Kampen city centre

Kampen is a Hanzestad located at the far end of the river IJssel, in the far north west of the Dutch province of Overijssel.

Get in

IJsselkade

Koornmarktspoort

By train

You can get to Kampen by train by heading for Zwolle. There you will have to switch to a train heading for Kampen. Make sure that you take the right train, as Kampen has two stations bearing its name: Kampen, which is the main station, and Kampen Zuid, which serves Kampen's suburbs and is located on a different line. Make sure that you use the train heading for Kampen, and not the one heading for Kampen Zuid and Lelystad.

By bus

Kampen can be reached by bus using lines 141 when coming from Zwolle, Emmeloord or Urk, line 143 when coming from Dronten or Lelystad. The Hanzeliner (line 330) does stop in Kampen, however unlike lines 141 and 143, it does not stop at the Kampen train station, but instead at the Carpool Parking N50, which is located at the city's edge.

By car

Kampen lies by the N50, which can be reached by using the A6 up to Emmeloord, where you turn onto the N50 at Knooppunt Emmeloord. This is the best route when leaving from the Western Netherlands (Amsterdam, Schiphol, The Hague) or the Northern Netherlands (Leeuwarden, Groningen).

When coming from the East (including Germany) or the South (including Belgium), head for Arnhem, where, once having reached the city, you turn onto the A50 heading for Apeldoorn and Zwolle. At Knooppunt Hattemerbroek, just before Zwolle, you continue driving on the same highway, which becomes the N50, which will get you straight to Kampen.

See

Kampen has a large number of old and very old buildings, amongst which are the remains of the old city wall (Koornmarktspoort, Cellebroederspoort and Broederspoort), as well as the Bovenkerk or, as it is more commonly known, the Sint-Nicolaaskerk. The outlines of the city wall is still easily visible in the fortifications and street lay-out.

• The Koornmarktspoort by the river IJssel is a city gate dating back to 1465. It has been rebuilt in Renaissance-style in 1615.
• The Broederpoort is another city gate dating back to the 1460s, also being rebuilt around 1615. The gate has four small towers on its corners.
• The Cellebroederspoort is another city gate with two big circular towers, dating back to 1565. It too was rebuilt to fit the Renaissance-style in 1617.
• The former city hall dates back to the fifteenth century. In the schepenzaal you will find a sandstone chimney (1540s) and wood cuttings.
• The Nieuwe Toren (New Tower) equipped with carillon, built between 1648 and 1664 is an amazing sight, designed by Philips Vingboons.
• The Sint Nikolaaschurch is a large basilica dating back to the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Part of the interior are a choir screen (1552), a stone pulpit (ca. 1500) and a monumental organ (1670s).
• The Broederkerk is a fourteenth century hall church that formerly belonged to a Franciscan monastery.
• The Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (or Buitenkerk) is another hall church that was created due to rebuilding of a fourteenth century church.
• The Kamper Tabaksmuseum (Tobacco Museum) has the largest cigar of Europe, at a stunning length of five meters.
• The tobacco factory De Olifant still produces cigars with nineteenth century machines. Tours of the factory are available.
• Throughout the city centre of Kampen you will find tens of painted wall adverts. These refer to many shops in Kampen, of which most no longer exist. These colourful murals have Jugendstil influences. The murals are referred to as the frescoes of the middle class.

Do

• The Kamperui(t)dagen is a large fair taking place for multiple (4-5) Thursdays in the summer months. It is ended with a firework show. The last (or second-to-last) weekend before Christmas the festival Kerst in Oud Kampen takes place, with sung and dance routines aimed at recreating the atmosphere of the 19th century.

Go next

Routes through Kampen

Arnhem ← Zwolle ←

S  N

→ Schokland