Wierde villages

The first dykes are only about 1,000 years old. The Groningers had no desire to wait for this invention. To still be able to live in places that flooded regularly, they built wide mounds. On these, they could live high and dry. Over the years, quite a few of the mounds have been excavated. The soil was very fertile. Moreover, many archaeologists were particularly curious about all the objects that had become buried in the mounds over the centuries. Much of what was found so far in terms of utensils, bones and waste can be viewed in Museum Wierdenland in Ezinge, not coincidentally also a mound village.

By no means all mounds have been excavated. In many places, they have remained part of contemporary life. The former centre, including the church on the highest point, is still the beating heart, often with some shops and at least a village pub. Curving cobbled paths then lead you to lower-lying buildings. Until you suddenly find yourself among newly built houses. Although, in some villages, time seems to stand still. In Niehove, for instance, where the narrow church paths between the brick houses still follow exactly the same cobweb pattern as centuries ago.

Thanks to large-scale mound excavations, we now know even more about the history of the mound villages. In Warffum, thanks to the many buildings, the raised height has been spared. As a result, you can still clearly see the historical core of the largest mound in the Netherlands with its narrow church paths. The small village of Eenrum also has the typical characteristics of a mound. For instance, a beautiful 13th-century church towers over the village. But these days, Eenrum is also bustling with entrepreneurs and crafts, such as Candle Factory Wilhelmus.