St. Jacobiparochie-Franeker | Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail: Stage 7

Stage 7 of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail takes you from the Het Bildt region to Franeker, where Duke Albrecht of Saxony chose to reside. This made the city the centre of power in Friesland at the end of the 15th century. Franeker even had its own university which rivalled the one in Leiden. Later Leeuwarden became the capital of Friesland and Franeker lost its university. Today the city is best known as the Frisian handball capital of the province.  

On the way to the village of Minnertsga, you walk along a section of the Griene Dyk dike. This old flood defence was built in the 11th century to protect the land from the tidal surges of the Middelzee inlet and forms the dividing line between old and newly reclaimed land. This lovely little dike with flowers along its verges offers scenic leafy views all year round.    

You walk along gently winding old salt marsh ridges through small villages such as Ried, Peins, Slappeterp and Skalsum to the historic city of Franeker.

At one time there were several religious complexes in this area, including the Bethany convent which was built on polderland near the village of Tzummarrum and the Mariënberg monastery east of Ried. The Frisian and Dutch words for monastery are ‘Kleaster’ and 'Klooster’. If you keep an eye out, you will see place names such as 'Kleasterdyk' and 'Kloosterpolder' along the way.   

The trail ends at the St Martin’s church in the old centre of Franeker. A few centuries ago, you may have run into the French philosopher René Descartes on the street, or the astronomer Eise Eisinga, who built a planetarium in Franeker that is now the oldest working model of the solar system. 

This route is part of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail.