Witmarsum - Harlingen | Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail: Stage 11

Stage 11 of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail takes you from the village of Witmarsum, the birthplace of the famous Anabaptist leader Menno Simons, to the port city of Harlingen.

Menno Simons grew up to be a priest and brought fame to his birthplace as the founder of the Mennonite Church, which was part of the Anabaptist movement. The steel skeleton of a church marks the spot at It Fliet in Witmarsum where Menno once preached. The monument attracts many visitors, especially from the United States. 

You walk across the meadows in a northerly direction to the village of Arum, where you circle the church and end up on an ancient ring dike known as Pingjumer Gulden Halsband, the ‘Gold Collar of Pingjum’.

The discovery of imported Carolingian wheel-thrown pottery shows that the mound dwellers who lived in this region were involved in the Frisians’ international trade across the North Sea, the Rhine and the Baltic from very early on.

A pleasant detour from the trail takes you to the village of Kimswerd, the birthplace of the legendary Frisian freedom fighter Grutte Pier. In front of the beautiful old church, which is worth seeing, there is a statue commemorating the rebel leader and pirate from Kimswerd with his giant man-sized sword.

Here, you turn left and make your way to Harlingen along the high Wadden Sea dike.   

This route is part of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail.