Holiday apartment in Genemuiden: Discover history, water and trails

Genemuiden combines three distinctive landscapes with an accessible history of the town and its crafts.

Holiday apartment in Genemuiden: Water, trails and history

Genemuiden borders the Nationaal Landschap IJsseldelta. The surrounding area comprises three different landscapes: to the north lies the river landscape of the Zwarte Water, on the eastern and southwestern sides extends the distinctive polder landscape of Mastenbroek, while to the west lie the polders of the former Zuiderzee located outside the dikes. This clear division makes the area interesting if you would like to combine nature observation and cultural discoveries during your stay.

Historic rooms and local family history

The Historisch Centrum Genemuiden has a permanent exhibition on the history of Genemuiden. It also includes an early twentieth-century period room, an original pre-war shop and a carpenter’s workshop. The Centrum is also a place where you can discover your own family history and genealogy. For a stay focused on the region’s past, this provides a tangible way to explore different aspects of the town.

A special cultural connection can be seen in Genemuiden’s tradition of singing with an upper voice. It is closely linked to the local mat-weaving industry. When cutting the rushes needed for this purpose along the banks of the Zwarte Water north of Genemuiden, the rush cutters sang psalms with an upper voice. Here, landscape, work and musical tradition come together in a very specific context.

Carpet history to see and experience

In the Machine Hall of the Tapijtmuseum Genemuiden, historic machines are regularly put into operation. The “Kijkje in de Fabriek” exhibition allows visitors to operate a robotic arm themselves and place yarn bobbins in position. This makes it possible to learn about the development of the carpet industry not only through historic objects, but also through practical processes.

The Zwarte Water and the visitors’ harbour

The visitors’ harbour in the centre of Genemuiden is a tourist attraction. On trips with De Vijf Gebroeders, you can travel along the Zwarte Water and see a special world of floating peat islands, reed beds, distinctive flora and fauna, lakes and kolks. The water complements the museums and the town’s history with a landscape perspective that makes Genemuiden a particularly diverse destination.

Walks with different focuses

The free Ons-Erfgoed app allows you to use self-selected walking and cycling routes along selected sites in Zwartewaterland, including Genemuiden. Along the way, you can discover stories, images and audio fragments about local history, cultural heritage and nature. This allows you to place greater emphasis in your exploration on exercise, historical topics or impressions of the landscape.

The Stadswandeling Genemuiden takes just over an hour and leads through the old town centre. It presents the history of the small town and the development of its present-day carpet industry. The town walk also passes through Springerpark, by a war memorial and to the site of the former Blokhuis, which existed for only a short time. Together with the freely composed app routes, it offers a clearly guided way to get to know Genemuiden on foot.

When choosing accommodation, you can use these topics as a guide for planning your trip: historic interiors, carpet manufacturing, waterscapes, nature observation or a walk through the town. Other destinations for planning your trip are Zwartsluis and Hasselt.

For the wider travel overview: Zwartewaterland.