Het Olde Maat Uus

The Museum 't Olde Maat Uus is a farm museum in Giethoorn, the village in Overijssel that is famous for its canals and its lack of roads, and it offers a look at the way ordinary people lived in this unusual place. The building is a historic farmhouse of the type found in the peat-digging villages of the region, and it has been preserved with its rooms and furnishings to show daily life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For visitors who come to Giethoorn for the boat trips and photogenic views, it adds depth to the story.

Giethoorn is a village built on peat. In the Middle Ages, people dug peat for fuel here, and the digging left behind a maze of ponds and channels, which became the canals that give the village its character. The name is said to come from the goat horns, called geytenhoren, found in the soil by the first settlers, remains of animals drowned in a flood, although the legend may be more charming than reliable. Farmers lived on narrow strips of land between the water, and transport was by boat, which is why the village still has houses reached by footbridges and boats.

Inside the farmhouse, the rooms show how families lived. A bedstee, a box bed built into the wall, is one of the typical features, with doors that could be closed against the cold. A laundry tub, a kitchen with an open hearth and simple furniture illustrate the practical details of a household with limited resources. Displays explain the old livelihoods of the village, including peat cutting, boat building and reed harvesting, which was used for thatched roofs, as well as the use of the punt, a flat-bottomed boat poled across the water.

Audio tours are available in several languages, including English, German and Chinese, which makes the museum accessible to the many international visitors who come to Giethoorn. Opening hours vary with the season, with longer hours in the summer, so check them in advance. The visit takes about an hour.

After the museum, a trip in a whisper boat, a quiet electric boat, along the canals gives a view from the water, and the walking paths between the houses are pleasant. The museum suits families, couples and anyone who wants to understand the village. Come outside the peak midday hours to avoid crowds.