Museum De Weem
Next to the 16th-century Romanesque-Gothic Andreaskerk in Westeremden, situated on a centuries-old mound, lies the weem – the home and studio of the painter Henk Helmantel – which was rebuilt in 1974.
Have a look now
In days gone by, a ‘weem’ was attached to the church and served as a combination of pastorie and a farm, enabling the minister or priest to supplement his meagre income. De Weem houses a museum featuring works by the fine artist Helmantel. In the garden, beneath the old trees, there are many ‘stinzen’ plants, or as they are also known in Groningen: ‘börgbloumkes’. Originally, only snowdrops grew in the garden of De Weem, but in recent years many other species have been planted, such as winter aconite, wood anemone, hollow root, ‘little bird on a stool’, spring snowflake and lapwing flower. In addition, many old varieties of daffodil have been planted, all of which were already in cultivation before 1900.