Workum

Jopie Huisman was a scrap and rag dealer in Workum who painted in his spare time and refused for years to sell or exhibit, and what he painted was what he handled: worn-out shoes, a torn work glove, a patched apron, a doll with the stuffing coming out, rendered with enormous technical care and without sentimentality about poverty. He became one of the most popular painters in the Netherlands and the museum built for his work in 1986 draws large numbers to a town of four thousand. Workum also has a pottery tradition - the Workumer earthenware works still fires - a very long seventeenth-century Waag on the market, and the Grote Sint-Gertrudiskerk with a separate bell tower and a set of painted guild biers. The Frisian lakes are behind and the IJsselmeer dyke is in front.

The main sights

• Jopie Huisman's paintings - worn objects painted with care by a scrap dealer.
• A working pottery - the Workumer earthenware tradition still fired in the town.
• A long seventeenth-century Waag - the weighhouse on the market square.
• Painted guild biers - the funeral biers kept in the church.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Things to know

The Huisman museum is small and gets crowded given its popularity - go early. Museums close on Mondays. The town is quiet outside the museum. Pottery sold as Workum is not always made there.

Nearby

Hindeloopen is south; Makkum is north.

Key facts