Menkemaborg - Donatus Church of Leermens - Appingedam - Bourtange fortress

Route: Groningen - Menkemaborg - Donatus Church of Leermens - Appingedam - Bourtange fortress - Groningen
Duration: 9 h
Firstly in this tour we will stop at the Menkemaborg in Uithuizen was built in the 14th century. Since the thorough renovation of around 1700, there have hardly been alterations to the mansion. The Alberda family, the residents at the time, hired artists to adorn the impressive mantelpieces with baroque wood carvings and paintings of mythological representations. A very special canopy bed, made of yellow Chinese silk damask, has been preserved as well. The rooms, including the main hall, drawing room, study, bedroom, kitchen, and cellars, are fully furnished with beautiful furniture, silver, porcelain, brassware, and portraits from the 17th and 18th century.The garden is modelled on the original garden plan dating from around 1705 and is characterised by a clear and orderly mapping with symmetrically arranged sections of trimmed box tree with 18th-century flowers and plants. The finest part is the walled pleasure garden in front of the summer house, with trellised gates and domes. The natural sundial garden is special too. Our next stop will be at the Donatus Church of Leermens which has been built and renovated for centuries. There are the tuff side walls this part is the oldest, from 1050. In the transept the tuff is mixed with red monastic mops. In the thirteenth-century choir, that "joke" takes over completely. Inside, fifteenth-century paintings splash off the wall and roof. There you will see the symbols of the four Evangelists, the Lamb of God in the vault, Saint Donatus, Saint Sebastian, Mary with Child and Saint Ursula look at you friendly from the walls. And beware, because under Ursula's mantle, virgins hide. Also you will see that crowned figure next to Sebastian - that is Emperor Diocletian and the seventeenth-century pulpit is the only remaining old piece of furniture. Next we will visit to the Appingedam which is the only other place in the province to have a medieval city charter. They worked hard to achieve this, and the wealth from Appingedam’s time as an important trade centre is visible all around. Appingedam residents were pragmatic which is demonstrated by the hanging kitchens. What to do if you require additional living space while your house is clamped between buildings and water? You simply decide to build over the water. The famous ‘hanging kitchens’ of Appingedam resemble bay windows hanging above the Damsterdiep. The bridge at the Gouden Pand provides a great view of them. You will want to explore old and historic Appingedam city centre, so be sure to make time for a lovely city walk. Visit the Roman-Gothic Nicolai church, the old court and the Raadhuis. Dozens of buildings here exude the history of this charming city. Go from bridge to bridge and explore the traces of the wealth that was once achieved by the entrepreneurship in former days. Our next stop we will make  at tiny Bourtange near the German border. The original entrenchment is made as a bastioned pentagram in 1593, commissioned by stadholder (the chief magistrate of the United Provinces of the Netherlands from the 15th century to the late 18th century) Willem Lodewijk van Nassau. It was build during the eighty years’ war on a sandy ridge in the great marshlands around Bourtange. With its flooded moats, solid defences and quaint houses protected from all sides, it is a sight to behold, taking you back to a time when rogue armies wandered the land and villagers built walls to keep them at bay. It could withstand months of siege by an invading army, and famously checked the Bishop of Münster's advance on Groningen in the 17th century. Through two gates and across three drawbridges over you reach the old town proper where from the town's central square, the Marktplein, cobblestone streets lead off in all directions. Inside the walls (which you may walk upon) at the core of the fortification, brick houses make good use of what little space the five bastions afford. Marktplein is a good spot to start exploring, with its cafes, small craft shops and tree-shaded benches. Of the old buildings, a handful have been turned into exhibits that are part of the museum admission. During the visit you can visit to the Captain's House, soldiers' residence De Baracquen ,the New Gunpowder House, the town's synagogue and more.After we will return to Groningen.
Price: Per person