The Hanseatic city of Zwolle is a place you will love to visit. The best the city has to offer is a mix of culture, nature, historic architecture, cozy hotels, great restaurants, and amazing yearly returning events. Zwolle once was an important trading post along the major River the IJssel in the North of Holland. The city is located at the rim of the IJssel Delta, the river IJssel. The medium-sized city is surrounded by farmland. Well, get on your way and rent a bike at the railway station. Follow bicycle paths along green pastures, passing by castles and leading to the sand dunes covered with the endless woods of the High Veluwe.
➔ READ MORE – National Nature Park the High Veluwe
Zwolle is one of the Dutch historic Hanze cities, but what is a Hanseatic city?
Hanseatic cities, or trading cities, used to be rich, industrious, and economically well-run cities. Hanseatic cities were connected as a treading alliance. Hanze cities created on the initiative of merchants around 1200 as a settlement along a river. Over time, these settlements grew into rich, prosperous, often walled and gated cities. In the heyday of the Hanseatic cities, as many as 200 cities from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium took part. The trade flow of goods consisted of salt, fish, grains, wood, beer, wine, cloth, beeswax, and pelts, which were luxury products at the time. In addition to trade in goods, sharing knowledge and information was also a great asset. The movement of goods was mainly by boat across the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the major rivers. You can still recognize a Hanseatic city in this time by the city walls, city gates, beautiful merchant houses, trade offices, grand warehouses, and canals and canals.
Highlight in Zwolle is Museum the Fundatie
A day out in the city of Zwolle includes a visit to the Fundatie Museum. This museum is located in a beautiful country house that already looks fantastic from the outside. This unique building has impressive giant pillars at the front and back and a glass dome on the roof. If you look at the building from the city, you will see a golden bird sitting on the edge of the building.
Zwolle is associated with Castle Nijenhuis, a sculpture garden in the village of Wijhe
Museum de Fundatie has the most fantastic visual art exhibitions. The museum itself has an extensive collection of visual art. Part of the collection of Museum de Fundatie can be seen in Castle Nijenhuis. Castle Nijenhuis is located in the little village of Wijhe near Zwolle and this Castle has a great sculpture garden. This sculpture garden is one of the largest and most spectacular sculpture gardens in the Netherlands, there are no fewer than 100 sculptures.
Free entrance every Saturday evening.
Best of all, the Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle is open to everyone for free every Saturday evening.
➔ READ MORE – Museum de Fundatie
Herman Brood, a famous Dutch Rock and Roll Junkie was born here
Zwolle is the birthplace of Herman Brood, a well-known famous Dutch singer, songwriter, author, pianist, and painter also known as a rock and roll junkie. Herman was the creator, singer, and pianist of the band “Herman Brood and The Wild Romance”. In the late 70s and 80s, the band had great success in the Netherlands and Germany. Herman lived the life of a successful rock star. For years and years, Herman used a lot of amphetamine and alcohol. Eventually, he stopped because of physical complaints after which he got nasty withdrawal symptoms. In addition to his singing career, Herman was a very successful and popular painter, a lot of people loved his work. Herman eventually committed suicide. His fans were shocked and very sad by the news of his death.
In the city of Zwolle, the birthplace of Herman, is the Herman Brood Museum and Experience. In this museum, you get to know everything about the life of Herman, see some of his paintings, and listen to his music. One of his most famous songs and great hits is “Saturday Night”. You can listen to this song on YouTube: ➔ Saturday Night
➔ READ MORE – Museum Herman Brood, Zwolle
In the city of Utrecht is a popular pop academy. As a tribute, this training institute has been named the Herman Brood Academy. At this school, men can follow the courses Artist Pop Music, Music Industry Professional, and Stage/Studio Technology.
The Hanse City Hosts The Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival
Every year from December till the beginning of March in Zwolle the Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival is organized. In 2023 the theme of the Ice Sculpture Festival is “What a Wonderful World”. What fits more in winter than an ice sculpture festival, how cool is this? At this festival, you will find the most imaginative ice sculptures. Every year the ice carver artists go completely crazy on the theme, and the most impressive creations appear. The ice sculptures are created from various subjects such as architecture, wonders of the world, culture, natural phenomena, people, animals, and fantasy figures.
All in all, this yearly ice sculpture festival gets great reviews. There are about 100 ice sculptures, created by 42 national and international ice sculpture artists. This annual ice sculpture festival is a real event of the city of Zwolle and is located within walking distance of the city center. Don’t forget your hat and gloves, it’s really cold at the Ice Sculpture Festival.
➔ READ MORE – Ice Sculpture Festival Zwolle
Here you Start the Day with the City’s Best Coffee
The best way to Start your visit to Zwolle is with a nice cup of coffee, cappuccino, or flat white, and if you don’t like coffee, have a glass of fresh ginger or mint tea. There are plenty of cozy cafes and terraces in Zwolle. But where do you drink your cozy hot drink? A great recommendation is Barista Cafe, in this place, you start your day in a very nice way.
➔ READ MORE – Barista Cafe at Diezerstraat 109 in Zwolle
Where to stay in Zwolle
A great place to stay is in the impressive and historic Hanze Hotel, the staff is very friendly, the environment is great and it is absolutely a very nice place to stay. From the terrace, you have a great view of the historic city of Zwolle.
➔ READMORE – Book here your overnight stay in the Hanze Hotel Zwolle
Heerderstrand is a Lake, beach, and breathtaking art
On the edge of the Veluwe, near Heerde is a beautiful recreation area the Heerderstrand | Heerder beach. The village of Heerde is located approximately 17 kilometers from Zwolle. Rent on a hot summer day an electric bike and cycle to the Heerderbearch to have a nice swim. The Heerdermeer was created by sand extraction for the construction of the A50 highway.
➔ READ MORE – Heerderbeach is one of the lakes and beaches in the Netherlands
Typical gadgets of Zwolle
Zwolle boasts a variety of quintessentially Zwolle products, available at various shops in the city center. Some can even be ordered online for convenience! For exaple the Zwolle’s Spraokwater, a punch from Rum with brandy is famous and also the Zwolle Musterd is worth mentioning. The reproduction of his art collection and music records from Herman Brood is a typical product of Zwolle, for sale at the Herman Brood Museum, and also at Bol.com
➔ READ MORE – Herman Brood music and art collection
Best way to get to know a city, get a guided tour
Discover Zwolle like a local with an engaging audio tour from GetYourGuide! Immerse yourself in the city’s charm and uncover its hidden gems while enjoying the flexibility of exploring at your own pace. Book now for an unforgettable experience in Zwolle!
➔ READ MORE – Book your Zwolle audio tour by GetYourGuide
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