Striking in the landscape near Dokkum, in a bend of the Dokkumer Grootdiep, is the brickworks complex by the village of Oostrum.
In 1873, the steam-powered brick factory was founded by Jan Helder, a trader from Aalzum. It was one of the earliest well-functioning ring kilns in the Netherlands. Using a steam engine, smooth red extruded bricks were produced here.
In the years that followed, the complex was expanded further and further, and the chimney was eventually raised to 35 metres.
The brickworks and chimney, the hedge houses, the loading and unloading quay, the engine house, the storage shed, a block of workers’ houses with turf shed, and the converted director’s residence all have heritage value and were therefore designated a national monument.
In 1968, brick production in Oostrum came to an end. For several years now, the Stichting Industrieel Erfgoed Friesland has been working on restoring the complex.
Back in the Middle Ages, Oostrum also had several field kilns where “kloostermoppen” (large clay bricks) were fired. These were needed for the construction of churches and stinzen (Frisian fortified houses).
