Holiday apartment in Burgum: Discover water, nature and monastery history

Burgum combines a water-rich landscape, nature observation and a multifaceted history. If you are looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Burgum, you can base your choice of holiday location on the interests of your travel group: between lake and reed beds, historical themes and easily accessible paths. It is also practical for getting around locally that parking in the centre of Burgum is free of charge.

Water, meadows and special birdwatching opportunities

Around Burgum and Burgumermeer, rows of trees, reed belts, pastureland and small water hollows characterise the landscape. The water-rich area is suitable for walking, cycling and boating. Burgumer Mar is a particularly notable natural area: the freshwater lake has extensive reed and marshland areas where numerous waterbirds and marsh birds can be observed. These include bitterns, bearded tits and great white egrets.

For peaceful observation, the Soestpolder–Hege Diken birdwatching hut offers views of a sand martin wall and the surrounding meadows. Common snipe and lapwings can be observed there; green snaketails also occur in the surrounding area. Rookoepolle, an island, is also located in the wider regional surroundings of Burgum.

Archaeology and monastery history at the Observeum

The Observeum museum & sterrenwacht combines a museum about the past with Friesland’s only observatory. The collections of the local history museum at the Observeum include Frisian silverwork, archaeological finds, geology and stories from regional history. The Observeum’s archaeological centre also presents an interactive exhibition on the Mesolithic, focusing on hunter-gatherers who lived at Burgumer Mar, also known as Bergumermeer.

Another exhibition is devoted to the Middle Ages. The medieval exhibition at the Observeum’s archaeological centre uses archaeological excavations on the former monastery grounds between the Kruiskerk and the Observeum, as well as near Hurdegaryp, to explain life in and around the monastery during the Middle Ages.

Kruiskerk and paths with historical significance

Kruiskerk Burgum was used as an abbey church by Augustinian canons in the 13th century and belonged to the adjacent Bergklooster. At the same time, Kruiskerk lies directly on the second stage of the Bonifatius Kloosterpad pilgrimage route. Medieval monastery history and a designated pilgrimage route therefore meet in one place.

The route Walk around Burgum is easily accessible for wheelchair users and people with pushchairs, as all paths are paved and sufficiently wide. For families with pushchairs, this specific characteristic of the paths can play an important role in planning, while the water-rich landscape suggests other holiday days spent cycling or boating.

Castles, museums and parks in the surrounding area

Toutenburg, Rinsma State and Fogelsangh State are located around Burgum; all three are castles. The Fries Museum, a museum, is also located in the surrounding area. Klein Zwitserland is a park in the immediate vicinity of Burgum, while Leeuwarder Bos is a park in the surrounding area. Lauswolt is a park in the wider regional surroundings of Burgum.

These different destinations give your travel planning several thematic directions. A holiday apartment in Burgum can therefore serve as a base for days on which you give varying emphasis to nature observation, water activities, archaeological themes, regional history or historic buildings. What matters is which of these themes you and your fellow travellers want to shape your holiday.

For further travel planning, you can also compare Hardegarijp, Noardburgum, Jistrum, Eernewoude, Ryptsjerk, Sumar, Aldtsjerk and Oostermeer.

For the overarching travel overview: Tytsjerksteradiel.