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De Veenhoop - Drachten | Section 4 of the Bonifatius Kloosterpad Monastery Route

(14.1 km)

This section of the Bonifatius Kloosterpad Monastery Route leads past the ruins of what was once Smelne monastery near the village of Smalle Ee and ends at the Karmelklooster monastery in Drachten, the only original monastery building that survived in Friesland.

You walk through the thriving nature of the Petgatten de Feanhoop wetland reserve and continue along the raised Bûtendiken where the water level is regulated by a system of windmills and pumping stations. Villages such as De Wilgen developed nearby. The villages of Noorder-Dragten and Zuider-Dragten were later combined to form Drachten, which is now the second largest town in Friesland.

Sights on this route

Starting point:

Sluswei
9215 De Veenhoop

Wind Engine at De Veenhoop

This unusual windmill was built as a large American wind engine. It was transported to the Netherlands by a trading company based in Rotterdam in 1926 and now drains the land to the northeast of the village of De Veenhoop.