In Easterskar, paths run alongside old peat extraction pits and through swamp forest. The long, narrow strips of water, known as peat extraction pits, were created by digging out the peat. This wetland combines a distinctive landscape feature with the history of an activity that also shaped Rotsterhaule. Visitors looking to combine nature and local history will find different perspectives on the area here: birdlife and walking trails, as well as settlement history and architectural heritage.
Walking and birdwatching in Easterskar
Easterskar is open to the public free of charge during daylight hours all year round. There are access points via Bisschopweg and at three places along Skarwei. The short yellow route is about 3.5 kilometres long and runs alongside reed beds and bodies of water. The red route is about 4.5 kilometres long and passes through wet grasslands, peat extraction pits and swamp forests. Based on the approximate distances, it is about one kilometre longer; the landscapes mentioned also differ.
In spring, 90 different bird species breed in Easterskar. The Skiere Goes birdwatching hide offers a view full of birdlife, and particularly large numbers of greylag geese can be seen there in spring. The hide is accessible all year round. Visitors to the hide can park on Richard Jungweg in Rotsterhaule.
Settlement history and changes to the landscape
Rotsterhaule developed around 1500 as a dispersed settlement along a drainage and cultivation axis from Sintjohannesga in the northeast. From the mid-18th century onwards, fen peat around the village was dug out and processed into peat. Large-scale peat extraction changed Rotsterhaule and its village area. The landscape of Easterskar also reflects different land-use decisions: planned agricultural cultivation around 1960 never took place there. As a result, distinctive plants, birds, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians were preserved.
The history of the Second World War includes a weapons drop site near Easterskar. It was codenamed “Frying Pan”. Another event from this period concerns John Gordon Fraser: after making an emergency landing, he initially hid in Easterskar. Siebe de Jong and Jan Sloothaak supplied him with civilian clothes and food.
Houses and local baking tradition
The buildings in Rotsterhaule display a variety of house types and architectural features. Streek 161 is a single-storey house dating from 1907, with a central projection extending up to the dormer. Streek 130 is a wooden house built around 1930, with a thatched hipped roof and Expressionist forms. The Stelp farmstead at Streek 151, designed by H. Telgenhof in 1926, has a brick dormer and a bakehouse. Boerestreek 7 is a modern farmstead dating from 1939. The houses can thus be distinguished as one residence, one wooden house and two farmsteads by their construction dates and features.
Rotsterhaule and Sintjohannesga are known as twin villages. In the last century, both places were known for their baking. Van Dijk’s rye bread factory is one of the best-preserved examples of the local baking tradition.
Discover more destinations: Oldeouwer, Boornzwaag, Terkaple, Rohel, Sint Nicolaasga, Idskenhuizen, Sintjohannesga, Joure.
For the overview of the wider region: Skarsterlân.
