Nederland - Kolhorn

Kolhorn - picturesquely located behind a dike - is surrounded by a sea of green meadows. It is hard to imagine that the village was once a fishing village beside the (former) Zuiderzee. The village of “Colhorn”, as it was called in 1573, was located on the Zuiderzee until 1844. Due to the creation of some polders it now lies at the heart of the West-Frisian landscape and about 20 kilometers inland.

Kolhorn is mentioned for the first time in 1288. But probably it refers to the mooring place, a small harbour which was so called at the location where later the village arose. The first mention as a village is in 1518 when it is called “Kolhoiren”, although the church bell in the belfry dates back to 1418 and may indicate that the village has existed at least since then.

Kolhorn nowadays is a Dutch protected village-scape.