Every design for Lemmer

Who could tire of watching the sails come in where the Frisian Lakes meet the IJsselmeer? That is Lemmer's daily view. The town in De Fryske Marren sits right on the edge of the big lake, with the Frisian waterways opening up behind it, and in summer it turns into a bustling lakeside resort that draws day-trippers from Emmeloord, Urk and Joure and visitors from much further away.

The Ir. D.F. Wouda-gemaal, now a museum, is a reminder of how much of life here is spent managing water. The first Lemsters settled where the Rien and the Zijlroede meet, at the mouth of the inland waterways on the old Zuiderzee. Later the crossing between Amsterdam and Lemmer became a key link between the west and the north of the country. The Oudheidskamer Lemster Fiifgea keeps that long story, from castles to blockhouses to British troops landing on the shore.

The statue De Lemster fiskerman is a nod to the fishermen who still know the old name of Lemsterhoek, and the Vogeluitkijktoren offers a lookout for anyone watching birds over the water. If you learned to sail here, or simply spent your summers on these quays, keep this map close for the next time you cast off.