Holiday apartment in Zwolle – culture, nature and historic sites

Anyone who discovers Zwolle encounters a combination of art, late-medieval buildings, historic fortifications and varied landscapes. The city and its surroundings reveal very different sides, from important collections and neo-Gothic monastic culture to floodplains, park paths and a large recreational lake.

Culture

Museum de Fundatie is located in Zwolle’s historic city centre. Its collection comprises more than 16,000 objects. The ANNO Stadsmuseum Zwolle offers a different perspective on the city’s history: it tells the story of the city from the perspective of the people who shape Zwolle. The museum and its exhibitions include archaeological finds as well as the stories of Zwolle residents in the listed Drostenhuis.

The Academiehuis Grote Kerk is a late-medieval city church. Its furnishings include pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries as well as late-medieval wall and vault paintings. The interior also contains an imposing pulpit and the magnificent Schnitger organ. The Dominican Monastery Zwolle is a neo-Gothic monastery. On the first Saturday of every month, except in January and July, a guided tour of the church and cloister takes place there. The monastery offers schools two different interactive tours.

Het Vrouwenhuis preserves a special part of the city’s history: it is the last almshouse in Zwolle founded by a private individual that still has its original building. The ground floor has been a museum since 1987; it is open by appointment and offers insight into three centuries of residential and everyday life.

De Passiebloem also preserves artisanal and technical history. The wind-powered mill was built in 1776 as an industrial mill for extracting oil from oil-bearing seeds and/or nuts. To this day, De Passiebloem presses oil using traditional methods; an active group of volunteers keeps the mill running. Guided tours explain the construction and operation of the mill as well as the entire oil-production process.

The architectural heritage also includes Openluchtbad Zwolle, a listed swimming pool complex built in 1933 in the style of Nieuwe Bouwen. The pool has two 50-metre pools, two shallow pools and two paddling pools.

Nature

Vreugderijkerwaard is a river landscape with special plants and birds. Cycling tours on the dike and walks along the Laarzenpad are possible there. The observation tower at Vreugderijkerwaard offers views across the river’s secondary channel.

At Het Engelse Werk park, landscape and history come together. The park was created in the 19th century from former fortifications and has been a state-protected monument since 1971. A 1- to 5-kilometre walking route leads through the park and connects to the dike. Spoolderbos also offers a 1- to 5-kilometre walking route that connects to Het Engelse Werk park.

Wijthmenerplas is Zwolle’s largest recreational lake. It is suitable for swimming, sunbathing and relaxing, adding another aspect of the landscape to walks, cycling tours and historic discoveries.

History

The Peperbus was built in the 15th and 16th centuries and is 75 metres high. Visitors can climb it to the first gallery, 51 metres above the ground, via 236 steps.

The Sassenpoort was built at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century as part of Zwolle’s fortifications. It is the only one of Zwolle’s eight city gates to have been completely preserved. The Sassenpoort can be visited during opening hours; on a guided tour, visitors hear stories from the past.

Other places: Hardenberg, Haaksbergen, Steenwijkerland, Tubbergen, Hellendoorn, Zwartewaterland, Deventer.

For the overview of the wider region: Overijssel.