Giethoorn --- a Dutch village with only waterways and no streets!
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Walking along the streets of Giethoorn (Holland) you will be seriously tempted to believe that you are living in a dream come true, one made of beautiful plants, crystal clear streams, and cottages that seem to come straight from the land of fairytales.
This Dutch pearl is an hour and a half drive from Amsterdam and is distinguished by the fact that there are no roads, at least not in the conventional sense of the term!
In fact, the principal means of transportation in this village which is like a "Dutch Venice", is by boat...
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Giethoorn is a town of 2600 inhabitants, where no cars circulate.
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It was founded in 1230 by the Flagellants, a Catholic sect and movement in the Middle Ages whose members, in order to escape persecution sought a place to hide. Accordingly, they built a town without any roads, thereby making it inaccessible.
The story goes that arriving at this place, the fugitives found a large number of goat horns, from goats that had been killed in a flood. In fact, Giethoorn literally means "goat horn".
Source
The typical boats in this town have a flat bottom and are pushed on the surface of the water by a long pole.
Wikimedia/PhotoBobil (CC BY 2.0)
The frenzy and the noise of modern cities remain outside of Giethoorn. Furthermore, there is only one bicycle track to use as an alternative to the gondolas.
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All around, there are cozy houses with straw-covered roofs that skirt the banks of the canals ... which in the winter freeze over and become skating rinks!
Nature reigns supreme in this Dutch oasis. The whole town is one continuous green turf with trees and flowers mirrored in the crystal clear waters of the canals.
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To move from one side to the other of the canals, the inhabitants use the more than 50 wooden bridges that efficiently span the canals.
Every year, the town holds the Gondelvaart Festival, a traditional competition between gondolas. For the occasion, the inhabitants decorate the boats with feathers and lanterns.
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Around Giethoorn there are many other cities that deserve to be visited. In fact, Amsterdam is only 75 miles (120 km) away.
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