Winsum

Winsum sits on the Winsumerdiep in the Groningen clay country and is built round the water: two windmills, De Ster and De Vriendschap, stand on opposite banks facing each other, with brick houses, a lifting bridge and the old harbour between them, which is the view that won the village a national vote as the prettiest in the Netherlands in 2019 and which it has traded on since. Behind that it is a wierde village like its neighbours, with the church of Obergum on one mound and Winsum on another, joined when the settlements grew together. The Groningen earthquake problem from gas extraction affects buildings here and reinforcement work is common. The village has a good bakery tradition and sits on the cycle route north to the Wadden dyke, with Niehove, Pieterburen and the Lauwersmeer within easy reach.

What you actually see

• Two facing windmills - De Ster and De Vriendschap on opposite banks of the canal.
• A lifting bridge and old harbour - the water running through the middle of the village.
• Two wierden joined - Winsum and Obergum grown together, each on its mound.
• Earthquake reinforcement - the gas-extraction damage visible in repair work.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The mills open on limited days and only sometimes turn. It is a village - two hours covers it. The prettiest-village title has increased weekend traffic. Reinforcement scaffolding is common.

Nearby

Niehove is west; Pieterburen and the Wadden dyke are north.