Washing lines of Sloten
Sloten
Sloten likes to pay homage to its 'bleaches'. This 'Bleekweide' was a grassy commons area on which freshly washed linen was left to dry and bleach in the sun. Sloten likes to remember this bleaching system along its city moat.
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Sloten likes to pay homage to its 'bleaches'. This 'Bleekweide' was a grassy commons area on which freshly washed linen was left to dry and bleach in the sun. After being washed, linen was often still yellowy, with the smells of its use still on it. It was discovered that the linen became lighter in colour and smelt fresher by laying out on a grassy field and allowing it to dry. With the help of the sun, free oxygen atoms were formed, that attach themselves to the dirt, giving the same effect as if it had been bleached using hydrogen peroxide. And the linen gained a fresh scent and lighter colour. This was therefore known as ‘bleaching’.
Right up until the 20th century, bleaches were still used in the textile industry. At home too, many people would lay out their washing on the bleach to dry. Sloten likes to remember this bleaching system along its city moat. The difference is that the laundry is now not spread out on the grass, but rather hung from a washing line. And that not only looks very cosy, but is also extremely practical. Sloten is such a compact place, that there is only enough room on the outskirts for the laundry to dry and bleach in the sun and wind. Doesn't it look lovely?
Here you will find Washing lines of Sloten
Bolwerk Noordzijde8556 XA Sloten Plan your route
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Alde Feanen - Westersanning - Vogelkijkhut
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Ameland - Hollum - Dijk nabij P. Miedeweg - Vogelkijkpunt
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Makkum War Memorial
Makkum War Memorial
By 16 April, the major part of Friesland had been liberated. But some important targets of the Canadians had not yet been achieved. They wanted to win the Frisian ports and the Head of the Afsluitdijk from the Germans as quickly as possible. But they would be hard fought. Both the ports and the Afsluitdijk were used by German soldiers to escape to North Holland.Â
As elsewhere in Friesland, the Canadians were helped by resistance fighters from the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (N.B.S.) They suffered several casualties near Makkum. On 16 April, Schelte Bruinsma and Simon Sipma were killed in an attack on a farm in which the Germans had entrenched themselves. The next day, another group tried to occupy a bridge under Makkum. However, the Germans caught sight of them and in the ensuing gunfight, Rinnert Anema, Roelof van der Meer and Hendrik Postma were killed. Makkum was liberated on 18 April, as one of the last villages in Friesland. Â
The monument at the Buren in Makkum was unveiled in 1952 in commemoration of the members of the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces who were killed around the village during the struggle for liberation.Â
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