Echten: Church, remembrance and the Tjeukemeer

Church history, remembrance culture and the landscape around the Tjeukemeer offer different perspectives for a trip to Echten. The following places and routes provide concrete ways to explore them.

Laurenskerk and building history

The Dutch Reformed Church of St. Lawrence in Echten, together with its churchyard and entrance gate, is protected as a Rijksmonument. The Laurenskerk was originally built around 1245; a church tower was added on the west side in 1879. The church houses an organ dating from 1871, built by the firm L. Van Dam en Zonen. Different periods of the building’s history can therefore be seen side by side: the original structure, the tower added later and the historic organ. Those interested in sacred architecture will find more here than a single construction date; the elements tell the story of construction and furnishings across different centuries.

Memorial sites in Echten

Another focal point is the monument “Het kind is er nog” (“The child is still here”). The bronze sculpture depicts a standing woman with a child hiding behind her. It honours Frisian foster parents who provided safe shelter to hundreds of Jewish children during the Second World War. Echten thus brings together two different historical perspectives: the building history of the Laurenskerk and the remembrance of aid given to Jewish children during the war. Another statue, Tsjûke & Marchje, stands beside the former steam pumping station in Echten, on the walking and cycling path along the southern shore of the Tjeukemeer.

By the Tjeukemeer

Gemaal Echten is on the southern shore of the Tjeukemeer, beside the walking and cycling path over the dike; from there, you can look out across the lake. The pumping station was built in 1913 to drain the large Veenpolder van Echten and was designated a protected monument in 2001. Its location beside the path and its former drainage function give the site two distinct points of interest: the waterside landscape and the history of water management. The lake is called Tsjûkemar in Frisian and is officially known by that name; it is the largest lake in Friesland. So if you see both names, they refer to the same lake.

Cycling and walking routes

The Kulturele Rûte Tsjûkemar is a 30-kilometre cycling and walking route around the Tsjûkemar. It passes works of art and historic sites and goes through distinctive landscapes. In Echten, it starts at the Laurenskerk. This means the starting point in the village connects with a route that takes in the lake district.

De Tsjûkemar by del is a permanent QR trail that you can follow by bicycle or on foot. QR installations may be updated; if you want to use the digital route, check its current status beforehand. Rinne yn Frijheid is a freedom walk in and around Echten. The route conveys the atmosphere of hard-to-reach paths that provided refuge to people in hiding during the Second World War. While the Kulturele Rûte passes works of art and historic sites, Rinne yn Frijheid focuses on this historical interpretation. The differences are clear when choosing: a 30-kilometre route around the lake, a QR trail for cycling and walking, and a themed walk in and around Echten.

Discover more destinations: Bantega, Follega, Lemmer, Delfstrahuizen.

Go to the main travel overview: Lemsterland.