Holiday apartment in Moerkapelle: windmills, church and Rottedijk

Moerkapelle combines ecclesiastical history with a landscape in which water management, windmills and paths are visibly interconnected. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Moerkapelle, you will discover a place that brings together cultural impressions and peaceful activities in a variety of ways.

Holiday apartment in Moerkapelle for culture and local history

The Hervormde Kerk in Moerkapelle is a brick nave church built in 1662. It includes a chancel screen dating from 1593, which comes from the St. Laurenskerk in Rotterdam. The chapel associated with Moerkapelle is first mentioned in 1570. The town’s name also refers to this history: Moerkapelle derives from a chapel by or in the marsh.

Other distinctive buildings add to the character of the village. The property at Herenweg 54 is listed as a Rijksmonument. Stolpenburg is a rare farmhouse of the North Holland stolp type and has a tall, thatched stolp roof. These individual buildings make a walk through Moerkapelle more varied without requiring you to focus on a single historical theme.

Windmills, waterways and the landscape along the Rotte

Molen No. 5 was built in 1623 as a drainage mill and later converted into the upper mill of a group of screw mills. No. 6 was built around 1650 as the lower mill of the De Honderd Morgen or Wilde Venen polder. The historic brick waterways, including the screw pit, have been preserved at and beneath Molen No. 6.

Six 18th-century windmill bases stand west of Moerkapelle along the Rottedijk, at the addresses Rottedijk 2, 6, 10, 12, 14 and 16. The Rotte begins as a small ditch near the windmill bases of De Oorsprong at Rottedijk 14 and the Aalsmeerse Molen at Rottedijk 16. Together, these places provide a vivid picture of how closely Moerkapelle is connected with drainage and waterways.

Walking and cycling around Moerkapelle

The former harbour on the Ringvaart at Moerdijkstraat played an important role in the trade conducted in the village, including smuggling. A walking junction route runs along the former harbour. The Rottedijk, which borders Moerkapelle and the municipality of Zuidplas to the northwest, has been a popular and peaceful walking area for many residents of Moerkapelle and recreational visitors from the surrounding area for decades.

For a longer walk, the eight-kilometre circular route along the Rottedijk is a good option. It leads via Herenweg, Noorddijk/Bentwoudpad and Middelweg back to the village centre of Moerkapelle. The village can also be included by bicycle: the 23-kilometre Fietsroute 1 to Moerkapelle follows the Rotte and the Korenmolengat below the Zevenhuizerplas.

You can focus on the church and architectural history, explore the windmill landscape or plan a day of your holiday on foot or by bicycle. The different route lengths make it easier to adapt your daily plans to your preferred pace.

Other destinations in the area: Nieuwerkerk Aan Den Ijssel, Zevenhuizen.

For the higher-level travel overview: Zuidplas.