Giethoorn, Netherlands

Early morning view Giethoorn, enlarge! . The "painted" effect is created by the tele lens, the atmosphere is hazier than it actually was! 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 famous,especially after 1958, as the Dutch film maker Bert Haanstra made his famous comedy "Fanfare" there. Therefore, Giethoorn is an internationally well-known tourist attraction in the Netherlands. 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.
Every day Giethoorn is visited by loads of tourist who all want to make a boat ride trough town and the surrounding lakes and canals. In the evening the peace returns and one can enjoy the wonderful atmosphere.