Open Monument Day
Open Monument Day
Enkhuizen is a city with a rich history. Within the old rampart you will find no less than 361 national monuments, each with a unique and fascinating story.
Would you like to take a look inside these special monuments? You can do so during Open Monumentendag on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September 2023.
On Open Monumentendag many monuments will open their doors to the public free of charge.
In Enkhuizen you can see the Waaggebouw, Stadhuis, Drommedaris and the Zuider- and Westerkerk, among others.
Check out the program below.
The following monuments, among others, will be open on Saturday, Sept. 9:
The Waaggebouw in Enkhuizen shows a picture of the early Renaissance in the northern Netherlands. Even the original weighing mechanism of the weighing hall has been preserved. From 1636, the floor housed the surgeon’s room.
The Town Hall is the epitome of the large, prosperous city that Enkhuizen was in the Golden Age. On the second floor you will find the Witte- or Burgerzaal, council chamber with velours d’Utrecht, the mayor’s room with the painted representations of Romeijn de Hooge, the wedding room and the Orphan’s room with the gobelins.
The former VOC warehouse the Peperhuis is part of the Indoor Museum of the Zuiderzee Museum. It is the oldest building in the Museum and has a special history.
(Also open on Sunday, September 10 from 10:00-15:00)
The Drommedaris, or Ketenpoort, was built in 1540 as a city gate, part of the city wall that surrounded Enkhuizen at the time. It was also a defense tower that watched over the city’s harbors and overlooked the then Zuiderzee.
The 15th-century St. Pancras or Zuiderkerk is a unique monumental building in the center of the historic city of Enkhuizen. The striking tower is connected to a beautiful church building, in which many cultural-historical treasures can be admired.
(Also open on Sunday, September 10 from 12:00-14:00)
Weeshuis Enkhuizen is a group accommodation in a beautiful monumental building in the middle of the historic center of Enkhuizen.
(Also open on Sunday, September 10 from 12:00-17:00)
The Westerkerk is counted among the 100 most beautiful national monuments in the Netherlands (on the Unesco list) and is located in the historic heart of Enkhuizen.
(Also open on Sunday, September 10 from 10:00-16:00)
The Mennonite Church is of architectural historical value: it is considered a representative example of a neo-Renaissance church. The main form and the interior, with the present benches, the pulpit and the copper chandelier, are preserved intact.
(Also open on Sunday, September 10, from 12:00-16:00 p.m.)
The Ontmoetingskerk is a church building of the Reformed congregation on the Klopperstraat in Enkhuizen, built in 1904 to a design by Huibertus Bonda. The church was built as a reformed church.
The Oude Gouwsboom is a historic water gate dating from the late 16th century. The Oude Gouwsboom comes from the period after 1590 and is part of the defenses of Enkhuizen.
Next to the town hall in Enkhuizen is the city prison: a tall narrow building curiously crooked due to subsidence. The cells are still intact and torture implements recall the cruel fate of the prisoners.
(Also open on Sunday, September 10, from 11:00-16:00)
Enkhuizen Seafaring School + Kaatje
In the garden of the Seafaring School lies a unique ship, the Kaatje (actually Kaatje III), built in 1935. In the old days, all major nautical schools in Europe had a ship model on dry land in 1:2 or 1:3 scale for practical lessons.
The complex took its present form in the 1860s. Arend Diederik de Vries van Vossen bought the house of his back neighbors in the Torenstraat and added it to his house on the Westerstraat. He connected both houses with a very prestigious long corridor and remodeled the 17th-century houses according to the latest fashion.
The church dates from 1908. The church includes an 18th-century communion bench and a 19th-century secretarial organ. The 1700 communion pew has been restored and painted in its original colors. The style is Louis XIV. Above the altar is a pelican spraying her young with her own blood: symbol of the suffering Christ.
Activities:
Die Port van Cleve
Under Die Port van Cleve are very old cellars to which is attached a “water cellar”: an approximately two hundred meter long corridor that runs under the dike. The cellar will be open on Saturday, September 9, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Snouck van Loosenpark
Where once lay one of Enkhuizen's busiest harbors, now lies the Snouck van Loosen Park. Guide from Oud Enkhuizen, walks through the area that was the thriving center of trade and fishing three hundred years ago. Saturday, start 12.00.
Land of Top
Kaatje Stip walks around the Landje van Top with her red-white-and-blue dress full of puppet puppets. On Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Drommedaris
On Saturdays from 11:00-17:00: guided tours of the Drommedaris. There will also be a continuous slide presentation on the restoration of the Drommedariscarillon.
Dike 62
On Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m.: The Enkhuizer Sjappetouwtjes, cheerful and colorful singers of songs about the sea, sailing, the VOC and fishing. The Enkhuizer Sjappetouwtjes is a cheerful and colorful singing group from Enkhuizen.
Naval School
The Naval School and practice ship Kaatje are open for visits. There is a master class in tying knots for children (age indication 9-12) by Willem Bosma. Start time on Saturday: 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
City Hall
On Saturday between 11:00 and 15:30: Welcome by Mayor Van Zuijlen with an explanation of Romeyn de Hooghe's murals in the Mayor's Room. The exhibition “Making Monuments Sustainable” is on display in the Blue Hall.
Weighhouse and surgeon's room
Saturday between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.: The Weigh House and Surgeon's Room are available for viewing. There will also be book sales again, and scattered throughout the day, the music ensemble De Zoete Inval will perform instrumental music from the period 1600-1750.
Snouck van Loosen House
Saturdays 10 a.m.-5:10 p.m.: Guided tour. The duration of the tour is 50 minutes. The last tour starts at 4:20 p.m.
Great Orphanage/Sow to Grow
The program will take place on Sept. 9 from noon to 5 p.m. in the Regency Room at 111 Westerstraat. In this building, part of the gold-leather wallpaper has been restored and returned. The monument can also be visited on Sundays.
South Church
On Saturday (11:00 -16:00) : Organ playing (30 minutes) by Jan Spijker at 11:00, 12:30 and 15:30. Guided tour of vault paintings by Gerda Wierda.
South Church
Sunday, September 10 (12:00-14:00 p.m.). Exhibition “Our South Church”: beautiful paintings by people involved in their own way in the ongoing presentation about the South Tower Carillon and about the restoration of the dials
Western Church
on 9 and 10 September in the Westerkerk: Opening of the Librije (from 11.00-16.00). Last chance to see the exhibition 'Rondje West-Friesland'. Admiration of the treasures of the Westerkerk. Book market.
The Pepper House
A tour lasts 45 minutes and participation is free. There is no need to register in advance; we will check which tour you can join on the spot. There is room for 20 people per tour. Sat & Sun between 10.00-15.00 (every hour)
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