Described as the "Venice of the Netherlands" or the "Venice of the North" in the Netherlands because of it's resemblence to Venice in Italy, the village of Giethoorn stands out with its lack of driveways and its historical texture dating back to the Middle Ages.
Holland
The village of Giethoorn in Overijssel, Holland, has no driveways. Instead, canals, pedestrian paths, wooden bridges and bicycle paths are used for transportation.
Giethoorn, where approximately 2,600 people live, is known for its 176 wooden bridges, narrow channels, historical houses, lush nature, colorful flowers and especially Hobbit village-looking houses.
The village, which is visited by about one million tourists every year, is mostly visited by tourists from the Far East, the Middle East and Turkey. In recent years, especially the Chinese have started to settle in the village permanently.
There is no driveway
Since there is no driveway, only a few houses at the entrance can be accessed by vehicles. Mostly boats are used for transportation in the village.
The livelihoods of the people living in Giethoorn, which can only be reached from the north to the south by a single narrow road with pedestrian and bicycle paths, are largely based on tourism activities such as boat management, hotel management and restaurant management.
Those who live in the historical houses, which mostly have two doors, use the side doors in their daily life, while the front doors are only used for entering after getting married and for taking the body out after death.
There are special sections for those who want to swim and light a fire in the small islet in the pond in the middle of the village.
Sightseeing with electric boats
The village, which took its current form after two floods in 1776 and 1885, consists of houses built around many interconnected canals.
Touristic tours are made all day long with electric boats on the canals surrounding the square, where the roofs of historical houses are covered with reeds.
In the village, where many boat companies operate, restaurants and cafes also provide boat rental services, and visitors generally prefer to use their own boats.
Due to the density of tourists, the local people remind the visitors of their private living space and the boundaries of their homes with signboards and warning signs. It is seen that some bridges in the village are closed with wooden doors due to being private property.
Giethoorn means "Locust bean gum"
It is stated that the name "Giethoorn", which means "locust bean gum", was given because the first settlers who discovered the region found hundreds of them.
The village of Giethoorn, where parts of the 1958 comedy "Fanfare" directed by Dutch director Bert Haanstra were shot, gained its current reputation with the movie being watched by nearly 2 million people.
The village of Giethoorn takes part in the "Monopoly World Cities" game, which also includes Istanbul, for eight years.