Fishing and cycling in Sondel For holiday-makers, Sondel is more interesting than one would first suspect upon first glance. Several beautiful old farms are found at the centre, and in the outlying areas one finds the “natural highlights,” the forests of the Bremer Wilderness and the Sondeler Leijen pond, a favourite among fishermen. Winding through the expansive eastern meadowlands, the bicycle route continues on to the IJsselmeer and Tacozijl, once a lock along the Zuider Zee-Sloten route. This lock, which separates the exterior water, which was the saltwater Zuider Zee until 1932 and the freshwater IJsselmeer afterwards, from the interior water, the original river Ee, existed until 1958. After that, a water inlet sluice was built to replace the old lock. A Jewish cemetery may be found next to the sluice, located on the land belonging to the district of Lemsterland, and is home to the graves of the Jewish inhabitants of Lemmer.

An unusual Unesco World Heritage object is located in Lemmer, not far from Tacozijl. Dating from 1920, it is Europe’s largest steam-driven pumping station still in operation. The area around the monument is also named Tacozijl, just as the water sports centre located to the west of Lemmer. This facility rents scores of fishing boats to anglers who want to cast a line into the pumping station’s Stroomkanaal or perhaps chart a course to the Groote Brekken Lake and the Gaasterland waterways.

Church

Though the Reformed Church dates from 1870, it is built on the foundations of the former medieval church. A clock dating back to the 14th century hangs in the tower.

Camp becomes campground

The former German radar camp Eisbär on the Beuckenswijkstraat dates back to World War II and is now a campground which is being entirely renovated by the new owners. Located partially underground, the bunkers were built around 1942 and have now been demolished.