LEEUWARDEN Leeuwarden: Art and Kitsch Walk
Art and Kitsch Walk Leeuwarden Part
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ten Hoeve.
You have just passed the pleasant former home of one of those council members, Ap Timmermans, no.6. On no.9 you’ll find Ynke Vogel and her ceramics workshop. On no.17 another example of kitsch: the architect has topped the blue pillars with the bottoms of pans.
one of Abe Bonnema’s least succesful designs. Yes, he was also good at designing ugly buildings. To the right a statue of Stadtholder Willem Lodewijk, better known as Us Heit (our father). He stands in a tub of water, demonstrating how Leeuwarden is wont to deal with its water features. It remains a struggle. Former councilman Gerrit Krol wanted to have the
lishment. Quite expensive meatballs they were too! The cost of the kitchen, built in an old telephone booth, was 40,000 euros. (Before that, bartender Jelte let the customers fish out their own meatballs from the orange enamel casserole they’d been prepared in.) 48
Oranje Bierhuis Auckamastraatje 2 8911 HK Leeuwarden
44 Ynke Vogel Kleine Hoogstraat 9 8911 HD Leeuwarden
And then now, the Town Hall. An excess of kitsch here, too. Just take a look at those odd baggy trousers doubling as curtains in our governors’ offices. And if we’re not careful, a ‘historical’ pillory will be erected in front of its doorway. Feel free to press the doorbell at no. 34 and ask Jes Wassenaar what the point of this nonsense is.
Having reached the top of the mound, we turn to the left and pass Mata Hari’s house. The spy and femme fatale is currently in the spotlight map Zie kaart/See because of the open46 - 47 nr. 5 e ag /p g. pa ing next year of her files, a hundred years Voor het vuurpeloton... after her execution in In front of the firing squad... 1917. It took until the www.friesmuseum.nl late 1980’s for local government to finally take notice of statue placed directly in front of the their notorious fellow citizen. Town Hall, but monument man Van der Laan got in his way. He preferred Now you take a left into the Beijerthe entry of the Stadhouderlijk Hof straat and pass café Het Gulden Pils(provincial government trumps local). je. To the right is a gate designed 46 Hotel Paleis by Hans Vredemen de Vries. If you stand on the white dot, you’ll be able Het Stadhouderlijk Hof to see the perspectival distortion in Hofplein 29 the gateway. A few steps further is 8911 HJ Leeuwarden no.3, which houses the Weppz office, led by Marco Florijn (councilman Next stop is the Wilhelminaboom in Leeuwarden and Rottterdam). In (tree) in the middle of the square, the Rotterdam, Florijn made a bet that he Hofplein. Ex-mayor Geert Dales once could find jobs for 1,000 of the unwrote a memo about this tree: Chop employed. He promised, in event of it down! It’s standing in my light! He failure, to apply for a job as a tomawasn’t joking, either. to picker in one of the nearby greenhouses. His plan did backfire but To your left, the Oranje Bierhuis with we’ve yet to see him at work there. possibly the smallest kitchen in the entire Dutch catering industry. Its or45 Cafe Het Gouden Pilsje igins lie in a protest against our LibBeijerstraat 10 eral-Socialist cabinet’s rigorous im8911 HG Leeuwarden plementation of rules and regulations. Minister Hoogervorst showed At the corner of the Gouveneursplein up in person to witness the serving and the Sint Jacobsstraat, you’ll find of meatballs in this renowned estab-
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You now proceed to the Weerd and, after passing Gerbenzon’s antique shop, enter the Bagijnestraat. To your right is Dinie Postma’s shop, called De Spoel (Spool). Crocheting, knitting and poncho’s are all big in Leeuwarden; according to former museum director Saskia Bak, the exhibition Kilts was a true blockbuster. To your left, the philately club. At this point you will have quintessential kitsch in your sights: the Oldehove tower (the remnants of a church that was never completed). The street leading to it runs parallel to the most important shopping street of the town, the Nieuwestad. You may come across chefs smoking during their break or movie moguls counting the tickets they’ve sold. Their real estate is a streetlength deep. On no.24 Bed & Breakfast ‘t Gulden Paerdt, also with inviting posters in its windows.
2018 EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE
Distilleries, let them pour you a wee dram while you listen to the story behind this company. A bit further on, at no. 30, you’ll find Hein de Graaf’s gallery and if you enter the green opposite no. 18, you’ll see Mata Hari’s school. Back in the Bagijnestraat, you now head towards organbuilders Bakker and Timminga. If you take a peek through the gate, you’ll see the water and fire house (where people used to go for, yes, fire and water). Then on to café De Pastorie, which boasts an extensive collection of holy figurines and pictures. Then visit Hein Kocken’s workshop at no.5 and it’s back to the Nieuwestad. 54 Gallery Kocken Art and More Kleine Kerkstraat 5 8911 DK Leeuwarden
Cross the bridge and enter the passage next to Johan Hemrica’s flowershop. Halfway down the street you’ll find the Haniahof, a breeding-place for art, kitsch and culture. To the right is De Neushoorn, a brand-new pop podium. Finally: turn left and walk in the direction of the Wilhelminaplein and the Zaailand. www.leeuwarden2018.info
50 Bed and Breakfast ‘t Gulden Paerdt Bagijnestraat 54 8911 DS Leeuwarden In the tiny museum, run by Boomsma
Kijk, dat is ‘t mooie van Leeuwarden!
Us Heit
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