Sneek

Sneek is the sailing capital of Friesland, at the middle of the lake network that covers the south-west of the province, and it is where the Sneekweek is held - a regatta week first held in 1934 on a racing tradition going back to 1814, the largest inland sailing event in Europe, filling the lakes with several hundred boats and the town with a good deal of drinking for a week each August. The Waterpoort of 1613, a twin-towered brick water gate spanning the canal at the edge of the old town, is the emblem of the town and the last of its gates. The Fries Scheepvaart Museum covers Frisian shipping, the skutsje - the flat-bottomed sailing barges that carried cargo across the shallow lakes and now race competitively - and the local silver. The Elfstedentocht, the eleven-city skating tour, passes through Sneek when the ice allows, which it rarely does now.

History

Sneek was founded in the 10th century on a sandy peninsula where a dike crossed an important waterway, the Magna Fossa, dug when the Middelzee silted up. It received city rights in the 13th century, made official in 1456, and in 1492 work began on a moat and wall that made it, at the time, the only walled town in Friesland; the Waterpoort and the Bolwerk remain (Wikipedia, Sneek).

What you'll find

• The Waterpoort of 1613 - a twin-towered brick gate spanning the canal.
• Sneekweek in August - the largest inland regatta in Europe, held since 1934.
• Skutsje barges - the flat-bottomed cargo sailers now raced competitively.
• The Elfstedentocht route - the eleven-city skating tour passing through, when there is ice.

When to go

May to September; August for Sneekweek. A day.

Things to know

Sneekweek fills the town completely and accommodation books a year out. The Elfstedentocht has not been held since 1997 and needs a hard winter that no longer comes. Museums close on Mondays.

Nearby

The Frisian lakes are all around; Sloten and Hindeloopen are south-west.

Key facts