Het Veerhuys or Hotel de Wijnberg.
Please note that the Wine Inn has been given a brand new look! The Veerhuys is also open daily to welcome you for a delicious lunch, dinner or drinks. Sonnema drinks are also available!
Parking tip for visiting Bolsward: Plein 1455.
The fountain in Bolsward is based on gargoyles: gargoyles that were meant to prevent rainwater from affecting cathedrals. Gargoyles were also supposed to protect cathedrals from evil forces. Very fitting in a town like Bolsward, where you find, among other things, the burned Broerekerk. The fountain, created by Belgian Johan Creten, has a staircase over the back of the water-spouting bat. You can climb it to overcome your own fears. Combine your fountain with a scenic city tour of other attractions.
The Broerekerk is a monastic church of the Friars Minor. As early as 1580, the monastery was abandoned, but the church remained. On May 8, 1980, a fire raged in the church, causing the tower, among other things, to go up in smoke. In 1986, the ruined church was reopened. In 2006, the ruin received a glass roof. In this way, the church could be put back into use for social functions, but the character of the ruin remained.
Bolsward Town Hall was built around 1615 by the father of Gysbert Japicx. The building was used as a town hall cq city hall until 2011. Now Bolsward is transforming the building into a new historical center de Tiid full of information about the region. Among other things, you will soon find a library and a new archive repository. In addition, you will soon find three museums from Bolsward: the Titus Brandsma Museum, It Gysbert Japicxhûs and The Oudheidskamer.
Titus Brandsma, a Carmelite priest, was born in Bolsward in 1881. In addition to being a Carmelite priest, he was also a journalist, publisher, professor, benefactor, organizer, founder of schools and resistance hero. The Titus Brandsma Museum has a permanent exhibit that showcases the life of Titus. This is done with letters, books, photographs and paintings, among other things. In addition, there is also an annual changing exhibition that complements the permanent exhibition. So to really get to know Titus, you may very well visit the museum more than once.
The Gysbert Japicxhûs is the house where Gysbert Japicx was born. He is the first Frisian poet. He began to write poetry when he was still a school teacher in Witmarsum. This is where he first came into contact with the Frisian language. He liked the language so much that he decided he wanted to write poetry in this language. It was true, however, that in his day language was only a spoken language. So he first had to learn to write the language himself. You could say that Gysbert is the founder of written Frisian. In the museum you can find out more about his life and about his work. In the store at the museum you can buy Frisian products.
Stop by Sonnema Berenburg, too! Unfortunately, at this time it is not possible to take a tour of the visitor center. In the visitor center you will dive back in time and learn more about the history of the famous Frisian drink and why it is so special. In the bottling plant you can see up close how Sonnema Berenburg is made and bottled. Afterwards, of course, there may be a tasting!
At the Veerhuys, Sonnema also offers a fun promotion. See point 9 for that.
Every year at Whitsun is the bicycleelfstedentocht. The starting and finishing point is in Bolsward and also halfway through, the cyclists pass through the city. The elfstedentocht by bike is a challenge at 235 km. Brand Fryslan therefore developed the helfstedentocht, a 93.9 km bicycle tour along lakes, meadows, villages and cities.
Van Buren is the only sheepskin tannery in the Netherlands. They turn raw sheepskin into fur and leather products that not only offer warmth and softness, but also look beautiful in any interior. It is an ancient craft that they have been doing since 1861. Durability and quality are important, therefore the products last very long. In addition to sheepskin products, they have beautifully decorative items for your interior. Perfect for when you are looking, for a real eye-catcher.
You can find van Buren on Workumertrekweg 5, 8701 WB in Bolsward.
The Veerhuys is the city cafe of Bolsward. You can go there for a good cup of coffee, dinner or a nice cocktail. On presentation of the punch card you will also receive a drink of Sonnema Berenburg and you can enjoy this delicious drink which is made with pride and passion in the bottling plant in Bolsward. If Het Veerhuys is closed you can pick up your drink at Hotel De Wijnberg where you can also have a delicious lunch.
On a nice sunny day plop down on the terrace and otherwise in winter the cozy restaurant itself is a good place to be. Reserve a seat in advance if necessary, so you can be sure to get in.
You can find the Veerhuys at Marktplein 6, 8701KG Bolsward. At times when the Tiid is closed, you can pick up your stamp at The Veerhuys.
The MeAR Fryslân app is an app with walking, cycling and car routes through villages and towns in Friesland. Through augmented reality (AR), you see things on the go with your smartphone that aren’t really there. This is done through a digital layer that is laid over reality, as it were. In this way, you see history come to life in the place where it originated. Around Bolsward there are many beautiful routes. But you can also use the app in and around all the other elfsteden.
The user can choose a language (Dutch, English, German or Frisian). The free app is available in the App store or the Google Play store. Internet is required to download the app and download the route. During the route, the app works offline.
A few km below Bolsward, in the village of Tjerkwerd, halfway along the Elfstedenroute, stands the monumental artwork Fyftjin en Fierder by Pieter Jan Stallen. This artwork symbolizes Past & Desire. The past has been captured in 15 sturdy corten steel silhouettes on either side of the Workumertrekvaart, one for each trip taken. The longing is depicted in a silhouette of a girl with her thoughts: ” … the reedriders … soene se noch komme …” (” … the skaters, would they still come … “) All about how the artwork was created can be found at www.fyftjin.nl. You can find the artwork on the Singel near the bridge in Tjerkwerd.
