Giethoorn is
a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the
municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk .
Giethoorn used to be a carfree town known in the Netherlands as ”Venice of the North” or "Venice of the Netherlands".
Giethoorn has over 180 bridges.
It became locally famous, especially
after 1958, when the Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra made his famous
comedy ”Fanfare” there.
In the old part of the village,
there were no roads (nowadays there is a cycling path), and all
transport was done by water over one of the many canals. The lakes in
Giethoorn were formed by peat unearthing.
Here in Holland's water village of Giethoorn the loudest sound you can normally hear is the
quacking of a duck or the noise made by other birds.
Boating has been a popular tourist attraction here for years, with 90km of canoe trails and
scores of motorboats to rent, but now, instead of conventional outboard motors, the hire shops stock so-called
'whisper boats' - dinghies driven by electric motor.
Giethoorn's name originates from the first inhabitants' discovery of hundreds of goat horns
(gietehorens) in the marshland, remnants of a 10th-century flood.
Today no goat horns will be found here, but the vegetation is quite distinct still. Here you
will find yourself on the edge of vast series of lakes and canals, ideal for boaties, angling and
paddle-cycling.
Although there are organized boat tours, it's more fun to hire a small electric boat that
requires no great technical skill to operate, and seats two or three comfortably.
Most of the canal-side restaurants
rent them and it's a grand way to spend an afternoon, gently puttering
down the narrow waterways, under gracefully
arching bridges, past cosy thatched cottages.
There are three canal-side museums to visit and the Schreur shipyard, where the Giethoorn punt
is built.
Footpaths beside the canals are ideal for walking or cycling, and there's a wide selection of
cafes and restaurants.
http://www.giethoorntourism.com/
