Ommen Things to Do

Compressed in between new blocks with appartments and some offices, a graceful tower is rising up to the heavens. This is the tower of the Reformed church in Ommen, the thrid in it's kind in the centre of the old Hanze-town. Almost equally high is the church building itself, forming a high pyramid in modern aged architecture.

Walks through the Ommen centre are pleasant and can be combined with some shopping in the little houses. Start is best from the parking along the provincial road near the bridge over the river "Vecht" and the rmearkable old town hall. A quick walk can take only an hour, but one can also look into some details a bit more and make a pleasant day out.

Little hidden in between the houses, just West from the centre, lays the small and modest Roman Catholic church of Ommen in the midst of it's own cemetry. The small church appears to be old but is dating back to the 19th century. The architecture is simple and the church is small. Catholicism in these regions is not as wide spread as in the Southern provinces and the church is obviously adjusted to the amount of Catholics in this region.

The "Vecht"river is a small river that runs straight through the province of Overijssel and starts in Germany. It is known for it's many curves and bents, as well as for it's quick rising at high water (due to rainfall in the region). The name "Vecht" is somewhat confusing as there is a more famous river "Vecht" flowing between Utrecht and Amsterdam. In Dutch we often add "Utrechtse" and "Overijsselse" to specify the river that we are talking about. The "Overijsselse Vecht" has wonderful green surroundings and is a pleasure to follow by bike or in a canoe. Forests, ackres and fields make the landscape a constant changing scenery, in which villages and large farmhouses show the human presence.

Most present of all building within Ommen is for sure the Nederlands Hervormde (Dutch Reformed) church in the centre of town. The remarkable white tower sticks out over everything else and tells us how late it is. The stone ship of the church is large and fills the church square from where shoppingstreets are leading into the small centre of Ommen.
The church dates back to 1150, but has been rebuilt and medified throughout the centuries at least a dozain times. Inside the church the Roman baptismal font, made of Bentheimer sandstone is worth a look at, as well as the 17th century pedistal.

Start is best from the parking along the provincial road near the bridge over the river "Vecht" and the rmearkable old town hall. This building used to be a tol house for the bridge and the river from 1492. In 1828 the present building was placed as town hall of Ommen, but in 1982 the administration was moved. now it houses the tin figures museum.

The Ommen surroundings are a wonderful natural cultural area that can be described as an ultimate farmers countryside. Large old farmhouses in a mixed landscape of small forests, ackres and fields. About this farmer's land with it's typical and regional customs, a small museum in the windmill "Den Oordt" and the tolhouse next to it (it originally stood in Den Ham). It shows a collection of old cultural historical items, such as fossiles and stones, furniture, a small planetarium, documents, books, coins, regional cloths and jewelerydrawings pictures etc. It is quite a museum, especially for such small space that it is put in.

This windmill is older then the Lilly and dates from 1806. The windmill is also open in the season, but is no longer operational fulltime. The name "Konijnenbelt" actually means "Rabits hill", though a "Belt" in Dutch is particularly meaning a hill on which a windmill is built. Other windmills in Ommen are:
Van Vilsteren (from 1858)
Den Oordt (from 1824, see "oudheidskamer museum") and the Besthmener mill" (from 1862) in nearby village Besthmen.