Tour of Harlingen, Franeker and terp villages

A little further on, beautiful, carefully restored warehouses and patrician homes adorn the picturesque skyline at the harbor of Harlingen. Via the gatehouse of the Liauckema State you cycle to Franeker, an Eleven Cities town with many historic buildings. Note the bell gable of the Planetarium (1774), where Eise Eisinga built a working model of the solar system in his living room. Kimswerd extends on two sides of the Harlingervaart. It has been inhabited since the seventh century. Terp villages like these are characteristic of the Frisian landscape. Centuries ago, the sea left more silt in some places in the salt marsh landscape than in others: elevations where it was safe to build. The St. Laurentius Church has a Romanesque tuff nave dating from the 11th century.