Discover Ankeveen: Water, Culture and Holiday Apartments

Ankeveen is a destination for travellers who do not want to view water landscapes and culture separately. The Ankeveense Plassen showcase a landscape shaped by peat extraction from the 16th to the 18th century: a labyrinth of petgaten and legakkers, islands, narrow ditches and open stretches of water. At the same time, the area serves as a resting place for numerous reed, water and marsh birds.

Water, Birds and Trails

For active days, several public hiking trails lead through the Kortenhoefse and Ankeveense Plassen. The first section of the Ankeveense Plassen hiking route follows a historic church path. In the past, the people of Ankeveen used it to get to the church in Nederhorst Den Berg. In this way, a path also becomes a trace of local history. Visitors can explore the Ankeveense Plassen on the water with a guide from Natuurmonumenten and travel through the labyrinth of legakkers and petgaten. Only people who live on this part of the Plassen are permitted to travel by boat in the Ankeveense section; an exemption permit is required for this.

Historic Sites and Culture

The local culture also offers specific destinations. Theater De Dillewijn is housed in Ankeveen's former Dutch Reformed church. The church building dates from 1907 and was designed by the architect J. van Dillewijn from Hilversum. The theatre hosts performances, exhibitions and musical events. This makes the venue a combination of a historic building and various types of events.

You can also encounter traces of history at the Martinuskerk in Ankeveen. A funeral escutcheon for Maria Elisabeth de Walé is located there. Two three-dimensional façade stones, made in the studio of Ignatius van Logteren, are set into the tower wall. Both stones come from the façade of the former twelve almshouses at Sticht End in Ankeveen.

Berg en Vaart adds to this cultural focus. The main house was built between 1779 and 1782 in the Dutch Louis XVI style. The historic garden and park estate of Berg en Vaart is a small-scale historic park in the landscape style of the late 18th century (1779–1782), whose structure and elements of its detailed design have been well preserved. The gardens are open to the public on request. There is also a sightline from the front garden through the house and garden, across the pond to the meadow behind the estate.

Winter Tradition and Polder Mill

The Hollandse Molen is an octagonal polder mill in Ankeveen. Winter traditions also shape the character of the village. The Ankeveense IJsclub was one of the first clubs to organise family ice-skating tours of 10 and 25 km. Since the end of the 1970s, marathon speed skating has held an important place in Ankeveen.

For further discoveries, you can also include Breukeleveen, Kortenhoef, Loosdrecht, Oud-Loosdrecht, ’S-Graveland and Nieuw-Loosdrecht.

To the overarching travel overview: Wijdemeren.