De Cruquius Pumping Station
De Cruquius Pumping Station helped drain the Haarlemmermeer in the nineteenth century and permanently turned water into land.
Read the storyRemarkable places and historical stories in the Netherlands
Discover remarkable places in the Netherlands: vanished villages, old dykes and waterworks, castles and ruins, sacred sites, nature areas and stories that have almost been forgotten. Every place is selected because you can still discover visible traces of the past there today.
Foto: Raimond Spekking
Credit: © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Licentie: CC BY-SA 4.0
Edit: Cropped for web display; no other changes.
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Three places to discover now
Not a collection of tourist attractions, but historic places and nature areas where you can still read the Dutch landscape and its past.
Foto: M.arjon
Credit: Foto: M.arjon, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 NL
Licentie: CC BY-SA 3.0 NL
Edit: Cropped for web display; no other changes.
Onze Lieve Vrouw ter Nood
Onze Lieve Vrouw ter Nood in Heiloo is a living Catholic pilgrimage site with the Genadekapel, the Runxput and a quiet processional park.
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Foto: Rasbak
Credit: Foto: Rasbak, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Licentie: CC BY-SA 3.0
Edit: Cropped for web display; no other changes.
The Texelse Slufter
The Slufter on Texel is a remarkable salt-marsh area where North Sea water can flow freely between the dunes through channels and creeks.
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North Holland beneath your feet
Discover remarkable places in North Holland: from drowned land, historic dykes and old castles to dunes, pilgrimage sites and vanished villages. North Holland is the first province to be comprehensively covered on the map. The Netherlands Beneath Your Feet is growing step by step, province by province.
View North Holland7themes
98places
3routes
Choose your trail
Discover by theme
Explore remarkable places by province, town or theme and choose the kind of history, nature or story you want to discover.
The Netherlands and waterDykes, polders, pumping stations and landscapes shaped by water
Sacred placesChurches, pilgrimage sites, holy wells and rituals
Vanished placesVillages and landscapes that no longer exist
Strange storiesLegends, ghosts and mysterious traces
Almost forgottenPlaces that slipped out of view
See something oldCastles, ruins, forts and archaeological traces
Remarkable natureDunes, marshes, salt meadows and unusual landscapes
Ready-made days out
Routes that bring stories together
Walking and driving routes that connect remarkable places, landscapes and history.
Beyond the Ring
Old villages, green city edges and forgotten waterscapes beyond Amsterdam's ring road.
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Dark North Holland
Haunted ruins, old folk tales and dark places scattered across North Holland.
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In the footsteps of Rembrandt
Past the houses, churches and studios where Rembrandt lived, worked and lost those close to him.
View the Rembrandt walkExplore further yourself
View remarkable places in the Netherlands on the map
Use the interactive map of the Netherlands to find historic places, nature areas and stories by name, province or theme. Zoom in and discover remarkable places to visit nearby.
Open the interactive map