Staphorst

Staphorst and Rouveen form one continuous strip settlement running about eleven kilometres along a single road, with the farms set at right angles on long narrow plots - a medieval reclamation pattern that has never been broken up. The village is strongly Reformed, with a conservative religious culture that shaped daily life, and traditional dress is still worn: a number of older women wear the full Staphorst costume, the printed cotton, the pointed cap and the striped bodice, every day rather than for display, and this is one of the last places in the country where that is true. Photographing people without asking is resented and has caused real friction, which visitors should know. The farmhouses carry painted green and blue window frames and doors in a local pattern. A museum farm shows the interior and the building type.

History

Staphorst and Rouveen came into being in the 13th century, when monks began to bring the bogs into cultivation, and the farms were built along the long road through the bog, making a village 11 km long. A decree of Napoleon in 1811 joined Rouveen, Staphorst and IJhorst into one municipality, called Staphorst since 1818, whose borders have hardly changed; most of the farms standing now were built between 1850 and 1910 (Wikipedia, Staphorst).

What's there

• An eleven-kilometre strip village - farms at right angles on medieval reclamation plots.
• Costume worn daily - by a number of older women, not as a display.
• Painted green and blue joinery - the local pattern on the farmhouses.
• A museum farm - the building type and interior shown.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Things to know

Do not photograph people without asking - this is a live grievance here and has caused confrontations. Sunday is observed strictly and almost everything closes. The village is a working community, not an attraction.

Nearby

Zwolle is south; the Weerribben are north-west.

Key facts