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Cultural Heritage

Monuments

Lighthouse: north of the village of Hollum is the island’s lighthouse. It has a luminous intensity of 4.5 million candlepower (2000 Watt), which makes it one of the most powerful lighthouses in the world. It dates from 1880, has characteristic red-white bands and it is 58 metres in length.
Mill “De Verwachting” (‘Expectation’): this is not an original Ameland mill, but still it is a historic object that is worth a visit. The mill was bought on the mainland in 1990 by the association of Vrienden van De Verwachting (‘Friends of De Verwachting’) and it was rebuilt on the exact site on which a mill was located from 1840 to 1949, in Hollum.
Mill “de Phenix”: this mill cannot be missed in the village of Nes. Since 1629, various mills were on this site. Mill ‘De Phenix’ dates back to 1880 and is the successor to mill ‘De Hoop’ (‘hope’). De Phenix is still in use: it grinds corn and provides the Ameland bakers with flour. The mill was restored in 1981 and can now be visited Monday-Friday from 10.00-12.00 and 13.00-17.00.
Shipping disaster monument: this was unveiled in 1999, for the remembrance of the 450 victims of the shipping disaster in 1799 with the frigate De Valk. The victims were primarily soldiers of a batallion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers from Great Britain. The monument is made out of granite found in the wreck of Johan Willem Friso’s ship, which also ran aground near Ameland.
Commodore’s houses: the characteristic Commodore’s houses of Ameland are primarily found in the village of Hollum, as this used to be the centre of shipping. With the help of the perforated edges in the façades it is still possible to see the rank of the sailors that lived in the houses: the more perforated the edges were, the higher the rank of the sailor. The anchors on the façades indicate when the house was built. The oldest Commodore’s house is found in Nes, in the street Rixt van Doniastraat: it dates back to 1625. Both Nes and Hollum are protected rural areas.

Museums

Cultural-historical museum “Sorgdrager”: in this Commodore’s house from 1751 one gets an impression of the Ameland culture in the days of whaling and merchant navy. The house is furnished according to the original design, with exhibitions about women’s dresses and Ameland popular art. In the farm next to the house, there is an exhibition on the way Ameland was formed. Address: Herenweg 1, Hollum. Tel.: +31 (0)519 554 477.
Rescue museum “Abraham Fock”: this museum shows you photographs, charters, certificates and other objects, which give you a good notion of Ameland’s life-saving service and the unique lifeboat. In the film hall, you can see the horse lifeboat in action. You can also get in and on this horse lifeboat Abraham Fock, which is in the museum. Address: Oranjeweg 18, Hollum. Tel.: +31 (0)519 554 243.
Agriculture and beachcombers museum ‘Swartwoude’: this museum in Buren consists of two parts: a farm from late 1700 that functions as a farm from 1890-1900 with goats, chickens, horses and pigs; and an exhibition space with a part for agriculture and for beachcombing. Address: Hoofdweg 1, Buren. Tel.: +31 (0)519 542 845.