Former Infant School
Kollum
At the intersection of Voorstraat and Meester Andreaestraat stands the former bewaarschool, or infant school. A bewaarschool was a form of pre-school education in the Netherlands and Belgium during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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At the intersection of Voorstraat and Meester Andreaestraat stands the former bewaarschool, or infant school. A bewaarschool was a form of pre-school education in the Netherlands and Belgium during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The infant school was intended for children between the ages of about three and six, before they entered primary school. The Dutch name literally means a place where children were “looked after” while their parents were at work. In practice, they received basic education, learning skills such as listening, counting, and playing together under supervision. The bewaarschool is regarded as the forerunner of today's daycare centres and preschool programmes.
The infant school in Kollum dates from 1828 and is located on the eastern side of the village. At that time, just as on the western side of Voorstraat, the area around the school was home to many small businesses and craftspeople. There was a farmer with a small slaughterhouse, carpenters lived and worked here, and there was a combined butcher's shop and livestock business, as well as a steam-powered grain mill with an animal feed business. The neighbourhood also included a small wholesale dealer in butter, cheese and buttermilk supplied by the factory at Dokkumer Nieuwezijlen, a liquor store, a blacksmith's workshop and a tailor's shop. On the opposite side of the street from the infant school stood a grocery store and a cigar shop.