Harlingen - Sexbierum | Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail: Stage 12

Everything in Harlingen speaks of the sea and maritime history. With its many ports, warehouses and boats on the water, Harlingen is a lovely city to stroll around. Stage 12 of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail takes you from Harlingen to the village of Sexbierum. 

You head east out of the city and walk along a lane lined with greenery to the village of Midlum. You continue on to the village of Wijnaldum where Friesland’s most famous archaeological find was discovered. This led to the creation of an Archaeological Resource Centre in the building next to the church.  

It was here that in 1953, a farmer found a 6th-century gold mantle pin inlaid with precious stones from India. This piece of jewellery shows how prominent this region was within the Frisian realm, which extended over a huge area in the early Middle Ages.

As you wander through this vast no man’s land, it is hard to imagine that in the early medieval period this was one of the most densely populated areas of northwestern Europe. 

With the help of Christian missionaries, Frankish rulers converted the people of these prosperous Frisian areas to Christianity. As Christianity spread among the Frisians, Catholic monasteries started to appear. 

There are no monasteries on this stretch of the trail. But there are a couple of impressive country houses once inhabited by the Frisian nobility: Ropta State near the sea dyke and Liauckema State just outside Sexbierum, near the village of Pietersbierum. The noble families of the area were often involved in dealings concerning the local lock or ‘zijl’. The waterway that runs through the lock at Roptazijl was once able to be navigated by boats. Today it serves as a fish migration passage.    

This circular walk is part of the Klooster Claercamppad pilgrimage trail.