Jaap van 't Veen's photos

Andromonastiro ( Ανδρομονάστηρο ) is a Byzantine monastery fortress founded at the end of the 12th century. Since it was built like a fortress, it contributed significantly to the Greek War of Independence of 1821, where it suffered a lot of damage from Ottoman troops. In 1785, and in order to halt the decline of the monastery, it was dedicated, as metochi (= embassy church), to the famous monastery of Agia Aikaterini on Mount Sinai. They sold the complex in 1929 and in 1862 it was granted to the Voulcanou Monastery . Andromonastiro stands out for its remarkable fortress-like architecture, with buildings from different periods and various uses. Thecomplex consists of a three-storey building with the dining room, a two-storey wing with the monks' cells, storerooms, stables and the wine press and another two-storey building with the main entrance to the monastery. The katholikon (main church) of the monastery was built at the end of the 12th century on a holy place, a spring with drinking water, which still gushes today in an underground vaulted space. A second construction phase took place in the 17th century; in the middle of the 17th century, the northern chapel of Saint Catherine was added to the church. The oldest frescoes date back to the middle of the 13th century. The newest frescoes belong to the 17th-18th century and are located in the lower perimeter zone of the church. The monastery, which was in ruins for many years, has been completely restored since 2011. Nowadays it is considered being the most impressive monastic complex in the Messenian countryside and one of the most beautiful in the Peloponnese.

One of Greece’s most significant archaeological sites, Ancient Messene is also renowned for the impressive ruins of its monumental fortification - the 9,5 km long circuit wall flanked by towers at regular intervals with two main entrances, one of which is the Arcadian Gate. Large rectangular limestone blocks were used for its construction quarried on the spot on the rocky body of Mt. Ithome which at places preserves evidence of ancient quarrying activity. The city wall was 9,5 km long and 7 to 9 metres high. It was fortified by 30 square or horseshoe-shaped guard towers with doors admitting passage to a protected walkway on top of the wall. The wall was pierced by two main gates flanked by protective structures. Through the Arcadian Gate to the north ran and still runs the main road north (to Arcadia), currently from Mavrommati. The Arcadian Gate and adjacent section of the wall up to were restored from 2003 to 2005.

Ancient Messene is considered of being amongst the most exciting and complete archaeological settlements ever discovered and one of the most beautifully situated. Little more than a lush green valley in the southwestern Peloponnese - not far away from the city of Kalamata - just 40 years ago, it now ranks as one of the most significant remains of Greek antiquity. The city was founded in 369 BC and for many years the capital of the Messinian state. It flourished in the 4th century BC after the defeat of the Spartans by the Theban General Epaminondas, ending centuries of Spartan rule. The city was never subsequently destroyed or settled over, allowing an astonishing insight into life in ancient times. A complex that some believe is little more than a third excavated has already revealed the remains of a theatre, agora, stadium and gymnasium, as well as an assortment of sanctuaries, temples, statues, springs and dwellings. Nowadays Ancient Messene is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kalograion Monastery (or “Monastery of the Nuns”) was founded in 1796 and has been a female-only Greek Orthodox monastery, housing hundreds of nuns through the years. It is dedicated to Saints Constantine and Helen. The complex is situated among the foothills of Kalamata Castle in the narrow streets of the historical centre. The complex’s main building is rectangular and surrounds a central courtyard filled with orange trees. It has a church integrated into it and also houses the nuns’ living areas. The monastery was built on the ruins of an abandoned 13th-century church, and some of the remains can be seen near the main altar. Throughout its history, the monastery has also served as a local charity and as a place of refuge, coming to the aid of the local population during the Ottoman occupation, the German/Italian occupation, the Greek Civil War, and after the devastating earthquake of 1986. The monastery was well known for the production of the famous Kalamata silk scarves, known to be among the finest in the world. One still can visit the weaving room. (As far as I understand the nuns are no longer weaving these products.)

The castle of Kalamata is situated on a hilltop northwest of the modern city. It was originally constructed during the Byzantine times and even an ancient acropolis before the Trojan War. In the beginning of the 13th century Gottfried A Villard, Frank prince and founder of the Principality of Achaea, conducted a large reconstruction of the castle, which resulted to its present form of a typical Byzantine fort. A shelter-like tower with a vaulted cistern is situated on the wall’s steepest side. There are two fortification zones: the hilltop was protected by the inner fortificationline, while a second outer fortification zone surrounded the accessible and more vulnerable east side of the castle. The fortification walls were developed following the natural terrain and bore bastions, not preserved today. During the second Venetian occupation, which lasted from 1685 to 1715, new alterations and repairs took place. Among them stands out the reconstruction of the East Gate, where was immured a slab bearing a winged lion, landmark of Venice. In 1825 the castle suffered extended destructions caused by the Ottoman army. In the 6th century a chuch was built in the castle devoted to Virgin Mary. An icon of here in the church became famous as Kalomata (= “beautiful eyes”). This later evolved to “Kalamata”, which became the name of the church, castle and city.

The Church of the Holy Apostles ( Ιερός Ναός των Αγίων Αποστόλων ) is a small Byzantine church, probably dating back to the 12th century. During the years of the second Venetian occupation (1685-1715), a basilica dome was added to the west of the central building, in order to give more space to the church, as well as a bell tower at its northeast side. The church is decorated with frescoes which probably date from the 17th century and are preserved in a (poor) state. ( Doors were closed, so I could not visit the interor of the chuch .) The church suffered extended damages due to a strong earthquake in 1986. Since then a series of restoration projects were conducted in order to restore the temple. The small Church of the Holy Apostles - located in the historic center of Kalamata - is one of the most significant monuments in the history of the modern Greek state. It made history the morning of 23rd of March 1821. Kalamata has just got liberated from the Ottomans and after the final victory, the local population assembled in front of the church. There was held the first Greek Orthodox mass on free Greek territory in over 360 years. The Greeks then made a formal declaration of independence in front of the church and then took an oath of loyalty to the revolution. The Greeks continued with their efforts and eventually achieved full victory and independence in 1832.

The old monastery of Voulcanou - most probably built in the beginning of the 8th century – was located om the summit of mountain Ithomi, near amcient Messene. However, the location of the old monastery was somewhat inaccessible and unprotected against the elements, which made living conditions particularly difficult. In 1625 it was abandoned and a new one, further to the south, was set to be built by the monks. The main church of the new monastery was built in 1701 and is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church is a Byzantine domed cruciform that houses the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary Voulkaniotissa. Relics of many saints are also kept in the new monastery, while there is also a notable library with books both old and new. Voulcanou Monastery - restored in 1967 - still operates nowadays as a male convent.

The Ypapanti Cathedral was built between 1860 and 1873 in order to accommodate an icon of Virgin Mary, which was found under the remains of an older church build in the same area. The church is officialle named Ypapanti tou Sotiros (Presentation of the Savior). The church was consecrated in 1873. The church is a cross-in-square with a dome and represents an interesting example of the neoclassical style. On the location of the current church there was a Byzantine temple, which was destroyed by the Turkalbans in 1770. The later built churches were destroyed many times after that, either by intruders and a couple of times by earthquakes. The last time was by the big earthquake of Kalamata in 1986. Nowadays the Ypapanti cathedral is completely restored and accessible again, offering some uniquely beautiful icons - the most prominent of Virgin Mary - and an amazing iconostase.

The Wimmenummerduinen (Dunes of Wimmenum) are located between the coastal villages of Egmond aan Zee and Bergen aan Zee. The inhabitants of Egmond aan Zee - so called “derpers” (villagers) - still call the dune area Duinen van Six . In 1679, Jan Six - a regent and writer descended from a wealthy family - bought the area around the village of Wimmenum. Six belonged to the in-crowd of Amsterdam and is friends with Rembrandt van Rijn. A portrait the painter painted of him is world-famous today. The dune area was the family's fenced-off hunting domain until it was sold to the of provincial water supply company of the province of North Holland (PWN) in 1992.This company has opened the site to visitors. The Wimmenummerduinen are characterized by an open dune landscape with several dune lakes, wet valleys and drifting dune tops. Large pieces of dune have been blown away here and there in the foredune (main picture). Horses graze the dunes here to keep the landscape open. It is considered one of the most beautiful stretches of untouched dunes in the province of North Holland. During our 2024 visit, we were surprised by the large number of dune valleys filled with water. As far as I understand, this is caused by the high groundwater level due to the heavy rainfall in the preceding months.

Wildemanshofje (the almshouses of Wildeman) is one of more than a hundred courtyards with almshouses in the Netherlands. It was named after the founder Gerrit Wildeman (1627-1702). As a shipowner and trader of colonial goods he was one of the wealthiest men in Alkmaar. By the end of his life his wife and two children had died. In his will he stipulated that his inheritance had to be spent on a new provenhuis : a free housing for elderly widows, who also got “money, butter and peat” four times a year. The start of construction was postponed until spring 1713 and took a year. It was supervised by two 'city carpenters. Wildemanshofje has a high gatehouse at the front with a regent's room on the top floor. Above the entrance a stone statue of a wild man refers to the generous benefactor “Wildeman” (PiP1). The four wings of the complex with a total of 24 houses surround a courtyard garden. There are two old wells where water used to be fetched for laundry. The lime trees in the symmetrically landscaped courtyard were planted in 1758 to protect the houses from the sun. Nowadays there still live women in the renovated and modernized houses. Unlike in the past, they now have to pay rent.

The history of Huis Verwolde goes back to the middle ages. The present house was built in 1776 on the foundations of a medieval castle by the lord of Verwolde, Frederik Willen van der Borch. Six generations of the Van der Borch family lived in the house until 1977. In that year the last lord of Verwolde - A.Ph.R.C. Baron van der Borch van Verwolde - decided to sell Huis Verwolde to “Geldersch Landschap & Kasteelen” (a Dutch heritage organisation). Phillip Willem Schonck was the architect of the house. It took nine successive months to built the two storey brick house in Dutch classical style; the decoration took some years. The house is surrounded by formal gardens and a landscape park. Durinng World War II Huis Verwolde was use as a clinic for patients with tuberculose, who had to move from the town of Scheveningen because of the construction of the Atlantikwall by the Germans. In doing this, the family prevented the Germans from taking over the house Huis Verwolde is open to the public, also with guided tours.

Peat digging and floods developed the river Schermer into an inland lake with an open connection with the sea. Private investors started draining the lake between 1633 and 1635. For this huge job 52 windmills were used. The bottom of the Schermer lies more than 4 metres below sea level and windmills had to convey the water in several steps from one canal to the next. The mills on the reclaimed land of the Schermer (in Dutch: ‘droogmakerij’ or ‘polder’) worked so well that people switched to electrical pumping stations for controlling water levels not before 1928. There are still 11 windmills left in the Schermer, 5 of them nearby the village of Schermerhorn. One of them - the central mill in the PiP - nowadays houses Museummolen Schermerhorn . Visitors can see how a poldermill worked and how people used to live in it.

The Basiliek van onze Lieve Vrouwe - alsdo called Onze Lieve Vrouw "Sterre der Zee" Basiliek - (Basilica of Our Lady) is a Romanesque Catholic church. Probably a Roman temple was built on the same location before the church was built. Most of the present building dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries. The westwork was built in the 11th century, and Gothic vaults in the nave were added in the 13th century. Duringh the French occupation (at the end of the 18th century) the church was used as a stable and a blacksmith shop by the military garrison. It was finally returned to a place of worship in 1837. From 1887 to 1917 the church was thoroughly restored by well-known Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers. He basically removed everything that did not fit his ideal of a Romanesque church. The interior features a couple of mural dasting back to the Middle Ages. The church has a 1652 pipe organ, while the stained glass windows date to the 19th and 20th centuries. Next to the church is a cloistered garden located. Despite the church's beautiful interior, the main attraction of the Basiliek van onze Lieve Vrouwe is without any doubt the miraculous statue of Our Lady, Star of the Sea (PiP2). This 15th-century wooden statue was originally housed in a nearby Franciscan monastery. It was moved to the basilica in 1837. The statue placed in a Gothic chapel near the main entrance where it is visited by hundreds of worshipers daily.

Ootmarsum has a long history. Around 770 one of the first churches in the region Twente was built here and in the year of 1000 Ootmarsum was one of the largest parishes. Ootmarsum received city rights in 1325. The town was then converted into a fortress with ditches and earthworks. In the 16th century Ootmarsum was occupied by the Spanish during the Eighty Years War, but in 1597 was captured by Maurits, Prince of Orange. Nowadays it is a popular tourist destination; well known for its meandering streets and narrow alleyways lined with historical buildings like the H.H. Simon en Judaskerk and former town hall . Nowadays the center of Ootmarsum offers lifestyle shops and a lot of galleries. Ootmarsum was a separate municipality until 2001, when it became a part of Dinkelland.

Het Stift - a unique place in Twente - is an age-old protected townscape nearby Weerselo. It is over 800 years since a community was founded here by ‘Hugo van Buren’. The commune was transformed into a Benedictine double monastery that housed both monks and nuns in 1152. A century later, the last monks left Weerselo, but the unmarried ladies of nobility remained. The central building at Het Stift is without any doubt the Stiftskerk . Not only because of its size, age and religious significance, but also because it has functioned actively throughout all the centuries: in the Middle Ages as a monastery and parish church, then as Stiftskerk of the Reformed congregation. In the latter capacity, it still functions today. Despite its use as part of a monastery and stift inhabited by nobility, the church is small and consists of one aisle only. It is probable that the walls of irregular pieces of natural stone are from the 14th century. Originally, the church was one trave longer. In 1523 a fire destroyed the church, and when it was repaired the nave was shortened and given a new front. The buttresses, the vaults and the upper parts of the wall date from this period as well. Today, the Stiftskerk is used for weddings, concerts, funerals and church services.

Burg Lage (Lage Castle) dates from the 14th century and belonged to the possessions of the bishop of Utrecht. Later, it came into the possession of King Philip II of Spain. At the end of the 16th century, the castle was renovated. In the course of the Eighty Years' War (or Dutch revolt), which gave the Netherlands its independence, Burg Lage was blown up and never rebuilt. Since then, it has remained a ruin and its thick walls are overgrown with ivy. Lage, or officially “Herrlichkeit Lage”, refers to the time between the end of the Thirty Years' War and the year of 1803, in which Lage was an independent small state with its own jurisdiction. Since the late 19th century large parts of Lage are Dutch-owned, since 1977 by the Dutch “Twickel Foundation”.

The watermill in Lage was first officially mentioned in the year of 1270. It was about 200 years later that King Philip II of Spain, as ruler of the Netherlands, approved building of a mill on the river Dinkel. It is supposed that this was a reconstruction or expansion of an existing mill. The current mill looks like it is from the late 17th century. A distinguishing feature is the two undershot waterwheels that drive both a flour mill and an oil mill. In the early years of the 20th century, electricity was also generated at the mill to supply the community of Lage. After World War I, the oil mill was shut down. The grist mill kept running until 1957, although the last years by a diesel engine. After the last miller’s death, the mill stood empty. In 1962, when the building was threatening to fall down, the most urgent safety work started. Ten years later, Grafschaft Bentheim brought about a comprehensive restoration on the mill, giving it once more its two waterwheels and restoring the weir to improve flow rates. Nowadays the mill can be run again. (Lage, or officially Herrlichkeit Lage), refers to the time between the end of the Thirty Years' War and the year of 1803, in which Lage was an independent small state with its own jurisdiction. Since the late 19th century large parts of Lage are Dutch-owned, since 1977 by the Dutch ‘Twickel Foundation’.)

The Sint-Plechelmusbasiliek (Basilica of St. Plechelm) is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the 8th -century Irish monk Saint Plechelm. The church is a fine example of Romanesque architecture, built entirely from Bentheim sandstone and is most notable for its high pitched roof and bell tower. The oldest parts of the impressive church date from the middle and second half of the 12th century, but the history of the church goes back to the 8th century when the travelling missionary Plechelmus founded the first church: Sivester church, initially dedicated to pope Sivester and sometime before 954 rededicated to Plechelmus itself (canonised after the elevation of his relics). In 954 bisshop Balderik of Utrecht founded a chapter in Oldenzaal and expanded and restored the 8th -century church, allowing the relics of Plechelmus used on his canonisation to be transferred to it. The current tower was erected around 1240. The church was enlarged in Gothic style in 1480s. Through the years the Sint-Plechelmusbasiliek has undergone a number of renovations and repairs, however most of its structure still boasts of its original features.