Holiday apartment in Coevorden – Fortress, museums and urban history

In Coevorden, urban history can be discovered not only in individual buildings, but also in the street plan and townscape. Coevorden Fortress was built as a seven-pointed star. For its defence, it included bastions and double moats. The circular street plan laid out within the fortress is still clearly visible in Coevorden city centre. The outer star shape and the inner street plan thus form two levels of the same fortress landscape. Kasteel van Coevorden is the only castle in Drenthe.

Fortress, townscape and greenery

The Weeshuisweide provides an opportunity to alternate between the built-up centre and green surroundings. Weeshuisweide is a green urban park with walking paths, a flower meadow and a berceau, a leafy arbour surrounding the park like a green tunnel. The open flower meadow and the tunnel-like berceau give the park two clearly distinct spatial forms. The preserved section of the inner moat forms the connection between the Coevorden-Almelo Canal and the Stieltjes Canal, two very important waterways in southeastern Drenthe. This means Coevorden can be viewed not only through its architecture, but also through its greenery and water.

Museums between town and region

The museums also focus on different themes. Stedelijk Museum Coevorden can be reached on foot from Coevorden railway station in about seven minutes. The approximately seven-minute walk from the station to Stedelijk Museum can be planned as a short introduction to the museum visit. Synagoge museum Coevorden has been located since 2017 in the former synagogue at Kerkstraat 36. Synagoge museum Coevorden tells the history of Jewish life in Drenthe and the surrounding area. The permanent collection of Museum Thijnhof consists of the complete body of work by Kees Thijn. Meet-and-greets with artists are regularly held at Museum Thijnhof. These regular meet-and-greets add another programme element alongside the complete body of work.

City walk and cycling route

Another way to explore the town is through its buildings. The Historische Gebouwenwandeling, also called the Bouwstijlenwandeling, is a city walk through Coevorden along 36 distinctive buildings. A brochure for the Historische Gebouwenwandeling is available from the Tourist Info at Het Arsenaal. For cyclists, the Drenthe Periphery Route 5 starts and ends at the Monierweg/Edisonstraat roundabout in Coevorden; it is 61 km long. At 61 kilometres, the route is a format in its own right for planning a day trip. The two formats therefore focus on different things: architecture along numerous buildings or a route with a fixed start and end point.

Market tradition and urban history

The traditional Ganzenmarkt in Coevorden was revived as a folkloric market in 1962. The revival in 1962 anchored the Ganzenmarkt in the town’s more recent history. Its folkloric character defines the market as an event. For those interested in culture, it is therefore one of Coevorden’s specific historical themes.

Discover more places

In addition to Coevorden, you can also discover Sleen, Wachtum, Erm, Schoonoord, Zwinderen, Benneveld, Zweeloo and Gees.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Coevorden.