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Winsum voted ‘most beautiful village in the Netherlands’

Winsum is this year by the ANWB exclaimed to the most beautiful village in the Netherlands. The jury calls it “a beautiful village”, and with that the Groningen place wins from the other contenders Urk (Flevoland), Elsloo (Limburg), Oisterwijk (North Brabant) and Hollum (Friesland).

30,000 Dutch people have recently voted. This resulted in a list of fifty villages, of which a top 5 remained. The final winner was determined by a jury consisting of Jaap Evert Abrahamse of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Marieke Haafkens, route expert of the ANWB and cabaret performer and language expert Wim Daniëls.

All kinds of architectural styles

Winsum, located in the municipality of Het Hogeland, stood out according to the jury because of the friendly center, the iconic buildings and the village life with good bars and a full range of shops. The Winsumerdiep with the harbor was specifically mentioned and the variation in architectural styles from different centuries.

Mayor Henk Jan Bolding is happy with the election: “Wonderful isn’t it ?! I am very proud of this election as the most beautiful village in the Netherlands. It is so rightly so.”

He endorses the jury’s observations. “The village is a journey through time. The development of two villages, connected by two bridges, De Boog and the Jeneverbrug. There are beautiful buildings, you can sit on a terrace but also experience Winsum from the water, right through the Centre.”

Favorite

The title is a credit to the residents, says Bolding: “They ensure that there is liveliness. We are faced with challenges such as damage from gas extraction and earthquakes and we are dealing with an aging population. But we also have real gems here.” His personal favorite is De Boog, a stone arch bridge over the Winsumerdiep between the former village of Obergum and the village of Winsum. “The bridge connects the two cores and from the bridge you have a view of the beautiful buildings”.

It is the first time that the ANWB organizes this election for ‘Most beautiful village’. On Thursday, the director of the ANWB will hand out a plate. According to the mayor, this will be a festive event. “We are going to sail through the village with him and celebrate the success together with the residents and entrepreneurs.”

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