Unique Places in Provincie Zuid-Holland

Middelharnis is a small town on the island of Overflakkee and the museum is a small museum in this small town.So it is really off the beaten path. But I consider it a hidden gem.
Rien Poortvliet was a painter of animals and countrylife and the museum is dedicated to his work. Don't expect any modern art there.
He also illustrated children books about gnomes.
There are sign leading to Middelharnis and in Middelharnis there are signs leading to the museum. Parking is nearby, the staff are very friendly and there are some tables to have a cup of coffee afterwards.There are also some books and cups to buy, but the museum doesn't accept any credit cards. They say they're too small for that.

UPDATE October 2007:
A very sad update! Anke-Thea tells me the museum had to close due to financial difficulties. That's really a shame, it was such a special place. But she also tells me about plans to reopen it on the island of Tiengemeten.I very much hope this will work out.

In the Nederlands Hervormde church of Woubrugge you will find a remmebrance plaque for Jan de Bakker (1499 - 1525)

Johannes Pistorius Woerdensis was the first protestant martyr in the Netherlands. Born in Woerden and studied in Leuven (in todays Belgium). This was a catholic university, the only one in the low countries. Jan became priest in Jacobswoude. He left the catholic way and preached as a protestant. He was punished for that by the church and left. He got maried and became a baker. That is why he is also called Jan de Bakker. But the Inquisitie didn't leave him alone and captured him at 10 may 1525. His lawsuit took over 2 months and at 25 september 1525 he was burned alive.
In 1579 our nation became officially protestant........

Lost in the middle of the polder is this churchbench. It comes from the church of Jacobswoude, a village that drowned through its own greed. The bench dates back to 1586.
At the other side of the road is a monument for the sunken village.

More villages in the neighbourhood almost suffered the same faith, like the village Zevenhoven (where Gonnie is born). But they stopped the digging in time, with just a dike with some houses on it left. Today the polders are milled dry again.

In 823 Jacobswoude was first mentioned. Lord Jacob van den Woude got to manage the area between Woubrugge, Alphen aan den Rijn, Ter Aar and Leimuiden. In 1494 there were only 48 houses of mainly poor people here.
From the 14th century peat was won in the area. The big cities nearby Leiden, Haarlem and Amsterdam wanted much of this fuel. So the inhabitants of Jacobswoude saw money... People moved to the neighbouring villages and the church was demolished in 1586. The last people living there left and the village sunk under water because they digged out under groundwaterlevel for the peat. In 1747 there was nothing left of the once thriving village Jacobswoude. In 1913 a monument was erected for the lost village. Next to it is a bench from the church with the text: here once stood the church of Jacobswoude, this piece of history vanished in 1586.

The monument and church bench can be found along the N207 between Alphen a/d Rijn en Leimuiden, at the crossing with the Kruisweg, direction Woubrugge.

When tourists go to see windmills they go to Kinderdijk, or the Zaanse Schans in NoordHolland, but they never think of visiting the worlds only working 4 step windmills near Aarlanderveen.

The history and the details of the windmills can be found at our Aarlanderveen page.

The province Zuid-Holland is divided in various regions.

Rijnmond is a big region consisting of
the city Rotterdam
it's huge harbour area stretching to the North Sea and

Greater Rotterdam consisting of
Vlaardingen
Schiedam
Bergschenhoek
Bleiswijk
Berkel en Rodenrijs
Capelle a/d IJssel
Krimpen a/d IJssel
Ridderkerk
Barendrecht
Albrandswaard (various villages)
Spijkenisse

and the rural area Voorne-Putten
Bernisse (villages Geervliet and Heenvliet)
Hellevoetsluis
Brielle
Westvoorne (villages Oostvoorne, Rockanje, Tinte)

In the Netherlands you will always see people on bicycles ,.most children ride their bicycles to their schools.

If you visit the Netherlands you will see Greenhouse ,heated glass greenhouse for growing vegetables or flowers.