Ontdek Gorredijk
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Gorredijk and the peat route
Gorredijk and the Peatroute are inextricably linked. Gorredijk would not have existed without the Turfroute. The village arose from peat extraction. Traders stored their belongings in Gorredijk, bought them from others or traded them on again. With the arrival of the Peatroute in the 16th century, the village really started to grow. This is seen as the starting point of the Gorredijk peat colony.
The historic peat ship the Tjerk Hiddes can still be found in Gorredijk today. The last skipper, Steffen van der Werf, still lives in Gorredijk and has the ship opposite his house.
Gate of the peat route
Gorredijk is referred to by many as the Gateway of the Peatroute. This is because Gorredijk, next to Oosterwolde and Appelscha, is one of the few villages through which the route runs straight. And because the center of the village connects to the canal, Gorredijk is an attractive and cozy place to visit.
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In addition, from a historical point of view, Gorredijk is the center of the peat extraction that was done in the area. The Peat Route provided an easy way of transporting peat to other regions and Gordyksters cleverly capitalized on this by dealing with the traffic passing through the village.
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Today you can still see many of these historical commercial buildings along the canal in Gorredijk. It is a nice reminder of the history of the village.
Pleasure boating
Today the Peatroute serves as a route for pleasure craft. In Southeast Friesland you have the choice to do a large and small round of Turfroute. Both times you pass Gorredijk and you can moor here at different places. But be careful because you have to work when you sail the Peatroute. At large bridges, lockkeepers will assist you, but at the smaller ones you will have to disembark yourself to push the bridge open. If you're lucky, an alert local resident might help you.
Pleasure boating on the Peatroute is crowded every year. You sail with your boat throughout Southeast Friesland and visit various landscapes and villages. And because you can often moor in every village, a trip is easily done.
More information
Would you like more information about the Turfroute? Take a look at the Southeast Friesland website. Here they have an extensive page with information about the route, locks, villages and more.
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