Emmen Things to Do

The zoo in Emmen has a beautifull butterfly garden. In a colourfull tropical garden with many flowering plants you can walk between the many colourfull butterflies.

Sometimes a butterfly will come and sit down on your hand. I prefer to go there on a rainy or cold sunday to enjoy the tropics of the garden. It's a relaxing place to sit down for a while

Great memories. This zoo closed down in december 2015. New Wildlands Adventure Zoo opened in march. The butterflies moved to the Jungola section of the new zoo. 2016

The zoo has a nice african savannah with rhino's, zebra's, ostriches, wildebeasts, giraffes and impalas. It's one of my favourite places in the zoo.

At one point you're a eye height with the giraffes. Here are always a lot of people around.
I also like it to sit at the terrace of the safari restaurant, especially in the first hour the park opens it doors. It's a nice time to look at the animals.

Great memories. This zoo closed down in december 2015. New Wildlands Adventure Zoo opened in march 2016. In the new zoo is a huge savannah in the Serenga section. All savannah animals are moved to the new zoo.

The original zoo is in the middle of the citycentre of Emmen. In 2002 a second part of the zoo is opened at the edge of the centre. A huge pedestrian traverse connects the two parts through the centre of Emmen.

In the new part of the zoo is the South American section. At the Playa Pinguinos you can walk between the pinguins, allthough they made a low fence later, because some of the pinguins liked to walk out of the zoo into the town of Emmen. You can also watch the swimming pinguins under water.

In 2007 they started to make plans to move the whole zoo to this new part. The actual zoo in the city centre will be transformed into a 'zoo for humans' to live in special houses still ahving the feel of the continents of the former zoo and to spend their leisure time.

Great memories. This zoo closed down in december 2015. New Wildlands Adventure Zoo opened in march 2016. The pinguins moved to this new zoo.

The Noorderdierenpark is known of its beautiful natural setting of the continents.
In 2003 the North American section in the original park is enlarged, after the South American animals moved to the new built part of the zoo.
Except the three Kodiak bears, there are now also elks and bisons to see.

Meanwhile the Kodiaks left the zoo,

The zoo is open everyday.
In winter from 10 am to 4.30 pm.
In summer from 10 am to 6 pm.

Great memories. This zoo closed down in december 2015. New Wildlands Adventure Zoo opened in march 2016

The Zoo of Emmen, called the Noorderdierenpark, has a very beautifull rather natural atmosphere. There is a herd of 14 elephants of all ages, an African Savannah with zebras, giraffes & rhinos. Further you can walk in the tropical butterfly-garden, at the Playa Pinguinos and in a huge green South- American bird cage between the butterflies, pinguins or birds. Or what do you think of having dinner with the swimming sharks at the background ?

Great memories. This zoo closed down in december 2015. New Wildlands Adventure Zoo opened in march 2016

In 2003 seventeen artists from France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru and USA are working with peat and other natural materials in the peatland near the Veenpark at Barger-Compascuum.
Officially Peatpolis stopped in December 2003, but also after you could still visit the place and have a look at the objects, allthough some are demolished or removed.

The originators of Peatpolis have new plans to make here the first ''Art in Nature Park" of the Netherlands.

Open daily from sunrise till sunset. The walk through nature end between art is about 4 km.
Opposite this place you can visit also the Veenpark, an open-air museum with traditional houses and buildings of the region. www.veenpark.nl

For many years the Centre of Visual Arts (Centrum Beeldende Kunst) was located in the cityhall in the citycentre of Emmen. In two exhibition halls were every year several exhibitions of contemporary art. In summer 2004 there was a special exhibition ''aLiVe'' of the photogroup Vlinderstad, celebrating their 55 years existence.

The CBK was closed for some time, but is now back at a splendid location in the former milkfactory in Noordbarge. The industrial ambiance is great as well the location at the Oranjekanaal.

In the building are two spacious exhibitonhalls, an art library and a hall for workshops.
Every year there are several exhibitions of contemporary art in the hall at the gorundfloor. In the hall at the first floor are also sometimes other exhibitions like the overview exhibition of 3 years community art in the district Emmermeer in autumn 2012.

Opening hours:
wednesday-sunday 13.00-17.00

Emmen is famous because of it s zoo, the "Noorderdierenpark" as it is called, and rightfully. Not as old and charming as Artis in Amsterdam or Blijdorp in Rotterdam but thanks to the special animals they got here and the certain atmosphere they created, it is nice to strowl round for a day or so.

If I lived nearby, I knew what I'd like! A card to go in anytime I d like!

As soon as I have moved house I will try and dig out the photograph I took in 1996, when I first visited the zoo.

The zoo (dierenpark) is situated in the middle of the city of Emmen. You will find various animals up here: elephants, giraffes, monkeys, butterflies, hippos, penguins, rhinos, snakes, sharks, buffalos and tiger/lions.

Opening hours are (in 2010):

1 March till 31 May 10.00am till 5pm
1 June till 31 August 10.00am till 6pm
1 September till 30 September 10.00am till 5.30pm
1 October till 31 October 10.00am till 5pm
1 November till 28 February 10.am till 4.30pm

Email:info@dierenpark-emmen.nl

The story of the 'Schimmeres' goes like this:

Unique for the Netherlands is this "Hunebed" with a special shape. Original one hill covered the 2 gravechambers. The circle of stones around the foot of the hill are still present.

The hill was 40 meter long. Because of this extremely length, it is called a longgrave. In North Germany and Denmark you will find more longgraves.

The longgrave has been archeological searched in 1913 and 1960. They found outside the stonewreath several holes (ritual or sacrificeholes?) which were covered by pulled over stonewreathstones. On the original place of these stones were put replacements. This kind of holes has been took up later in the hill, so the stonewreathstones and the hill were lengthen several meters.

In 1960 the longgrave was restaurated partly.

The province Drenthe the province of hundebeds. You can find 52 of the 54 hunebeds of country in this province.

A hunebed is supposed to be a megalithic skeleton of a burial chambers of 5.500 years old, made of huge boulders of around 25.000 Kg and in the past covered with earth. These boulders came to Drenthe from Scandinavia, transported by the ice-glaciers, in the ice-period of 200.000 years ago.The boulders were dragged to the burial place and piled up to rectangular graves.

In Emmen are 10 hunebeds. The Long Grave is one of a kind in the Netherlands and can further only be found near Oldenburg in Germany.

Every last sunday in August is the Full Colour Festival in the centre of Emmen.
It's my favourite festival with wonderful music from all over the world, like African, Asian, South American. You can just listen to the music or dance.
There is also a large market where you can buy many nice goods from the different continents. You can eat all kind of African, Indonesian, Turkish and Vietnamese snacks, drink African beer or Ethiopian coffee.
There are workshops for kids and adults in making music, bamboo objects, African necklaces, body painting.
In 2003 combinations of foreign and Dutch artists showed during the festival how they worked together in the so-called project Beyond Borders.
Their paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in the Centre of Visual Arts later in the season.

Besides performing arts there are at some festivals also objects of installations of visuals arts to see.
What I liked most was the travellling caravan of the visual artist Wies Noest. Every time she extended her caravan with new colourfull flags and tents.

In summer there are some very interesting festivals in Emmen.

C'est la Vie Festival:
last sunday in July, in the city centre, music and theatre.

Full Colour Festival:
last sunday of August in the city centre, a multiculturalfestival with music all over the world, international market, workshops, activities for the kids.
www.fullcolourfestival.nl

The Nabershof is a Saxon farmhouse from 1681, it is a monument and owned by the Drentse Vereniging (union) 't Volk van Grada.
The farmhouse is restored in 1992 and authentically furnished in the style of Drenthe as a museum farmhouse.
The farmhouse is only open during special events, like the accordion and concertina festivals the last sunday in June and the first sunday in September.
't Volk van Grada also organise traditional farmer weddingparties and fashion shows of traditional costumes, to be visited.
You can make an appointment for a visit.