Historical tales
Gooise Meren has a fascinating past and historical tales that are told in a unique way along walking routes, through performances and in exhibitions. The history of Gooise Meren is also told via various monumental buildings, fortresses and museums. Visit Muiden and discover where and how Count Floris V and his contemporaries lived. Dock at Fort Island Pampus and discover what it was like to live in wartime. Walk the poems route in the Fortress of Naarden and visit the Comenius Museum.
Why does Naarden have a statue of Comenius?
On the Marktstraat in Naarden-Vesting, next to the Grote Kerk, stands the statue of Jan Amos Comenius. Comenius has profoundly influenced thinking, culture, education and philosophy in Europe. The sculpture, made in 1957, is a gift from the government of Czechoslovakia. The bronze statue is 3.60 meters high and on a 2.40-meter-high granite pedestal. But who was Comenius, and how is he related to Naarden? Discover this and more in the Comenius Museum in the Comenius Chapel. A beautiful church built in the second half of the 15th century and rightly baptised as a national monument.
To Comenius museum >
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Defend and attack
What happened at the Muiderslot?
The Muiderslot has been there for over 700 years. Over the years, many people have come and gone. Two residents have been significant to the castle. One of them is the man who built the castle in 1285: Count Floris V. But also poet and writer P.C. Hooft, who lived there in the 17th century, played an important role. Two centuries, two stories. During a visit to the Muiderslot, you will learn everything about the building and these two important people.
Historical tales - Gooise Lakes; a source of historical tales
Throughout the Gooise Lakes, so-called "stolpersteine" or stumbling can be found. They were given a place in twenty spots where Jewish residents were arrested and deported during the Second World War. A memorial route along twenty locations in Gooise Meren was opened in 2020. These locations reflect what happened in Naarden, Bussum, Muiden and Muiderberg during the Second World War: acts of war, occupation, persecution, resistance, betrayal and liberation.