Beulakerwijde
Broad shallow lake born from peat digging and storm floods, hiding a drowned village beneath it.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Beulakerwijde, the broad lake beside Giethoorn, goes back to a November night in seventeen seventy-six, when the last people of the peat-digging village of Beulake crowded into their church as the Zuiderzee broke through. It follows the poor Dutch and German families who cut turf for the towns of Holland, and a historian who wrote about their misery soon afterwards. Best heard from the shore or a boat, looking out across the open water.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Bovenwijde
Broad lake born from peat digging and storms, with a boat-only swimming island in its middle.
Nationaal Park Weerribben-Wieden
Vast reed-fringed wetland of lakes, ditches and peat strips carved by centuries of turf cutting.
Dorpsgracht
Central village canal dug by peat cutters, lined with thatched island farms and high arched footbridges.
Museum Giethoorn 't Olde Maat Uus
Authentic thatched farmhouse museum with a boathouse, fisherman's cottage and peat-cutting stories.
Dwarsgracht
Water hamlet of thatched farmhouses, footbridges and boat sheds strung along a quiet canal.
Jonen
Single-row water hamlet of reed-thatched farms under dense trees, reached by ferry, bike or boat.