Giethoorn, Holland

Giethoorn is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk. Giethoorn used to be a carfree town known in the Netherlands as "Venice of the North"] or "Venice of the Netherlands". It became locally famous, especially after 1958, when the Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra made his famous comedy "Fanfare" there. In the old part of the village, there were no roads (nowadays there is a cycling path), and all transport was done by water over one of the many canals. The lakes in Giethoorn were formed by peat unearthing. Giethoorn was founded by fugitives from the Mediterranean region in around AD 1230. Giethoorn was a separate municipality until 1973, when it became part of Brederwiede.
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