Westerkwartier's best museums
Westerkwartier has a rich history that you can relive in the various museums. The museums below will take you back in time. Discover and learn more about the history of Westerkwartier.
Museum Wierdenland
In Museum Wierdenland, you will be introduced to the mounds and wierden landscape of the Northern Netherlands. Discover all about this vast landscape, its inhabitants and the history of the centuries-long struggle against the rising waters of the North Sea and Wadden Sea. On display are archaeological finds from this region, such as a real horse grave. Children can learn about the history and landscape while exploring. At the play table, you can do crafts, read, play and play all kinds of fun games from the past. Combine a visit with a guided cycling tour or go out on your own. After visiting the museum, you can visit the church on top of the mound.
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Museum Nienoord
The borg Nienoord was built in 1524. Discover the history of the borg in the exhibition Verborgen Verhalen, which playfully presents the fascinating history of the borg and its residents. For example, visit the interactive carriage exhibition 'Destination Reached' in the museum. Through the driving game, children can learn how to drive a carriage and experience what it meant to travel by carriage from Leek to Groningen in the 19th century. A visit to the 17th-century shell cave in the garden or a tour of the carriage depot is also well worthwhile.
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Kloostermuseum Sint Bernardushof
Several houses in Aduard can still be found built with monastery bricks from the old monastery. The Romano-Gothic Abbey Church in the middle of the village is the former infirmary of the monastery; the only structure of the monastery complex that has been preserved. It is the oldest medical monument in the Netherlands. A visit to museum Sint Bernardushof is an experience: a personal welcome and a guided tour in an authentic atmosphere that takes you back to the illustrious monastic past. A visit ends with a tour of the monastery's 13th-century infirmary as standard. Museum closed? Don't panic. Along the contours of the former monastery, a walk has been laid out with seven artworks and 3D images of the monastery. With the app, you can take an almost lifelike walk through the former monastery.
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Jewish school
Leek used to be a trading centre where Jewish traders and merchants were also active. As early as 1705, Leek had a Jewish resident. After Jews were granted equal civil rights in the Netherlands in 1796, more followed. A special Jewish cemetery, a synagogue and, fifty years later, a Jewish school were built. Here Jewish children were taught Judaism and Hebrew. When the Second World War broke out, about ninety Jewish residents still lived in Leek. Today, the little school is set up as a museum. It serves as a memorial to the sixty-one Jews from Leek who were murdered during the war.
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