Dokkum - Niawier - Hantum | Circular Walk 4 of the Bonifatius Kloosterpad Monastery Route
This circular walk leads you from the marvellous town of Dokkum past the little villages of Niawier, Hantum and Hiaure in the north of Friesland.
After the elderly Archbishop of Friesland, later known as Saint Boniface, was murdered here in 754, Dokkum was declared a place of pilgrimage. In the centuries that followed many pilgrims flocked to the monastery on the mound at Dokkum. In 1580 the Reformation put an abrupt end to these pilgrimages in honour of Saint Boniface.
The spring that flows from the mound at Dokkum is said to have healing properties. In 2018 an ice fountain was installed here as part of an international art project to celebrate Leeuwarden-Friesland’s status as Cultural Capital of Europe 2018.
From Dokkum you walk nort…
This circular walk leads you from the marvellous town of Dokkum past the little villages of Niawier, Hantum and Hiaure in the north of Friesland.
After the elderly Archbishop of Friesland, later known as Saint Boniface, was murdered here in 754, Dokkum was declared a place of pilgrimage. In the centuries that followed many pilgrims flocked to the monastery on the mound at Dokkum. In 1580 the Reformation put an abrupt end to these pilgrimages in honour of Saint Boniface.
The spring that flows from the mound at Dokkum is said to have healing properties. In 2018 an ice fountain was installed here as part of an international art project to celebrate Leeuwarden-Friesland’s status as Cultural Capital of Europe 2018.
From Dokkum you walk northeast through farmland to the little villages of Aalsum, Wetsens and Niawier, past Romanesque churches on mounds and along historic ring roads. Sion monastery, which once stood to the west of Niawier, owned much of the land in this region.
In the village of Hantum you will see a remarkable Buddhist temple complex built in 1985. The stupa is nestled in a meditative landscape with a wide open sky and green as far as the eye can see.
Picturesque farm trails lead you to the village of Hiaure and back to Dokkum on the Wadden Sea coast.
Locations on this route
11Fountains Dokkum
The Ice Fountain is a toy for the elements and no two days are the same. The ice draws patterns on the copper surface layer of the sculpture.
St. Catherine's Church Aalsum
Impressive is how high the Sint-Catharinakerk of Aalsum stands. Dedicated to Saint Catharina of Alexandria, it sits on a remaining high piece of the old village terp.
St Vitus church Wetsens
Wetsens was once Fryslân's largest mound, but only a small part of it has remained since 1892. The ascent to the church has become quite steep due to excavations
Nicholas Church Hantum
Despite changes and repairs, this church is a beautiful example of mature Romanesque architecture. The nave and choir, with striking round-arched blind niches, were built of tuff stone in the late 12th century.
Buddhist Centre at Hantum
Hardly what you would expect! In the middle of the Frisian landscape at Hantum, there is a Tibetan Buddhist temple or stupa. It is believed that the presence of the stupa will bring good fortune to the region.
11Fountains Dokkum
The Ice Fountain is a toy for the elements and no two days are the same. The ice draws patterns on the copper surface layer of the sculpture.
- 39
- 99
- 75
- 51
- 75
- 71
- 57
- 78
- 55
- 97
- 90
- 32
- 38
- 63