Cycling between Tsjonger and Tsjûkemar

Directions

The wetland area attracts many birds and characteristic are the reed beds, tree walls (hedgerows) and local villages. Furthermore, you will find peace and space here. So this is the perfect environment to unwind.

The start is at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal, the largest steam driven pumping station in the world. A magnificent experience of steam, architecture and water. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 and has celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020!
You can visit this beautiful Cathedral of Steam all year round. More information, current opening hours and entrance fees can be found on the website www.woudagemaal.nl

You cycle through Lemmer, a popular water sports village. The waterway through Lemmer is a busy connection between the Frisian lakes and the IJsselmeer. You will find cosy terraces, restaurants and shops. Other villages you will visit include Bantega, Echtenerbrug and Echten, so-called regional villages, which were created by the peat harvesting.

A beautiful cycle path takes you along the banks of the Tsjûkemar, the largest natural lake in Friesland. There is a legend about the origin of the Tsjûkemar:
Two sisters had a farm together in a place that is now in the lake. One day, a fire broke out. The women were separated by smoke and fire and they desperately shouted each other's names. Maybe you'll hear them now, if you listen here: “Tsjûke! Marchje! Tsjûke! Marchje...” And so, according to this legend, the name of the Tsjûkemar was born.
The protagonists Tsjûke and Marchje were immortalized on the shore of the lake near Echten, near the former steam mill from 1913, which had to keep the Polder van Echten dry.

The village of Oosterzee was once a place of prestige. In the 18th century, for example, the house of law still stood and now, among other things, the Koopmanshuis still testifies. Count of Holland Willem I would have had a castle here around 1200. The little mill Oosterzeeburen, renovated by inhabitants, is now a meeting place and birdwatching hut. A little further you will find in Eesterga a bell chair dating from 1617.