What the Haubargs tell you about the landscape
Categories
-
The Haubargs
And the landscape
When you see square farms with pyramid-shaped roofs, you know you’re in North Holland. But did you know that these Haubargs have a great deal more to reveal about the landscape?
Recognizing the farmhouse
You'll come across these characteristic Haubargs all along the Wadden coast in North Holland. The oldest ones have been around since the middle of the 16th century. The youngest were built as late as the mid 20th century. The Haubarg’s profile is characterised by its wooden support structure: a square with a roof beam bent. Some of the farms are constructed out of two or three of these squares.
The construction grants the farm a lot of interior space and distributes the weight evenly over the entire surface. This is very convenient when building on soft soil. It also makes the farms very wind-resistant, which is crucial in the Wadden area. Another typical feature of the Haubargs along the Wadden coast is that they don’t have a front door. Once you've seen one, you can’t miss them. You can only enter the farm from the side facing the land - the back.
You will never find a Haubarg by itself. They are always grouped together to form structures. These structures tell you something about the soil they’re built on as well as when they were constructed. For example, the oldest farms in Wieringen are built on the higher parts of the former island, often spread out willy-nilly along the winding roads in so-called Haubarg swarms. These small Haubargs are surrounded by more greenery than those on Texel, where they are often built in open fields. Good examples of this can be found along the Stroeërweg, where the Wieringer eilandmuseum Jan Lont is also located.
Pyramids of the polder land
The Wieringer farms, situated in the rolling, small-scale landscape with irregular allocations, often housed mixed farming activities. The farmers kept sheep and grew vegetables and grains. In addition to a stable for the sheep and maybe even a cow, there was also a threshing space. The pyramid only covers the storehouse and the living quarters and stables have their own roof.
If the farms are all lined up neatly with their fronts facing the road then you’re in a polder. You can see this on the Wieringerwaard, for example, which was impoldered at the start of the 17th century. The first farms are located along the dike. Later, when the inhabitants of the coast had gained more trust in dike construction and water level management, farms were also built in the polder. Here too they’re lined up on both sides of narrow, straight roads facing the road.
Behind the farms the land is vast and open. You can clearly see these lines in the flower fields when the blooming tulips form the characteristic, multi-coloured lanes. The farms’ high roofs, often built on double squares, stick out above the greenery that surrounds them, gives the Haubargs their nickname of ‘pyramids of the polders’.
Discover more? - The nicest locations on Wieringen
-
Hemmes Bessen
Hemmes Bessen
Smaakvolle blauwe bessen, geteeld in de Kop van Noord-Holland waar je ons familiebedrijf Hemmes Blauwe Bessen kunt vinden.
Hemmes Bessen
Stoomweg 12
1764NA Breezand -
De Koffiesilo
De Koffiesilo
Lekker wandelen en fietsen over het prachtige Wieringen. U kunt pauzeren op Stroe, naast het wad bij ‘de Koffiesilo’. Voor...
Stroeerweg 48
1777 NE Hippolytushoef -
The Wier dyke
The Wier dyke
Around the 11th century the peat soil around former island Wieringen and Waddensea island Texel was badly eroded by storm...
Burgerweg
1777 PB Hippolytushoef -
Uitkijkpunt Gat in de dijk
Uitkijkpunt Gat in de dijk
From 17 April 2020 the new lookout point at the "Gat in de dijk" along the Noorderdijkweg in Wieringerwerf can be visited.
Noorderdijkweg
1771 MJ WIERINGERWERF -
Wieringer Islandmuseum "Jan Lont"
Wieringer Islandmuseum "Jan Lont"
The farm of Jant Lont is an original Wieringer farm dating from 1854, is showing live and working on Wieringen. Special is...
Stroeerweg 39
1777 NE HIPPOLYTUSHOEF -
The Sea is alive! Eco-tour
The Sea is alive! Eco-tour
An adventurous tour looking for seals and other sea animals. Discover what you didn’t know about the sea, both above and...
Oostkade
1779 GV DEN OEVER -
Robbenoordbos/Dijkgatbos (Wieringermeer)
Robbenoordbos/Dijkgatbos (Wieringermeer)
Black alder, soft birch and lots of mushrooms houses the Robbenoordbos. The Dijkgatbos has a special history. Two polder...
Noorderdijkweg
1771 MJ WIERINGERWERF -
B&B Hart van Hippo
B&B Hart van Hippo
It is true, it is pounding, it is generous, of gold, small but also large. The Heart of Hippo. Our brand new Bed and Breakfast...
Elftstraat 4
1777 CG HIPPOLYTUSHOEF
Read more? - Also discover these stories of an Ode to the Landscape
-
The grain republic: land of opposites
The grain republic: land of opposites
The Oldambt is the land of grains and infinite horizons. Of majestic manors with their meandering gardens. It is also the land of contrasts; in the landscape and, for a very long time, in society.
-
dunes as a work of art and a world
dunes as a work of art and a world
To R.W. van de Wint life was art and art was life. As a painter, sculptor, builder, sketcher and gardener he transformed old inner dunes into a world of its own: De Nollen.
-
Impoldering with Banck
Impoldering with Banck
Monks began building dikes and John Eric Banck completed the job. A new sea dike created the Banckspolder bringing new opportunities along with it.
-
Discover the Landscape
Discover the Landscape
Just look around; there's no mistaking where you are. The Wadden has a strong sense of place. You can always feel the Wadden Sea, even when you can’t see it. The smell, the wind, the screeching seagulls. But also the landscape.
-
Land of De Ploeg
Land of De Ploeg
The Wadden area of Groningen inspires with its beauty. There are galleries everywhere, sometimes even at the artists' homes. Imagine this landscape through the eyes of an artist.
-
On the edge of salt and fresh water
On the edge of salt and fresh water
Lauwersmeer Lake National Park is a unique landscape located on the edge of salt and fresh water. It's also the youngest landscape along the Wadden coast at just a little more than half a century old.