the Professor Lorentz was used for hydrographical research on the Waddenzee but is now a private charter
it's raining so today the lying bench remains empty
the museum dedicated to Zoutkamp's fishery history
a view of Reitdiep and the inner harbor
Zoutkamp has no high-rise buildings
the Nettenboeter statue honors the diligent Zoutkamp fishers
the draw bridge over the Reitdiep lock is up
Zoutkamp is a small village at the border between Groningen and Fryslân. The old name Soltcampum suggests it was a field
for salt production on the shore of the
Lauwerszee. Soltcampum sat at the mouth of the
Reitdiep, a tidal offshoot
of the Lauwerszee, that connected the city of
Groningen to the
Wadden Zee.
At the start of the
War of Independence (1568-1648),
Groningen was firmly in Spanish hands and thus fair prey for the
Watergeuzen, who soon raided and pillaged the Groningen
region.
In 1576 Spanish troops built a
sconce and stationed troops at Soltcamp to protect Groningen from those pesky
pirates.
In 1589 frisian troops took Soltcamp at the
Battle of Zoutkamp, and 5 years later the city of Groningen was captured
Zoutkamp turned
to fishing and trade and the village flourished for many centuries.
But in 1969 a 16 km long dike created the
Lauwersmeer, much
to the chagrin of the Zoutkamper population who feared their thriving shrimp industry was to be killed.
We visited Zoutkamp
in August 2020, when a pouring rain and COVD-19 left the place deserted.
Before the dike closed off the Lauwerszee, Zoutkamp had direct access to the Wadden Sea
a monument to honor the ladies of Zoutkamp that peeled the shrimps caught in the Lauwerszee
restaurant ZK 86 is named after a Zoutkamp fishing vessel and is known for its fresh fish menu
looking back to the Zoutkamp sky-line at the inner harbor
the Reitdiep lock with the characteristic bridegkeeper house.
