a nice line-up of traditional flatbottom boats
the harbour area
this is how you swallow a herring
the lanes of the Voorstraat are separated by water
one of the typical houses that doubles as a restaurant
the Hoogland pumping station can dump 100 cubic meters per second into the IJselmeer, keeping Fryslan dry
just south of Starum are the Johan Friso locks that provide access to the IJselmeer
you can search for the ring inside the beak of the monster
the fish is a recent addition and part of the 2018 11fountains of Fryslan project
the hotel rooms are built as giant wine barrels
The origins of
Starum (or Stavoren in Dutch) go back to 300 BC.
In the early Middle Ages Starum became a central stop on
a trade road to Germany and it is likely that
Saint Boniface passed here in 754 en route to his violent death in
fiercely pagan Dokkum.
Vikings paid an unpleasant visit in 991 and burned the town down.
Starum gained city rights in
1061 and joined the
Hanseatic League in 1285 but around 1400 the heydays were over thanks to a combination of coastal erosion and
a growing sandbank that blocked the harbour. The story of the
Lady of Stavoren is set in those times.
Since 1886
there is a ferry service with Medemblik, on the other side of what was the
Zuiderzee and is now the IJsselmeer.
Starum is one
of the 11 Frisian cities of the
Alvestedetocht, a rare 200 km long ice skating event.
Today Starum thrives on water tourism and
in summer the place is loaded with tourists, many from Germany.
We visited Starum several times, the pictures are from 2018.
the Koebrug provides access to town from the East
the Schans is a road that runs parallel to the Stadsgracht waterway
on a nice day Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren caters to many customers, some come by boat, others by bicycle
the Vrouwe van Stavoren awaits the return of her ships
and yes, Starum has a (small) beach
the ferry service to Medemblik started in 1886 and is now only for pedestrians
