Veenhuizen

Veenhuizen was founded in 1823 as the unfree branch of the Society of Benevolence: where Frederiksoord took volunteers, this colony held people sent by the courts - beggars, vagrants, orphans and the destitute - in large institutional buildings under a regime of compulsory labour, reclaiming peat and heath. It passed to the state in 1859 and became a penal colony, and it is still a prison village today, with three working institutions and much of the population employed by them. The buildings carry moralising inscriptions cut over the doors - Work is Blessing, Order and Discipline, Constant Labour - which are still there and which set the tone exactly. The National Prison Museum occupies one of the former institutions and covers the whole history without softening it. Veenhuizen is part of the UNESCO Colonies of Benevolence inscription.

What you actually see

• An unfree colony - people sent here by the courts under compulsory labour from 1823.
• Inscriptions over the doors - Work is Blessing and similar, cut into the buildings.
• A working prison village - three institutions still operating in the settlement.
• The National Prison Museum - the history told in a former institutional building.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

This is a prison village and parts are working institutions - photography and access are restricted around them. The history is coercive and the museum does not soften it. The museum closes on Mondays.

Nearby

Frederiksoord is south-west; Fochteloerveen is north-west.