Bell tower
The surrounding tall trees make it easy to cycle straight past. But it is worth stopping to see this listed bell tower and graveyard with a mausoleum.
The wooden bell tower was built in 1617 and restored in 1956. The Dutch Reformed church that once stood here was demolished in 1740. The bell tower has a white four-sided dome roof complete with a weather vane. It houses a bell cast by Henricus Meurs that weighs 200 kg.
Mausoleum
Among the graves there is a large raised double grave that immediately stands out.
Here lies Jonkheer Wilco van Andringa de Kempenaer (1809-1873), the last grietman to preside over the former municipality of Lemsterland. Wilco never married and is buried next to his mother, Tjallinga Aurelia Wilhelmina des H.R. Rijksbarones thoe Schwartzenberg en Hohenlansberg (1775-1857), who was his father’s second wife. His father, Regnerus Livius van Andringa de Kempenaer, was also grietman of Lemsterland as well as being steward of Friesland and a statesman.
All three lived at Andringa State in Lemmer, the last official residence of the office of grietman.
