Veluwezoom observation tower

Until 1978 an observation tower was used to watch out for fires in the forests and heathland of the Veluwezoom NP, something that was then taken over by small airplanes. But instead of taking the tower down when it was out of use, it was decided to restore the structure and leave it as a landmark.

The height of the tower is 34 metres. Visitors are allowed to climb until the first platform.

Sneek Waterpoort

So this is the Sneek Waterpoort (Water Gate) I mentioned in my previous posts. I stood on the middle of a bridge taking this photo to include some of the pretty flower baskets that were still hanging on the side. There on the left is the same bridge that you saw on yesterday's photo -here opened as well as you can see. The Waterpoort was built in 1613, after a defensive wall had been built around Sneek in the 15th and 16th century. The gate formed a part of the city walls, but when large parts of these were taken down in the 18th century, it was decided to leave the Waterpoort as it was.

Above the gate, which originally would have had wooden fences, is a gallery, and above that were the quarters of the gatekeeper. On each side is an octagonal tower. (info from Wikipedia)
The gate is listed as a National Heritage Site, or Rijksmonument in Dutch.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Remembrance Day

As it is May 4 today I have one more post from the Westerbork Memorial Centre and former camp grounds (see also my previous posts here and here). This is The National Westerbork Memorial, a permanent reminder of its sad history and one of the blackest pages in the history of our country. It is situated at the spot where, during WWII, the railroad from the town of Hooghalen to the camp terminated. After having cut through the entire camp, the train came to a standstill here. (read more on their website)

The memorial signifies the dismay that results from realising what has happened to the Jewish people. The curled up rails express this despair. The memorial was designed in 1970 by Ralph Prins, himself a former prisoner in this camp.

May 4 is 'dodenherdenking' or 'Remembrance of the Dead' in the Netherlands. Every year, people dedicate 2 minutes of silence at 8pm to pay their respects to soldiers and civilians who died during World War II, as well as other military conflicts and peace-keeping missions.

Inside the Afsluitdijk monument

Following up on yesterday´s post these are 2 more photos from the Afsluitdijk monument, taken when we went down the stairs again.

The viewing tower was built in 1933 and was designed by Dutch modernist architect Willem Dudok (1884-1974).

At the Afsluitdijk monument

 On our way to Den Helder, from where the ferry departs to the island of Texel, we stopped for coffee at the Afsluitdijk. The Afsluitdijk (lit: 'Closure Dike') is a major causeway running between the Dutch provinces of North Holland and Friesland, with a length of 32 km (20 mi). The dike protects the mainland from the North Sea and is a fundamental part of the Zuiderzee Works.
On the spot where the dike was closed in 1932 is a monument in the form of a view tower. Next to it is a small restaurant.

This is the view from the tower, with the IJssel Lake on the left and the Wadden Sea on the right. A footbridge connects the parking spots on both sides of the dike. It was a Friday morning and as you can see there was not much traffic at that moment!

National Monument

Pigeons sit on one of two male sculptures representing members of the Dutch resistance, at the side of the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Other sculptures on this World War II monument, a concrete conical pillar, represent suffering and loyalty, victory, liberation, peace, and new life.

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters on Eileen's blog.

Sassenpoort (2)

The gate, built in 1406 as I mentioned yesterday, had to be wide enough for carts and carriages to stand underneath. Then all would be examined thoroughly by guards before they were allowed to enter the city. The Sassen Gate was a so-called 'inner gate', so everybody was 'checked' at an outer gate gate first as well.
In the 17th century the Sassen Gate became a prison.

Sassenpoort (1)

The Sassenpoort (Sassen Gate) is the only left gatehouse in the city wall of Zwolle. It was built in 1409 from 101,000 stones, and by its size the wealth of the city was shown. At the end of the 19th century the gatehouse was renovated and became an important Dutch heritage site.

The Hand of Oterdum

Last Sunday I told you about the history of the small village of Oterdum and its cemetery on the dike near Delfzijl, in the north east of the province of Groningen. This monument, also at the cemetery, marks the exact location of where the church once was.
The `Hand of Oterdum´ was created by M. Meesters. After the original hand, made of bronze, was stolen in 2011 a new hand of synthetic material was made to replace it.

Switch off your mobile phones

This warning sign along a sandy path in the centre of the Dwingelderveld National Park told us to switch off our mobile phones as we were entering the interference-free zone of the nearby Dwingeloo radio telescope...

...which we passed later that day. The "Dwingeloo Radio Observatory" is a single-dish radio telescope with a diameter of 25 m. Completed in 1956 it was the largest radio telescope in the world at that time, and was operational in an official capacity until the year 2000. Nowadays the telescope is a Dutch heritage monument, and is still used for projects by amateur astronomers and radio amateurs.

I'm linking to signs, signs.

From the archives #61

Canada (2012)

During our trip through British Columbia and Alberta we passed the spot where in 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed. A monument was placed to remember this historical moment.

Nice to tell is that in the years 1923-1926 my grandfather was in Canada and actually made this journey by train. Hoping to be able to start a new life there, he travelled by train from the east all the way to the west coast and Vancouver Island in the end. Some of the letters that he wrote home have been kept until today, giving us a detailed insight of where he went and what he did, and how life was in the days of cowboys and Indians.

Have a nice weekend! :)

Water tower

Halfway the marked walking trail around Zuidlaren we crossed the premises of the former pychiatric institution ´Dennenoord´. The oldest buildings on this huge area of almost 91 hectare (about 225 acres) date from the end of the 19th century, and have been registered as cultural heritage since 2007.
The water tower that you see at the end of this lane was built in 1895 and provided the water for the people who lived at Dennenoord. It isn't in use anymore, but was rescued from demolition when it officially received the status of national monument. Besides a 'private' water tower, Dennenoord also had its own church.

The Afsluitdijk

This is a view of the Afsluitdijk (in English: Enclosure Dam), a major road connection constructed between 1927 and 1933, running from the province of North Holland to Friesland over a length of 32 km (20 mi). It is a fundamental part of the larger Zuiderzee works, damming off the Zuiderzee, a salt water inlet of the North Sea, and turning it into the fresh water lake of the IJsselmeer.
Nowadays, halfway the dam there is a monument, a statue of the Dutch civil engineer Cornelis Lely (you can see it in the distance on the right side, I will show you a more detailed picture of the statue tomorrow), and a restaurant. This photo was taken standing on the footbridge that connects the parking spots on both sides of the A7 motorway.