Ootmarsum

Ootmarsum is a small town in the hilly corner of Twente with a Romanesque basilica of the thirteenth century, a centre of half-timbered and brick houses, and an unusual density of art galleries and studios - it drew painters from the twentieth century onwards and now has several dozen commercial galleries, a museum for the painter Ton Schulten, whose blocky coloured landscapes are widely known in the Netherlands, and an open-air museum of Twente farm buildings. Its Easter custom, vlöggeln, is first recorded in 1840: on Easter Sunday, and again on Monday, eight unmarried Catholic men called the Poaskearls lead a hand-in-hand chain of townspeople and visitors through the streets, and through houses and cafés, to the market square, singing two Easter songs, and on Sunday evening the Easter fire is lit. It is on the national intangible heritage list.

History

Around 770 one of the first churches of Twente was built in Ootmarsum, Radboud, bishop of Utrecht, died here in November 917, and around 1000 it was one of the largest parishes in Twente. It received city rights in 1325 and was then given ditches and earthworks (Wikipedia, Ootmarsum).

Highlights

• The Easter custom - the Poaskearls leading a singing chain through the town to the market square.
• Timber-framed houses - the Twente centre round a Romanesque basilica.
• Several dozen galleries - an unusual concentration for a town this size.
• A Twente farm museum - the open-air buildings on the edge of town.

When to go

Easter for the custom; April to October otherwise. A day.

Good to know

The Easter custom is on two days a year and the town fills for it. Galleries are commercial and many close on Mondays. Twente is far from the Randstad and public transport is slow.

Nearby

Lutterzand and the Dinkel valley are east; Almelo is west.

Key facts