Today though it had started to rain and thinking perhaps our walk would be put off due to weather conditions, it stopped, and though it was cold and over-cast it was perfect for walking.
We went to Jelsum and we were pleasantly surprised, we saw a sign Dekemastate and parked the car in the parking lot.After getting out the car, rounded the corner, and came across a rather dark crimson coloured house with a flag hanging outside advertising, year of the castle 2005 upon it, this certainly got our curiosity up, and after walking around the building found a rather high wall of about 6 ft high, leading off from the side of the house and extending across the whole street, and with two very large wooden wicket gates, with a smaller wicket gate inside one of the larger one's. with a template on the wall telling us the history of how "De Dekemestate" got its name.
Apparrantely the Dekeme state was once a rectangular stone house called "stins" (friese).
It was added on during the course of the years by it's predicisors.
The first Heiress who was a Camstra, (married) Hette van Dekema around the 16th centuary,It was origanlly called "Fetsa State", then was changed to "Camstra State", when a Camstra had aquired it, then when she married Dekema, he changed it to his name, hence "Dekemastate", though this manor house changed predicisors quite a few times, it never changed it's name and has remained so to this day.
The last succession of generation to live in this house was from the Van Wageningen till 1996, and then it was taken over by the Dekema Foundation.
The grounds of Dekemestate, was absolutly beautiful. The house had a moat surrounding it and a bridge with a wooden wicket gate, and above the portico, was two lions.
The grounds were very extensive and they had their own vegetable garden, fruit trees, flowers, grape vine, sheep, ducks and of course glass houses to grow tomotoes etc; as one can imagine in the old days one could live behind these great walls that surround the garden and keep themselves alive from their own crop and live stock, as it can today. You can walk in the grounds and you can also view the house on opening times.
Talking about grounds, Marja and I walked along a lovely route the path was filled with shells and surrounding poplar trees and in a clearing was a chair made from a tree trunk, I took a photo of Marja sitting on it and then from another part of a tree trunk they had made a ladder come hop up, though I said to Marja it could also be used as a chopping blok to behead some-one (joke only), she took a photo of me, we just felt we had to get into the sfeer of things.
There is also a tea house where you can have tea and cold drinks this was the dark crimson house we saw in the beginning, maybe in its time it was a house for the workers, who knows...
Jelsum church.
With this we went back into the square we came in and there were nice old houses flanking the square, and there was a house for sale down the road (which I would absolutely love to have, but I guess I had better win the lottery to acquire it), this is the place I feel I would like to live.
Then Marja took me to Wyns, as my great grand parents are buried there, and I am also busy with my family tree, and we took a photo, thanks Marja.Well next week I hope to go back to Jelsum and from there we will walk to Brits.
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