Skating Competition and Map 1933
Apologies in advance for a lengthy attempted description and interpretation. I am most happy for our Dutch contacts to clarify and correct any points!
It was most fascinating to see this route map of the 1933 Elf-Steden-Tocht, a skating tour, almost 200 kilometres (120 mi) long, which is both as a speed skating competition and a leisure tour. Depending on the severity of winter ice conditions, it is irregularly held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, leading past all eleven historical cities of the province. It was last held in 1997, though there was a "near miss" and late cancellation in 2012. The 1933 route is shown by bold black lines. You can read about the event in detail courtesy of WikiWhoKnowsAlmostEverything en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht
However there is lots more of interest on the plan. The railways (spoorwegen) are shown in bold dotted red lines. All those to the south of Leeuwarden still exist. I am not sure of the translation for "Tramwegen", somewhat difficult to see in a faded brown colour. There were at least some classic 'trams' as I saw a photo of one. However I do not know the date until which they ran. I would venture that buses have replaced the tramways for at least the last half century and in some cases, much longer.
Google Translate tells me "Stroomsluizen" means "power locks". One is marked at Harlingen and to this day there are indeed canal type locks leading from that harbour area inland. The lighter black lines are "other channels", many of which probably still exist as modern day waterways mostly for pleasure craft in this part of the world. Some may be drainage channels.
Anyways, back to the skating. Just imagine the excitement and huge crowds there will be for the next Elfstedentocht whenever that will be!!
Skating Competition and Map 1933
Apologies in advance for a lengthy attempted description and interpretation. I am most happy for our Dutch contacts to clarify and correct any points!
It was most fascinating to see this route map of the 1933 Elf-Steden-Tocht, a skating tour, almost 200 kilometres (120 mi) long, which is both as a speed skating competition and a leisure tour. Depending on the severity of winter ice conditions, it is irregularly held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, leading past all eleven historical cities of the province. It was last held in 1997, though there was a "near miss" and late cancellation in 2012. The 1933 route is shown by bold black lines. You can read about the event in detail courtesy of WikiWhoKnowsAlmostEverything en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfstedentocht
However there is lots more of interest on the plan. The railways (spoorwegen) are shown in bold dotted red lines. All those to the south of Leeuwarden still exist. I am not sure of the translation for "Tramwegen", somewhat difficult to see in a faded brown colour. There were at least some classic 'trams' as I saw a photo of one. However I do not know the date until which they ran. I would venture that buses have replaced the tramways for at least the last half century and in some cases, much longer.
Google Translate tells me "Stroomsluizen" means "power locks". One is marked at Harlingen and to this day there are indeed canal type locks leading from that harbour area inland. The lighter black lines are "other channels", many of which probably still exist as modern day waterways mostly for pleasure craft in this part of the world. Some may be drainage channels.
Anyways, back to the skating. Just imagine the excitement and huge crowds there will be for the next Elfstedentocht whenever that will be!!