Batavialand

North Holland & Flevoland


Batavialand's centrepiece is a replica of a 17th-century Dutch merchant frigate, the Batavia, which took 10 years to reconstruct. The original was a 17th-century Titanic – big, expensive and supposedly unsinkable. True to comparison, the Batavia, filled to the brim with cannon and goods for the colonies, went down in 1629 on its maiden voyage off the west coast of Australia. The replica, however, redeemed its predecessor in 2000 by sailing around the Pacific.

The huge weathered wooden skeleton alongside belongs to the Seven Provinces, a replica of Admiral Michiel de Ruijter's massive 17th-century flagship, completed in 2018. Construction of a 14th-century Zuiderzee cargo vessel, using traditional techniques, began in 2016; it's due for completion in 2021.

In a separate building, the Netherlands Institute for Maritime Archaeology displays the remains of a 2000-year-old Roman ship found near Utrecht, and 140 model ships.

The adjacent Nieuw Land Museum has exhibits on polder reclaimation aimed at kids, who can build dykes, operate sluices, navigate ships through locks and perform tree-ring dating to determine the age of a ship's timbers.

From Lelystad's train station, take bus 3 (10 minutes, every 30 minutes).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby North Holland & Flevoland attractions

1. Luchtvaart Themapark Aviodrome

5.96 MILES

Fronted by a reception area designed like an airport check-in counter, this hugely engaging museum has 70 historic aircraft on display, including a…

2. Vuurtoren van Urk

11.5 MILES

Urk's 18.5m-high lighthouse was built in 1845, replacing a small stone tower where a coal fire guided ships into port. Climb 295 steps to the top for…

3. Kerkje aan de Zee

11.6 MILES

The supports of the village church are made entirely out of masts of VOC (Dutch East India Company) ships that brought back exotic goods from the East…

4. Vissersmonument

11.61 MILES

Opposite the church by the water's edge you'll spot the Vissersmonument, a lonely statue of a woman in a billowing dress gazing seaward where her loved…

5. Museum het Oude Raadhuis

11.61 MILES

Urk's former town hall now contains a small museum covering the history of the one-time island through traditional clothing, model ships, re-creations of…

6. Flessenscheepjes Museum

13.73 MILES

Almost as tiny as the boats in its collection, this enchanting museum contains an astonishing collection of ships in bottles carved by seamen through the…

7. Drommedaris

13.73 MILES

Located between the Buitenhaven and the Oude Haven, the Drommedaris was built as a defence tower as part of the 16th-century town walls. Once a formidable…

8. Zuiderzeemuseum

13.83 MILES

This captivating museum consists of two sections, 300m apart: open-air Buitenmuseum, with more than 130 rebuilt and relocated dwellings and workshops, and…

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