Blokzijl

Blokzijl grew in the early seventeenth century as a fortified harbour on the Zuiderzee, shipping turf out of the Overijssel peat country, and the money is visible in the buildings: a small harbour surrounded on all four sides by gabled brick merchant houses, a lock, and the Grote Kerk of 1609 with a pulpit and a painted ceiling. It was a walled town with earthworks, of which fragments remain. When the Noordoostpolder was pumped dry in the 1940s the sea in front of it became inland water and then a narrow lake, so Blokzijl stopped being a port. It is now a marina at the edge of the Weerribben-Wieden reed lands, the largest peat wetland in western Europe, and the boats come through the lock into the enclosed harbour, which is the pleasant part. The village is very small and has a couple of good restaurants.

What you actually see

• A harbour enclosed on four sides - gabled merchant houses round the water.
• A working lock - boats coming through into the old harbour.
• A church of 1609 - with a carved pulpit and painted ceiling.
• A lost sea - the Zuiderzee closed and the polder pumped, leaving a narrow lake.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is very small - two hours. Busy with boaters in summer and quiet the rest of the year. The church keeps limited hours. Public transport is by bus and infrequent.

Nearby

The Weerribben-Wieden wetlands are east; Giethoorn is south-east.