Bunschoten-Spakenburg

Spakenburg fished the Zuiderzee with botters, flat-bottomed wooden boats built for the shallow water, and the closing of the sea in 1932 ended it - the harbour now opens onto the Eemmeer, a narrow lake. A fleet of restored botters is kept and sailed by a foundation, and the old yard, the smokehouse and the harbour are a museum. The costume is what draws attention: the Spakenburgse dracht, with the kraplap, a stiff embroidered shoulder piece worn over the bodice in bright printed cotton, is still worn daily by a number of older women in the town, one of very few places where that is true rather than staged. It is a conservative Reformed community and Sunday is observed. Photographing people without asking is resented here as at Staphorst, and the museum makes the point directly.

What you actually see

• The kraplap costume - the stiff embroidered shoulder piece, worn daily by some women.
• Restored botters - the flat-bottomed Zuiderzee fishing boats, sailed by a foundation.
• An old yard and smokehouse - the fishing infrastructure kept as a museum.
• A harbour without a sea - the Zuiderzee closed in 1932 and now a narrow lake.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Do not photograph people in costume without asking - it is resented and the museum says so. Sunday observance closes most of the town. Botter sailings are seasonal and booked.

Nearby

Amersfoort is south-east; the Eemmeer and Flevoland are north.