Ameland has four villages and a hamlet. The villages are Hollum, Ballum, Nes and Buren and the hamlet is called Kooiplaats. Of the villages, Hollum is the largest and westernmost village. It is known for the large church, the lighthouse, Herberg De Zwaan, the figurehead, the Burenlaan and Oosterlaan, Musical Boat Waters, Celtic Music Weekend, Atmosphere Market at the end of the year and for the horse rescue boat that is launched almost every month on old manner.
The westernmost village on Ameland
- The village of Hollum
- Hidde Dirks Kat
- Museum Sorgdrager
- School
- Lighthouse
- New Year’s Eve on Ameland
- Hollum and the rest
The village of Hollum
Of the slightly more than 3,600 inhabitants of the island, 1,300 live in Hollum. This makes this village, which is located under the beams of the lighthouse, the largest village on the island. The esdorp with neighborhoods was created from two parts. The noa’dhoek (north corner) and the suihoek (south corner) are still concepts in Hollum. The southern part of the village is the young part of the old village. The houses and farms are regularly located along two parallel avenues, the Oosterlaan and Burenlaan. The avenues run north-south and converge at the main or reformed church.
Big church
The tower with gable roof is a beacon for shipping. The church has high pointed arch windows, which can be beautifully viewed from the Oosterlaan side. The buttresses are between the windows. The tower dates from the 15th century. Around the church is the cemetery with centuries-old gravestones of whalers and captains on the East Indies voyage. The memorial stone of whaler Hidde Kat, a simple stone with HK on it, can be found on the south-west corner of the cemetery. Olfert Pieter Lap is located on the north side of the large church in Hollum.
Hidde Dirks Kat / Source: Ameland Press Agency
Hidde Dirks Kat
Hidde Dirks Kat is one of the most famous Amelanders. He was a whaling commander at a time when whaling was still the most normal thing in the world. Kat is known for his grueling journey he made in 1777. His ship was cracked by the ice off Greenland and he lost many of his men. Kat survived with the Inuit and he and the other survivors returned to the island a year and a half after leaving Hamburg. A beautiful book has been published about his experiences. In 2018, Ameland will be the Island of Hidde Dirks Kat for a year. The festival year is celebrated with various song and theater performances, exhibitions and stories.
Museum Sorgdrager
Herberg De Zwaan / Source: Postcard
Many characteristic houses with 17th and 18th century anchor dates can still be seen along the avenues of the village. Houses of the commanders have characteristic friezes in the shape of mouse teeth, decorative brickwork around windows and doors and stone wickerwork in the gables. The house of commander Cornelis Sorgdragerhuis and an old farm on the Herenweg have been converted into a museum.
Herenwegkerk and Westerlaankerk
The Mennonite hall church is also on Herenweg. After the federation of the Mennonites and Reformed, the church was renamed Herenwegkerk. The Reformed church with a roof turret on Westerlaan has been called Westerlaan Church since the federation.
Inn De Zwaan
The northern part of the old village is more irregular in construction. The center of the northern part of Hollum is the Zwaneplein, with the Herberg de Zwaan building from 1764 as the front building. De Zwaan has, among other things, a monumental stately room with a rococo mantelpiece and box wall, the Heerskamer.
School
Hollum has two primary schools, De Schakel is a public school and the Koningin Wilhelmina School teaches on a Protestant Christian basis.
Lighthouse
The famous lighthouse of Ameland with its red-white stripes stands northwest of the village in the forest on a dune. The paths of light from the lighthouse shine over the houses, dunes and sea. After the lighthouse, the village’s biggest attraction is the horse rescue boat demonstration. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people watch the horses pulling the lifeboat to the beach and into the sea every time.
New Year’s Eve on Ameland
There was quite a bit of village expansion to the north and east of the village at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century. The mixture of old and new offers many beautiful things to see and experience:
Source: Ameland Press Agency
- The Swan;
- Lord’s Chamber;
- Sorgdrager museum ;
- Maritime Museum ;
- Lighthouse ;
- Gallery 31;
- Commander’s houses;
- figurehead;
- Image by Hidde Kat;
- Zwaneplein;
- Flour and mustard mill De Wachting;
- Horse rescue boat;
- Musical Boat Waters ;
- Celtic Music Weeks ;
- Queen’s and King’s Day.
Hollum and the rest
- Hollum is located at a distance of approximately 4 kilometers from Ballum.
- Hollum is located about ten kilometers west of Nes.
- There are approximately 12 kilometers between Hollum and Buren.
- From Hollum to Kooiplaats is approximately 14 kilometers.
read more
- Lighthouse of Ameland on the Oranjeweg near Hollum
- Ballum – Village on Wadden Island Ameland
- Christmas singing on Ameland – Zwaneplein in Hollum
- Stories by Elise de Boer-Jongsma about Ameland
- Naked lamb from Ameland – mistake of nature