Surroundings

Center

A lot of new construction is currently being built in the city center of Den Helder. New, contemporary catering facilities, homes and offices will be built. Our new central library has also been completely renovated. A network of streets and squares should provide attractive walking routes. This is expected to create a versatile and lively city centre. An important part of the renovated center is the old government yard “Willemsoord”. The municipality wants to realize more catering and shops here. There has been a large cinema (  Kinepolis ) and an entertainment hall at Willemsoord for a number of years. On May 19, 2011, the new City Park was officially opened on the site of Julianaplein. The aim is also to emphasize Den Helder more as a port city. Thus, themes such as “sea”, “water”, “harbour” and “ships” are widely used.

Fort Kijkduin

Fort Kijkduin  was built in its original form between 1811-1813 by order of Napoleon. A North Sea aquarium has been established in Fort Kijkduin in Huisduinen since 1996 and since then it has been open to the public 363 days a year. Initially, the aquarium was the first in the Netherlands where visitors could walk under water through a twelve meter long tunnel and you can really experience the sea under water.

Naval museum

Discover the past and present of the Dutch navy. In the monumental main building you can experience 500 years of naval history. The magnificent collection consists of ship models, paintings, uniforms and weapons. Current tasks of the navy are also discussed, for example in the exhibition ‘Hunt for Pirates’.

National Rescue Museum

Crashing waves, stranded ships and advancing lifeboats. Experience it in the National Rescue Museum Dorus Rijkers. The Rescue Museum tells the story of the history of the Dutch rescue service at sea. You can find everything that has to do with water and ‘survival’. The museum includes the motor lifeboat Twenthe, motor beach lifeboat Ubbo and rowing lifeboat No.15.

Texel

The landscape on Texel is rich and diverse. In addition to polders, wide sandy beaches, dunes and grasslands, Texel also has heathland, forest and salt marshes. Around Den Hoorn, in the south, large bulb fields bloom in May. National Park Duinen van Texel manages the southern tip of Texel, the area “de Duinen” between
Den Hoorn and De Koog, “de Dennen”, “de Slufter” and “de Muy”.

Texel is a popular place for bird lovers. On some days, an experienced birdwatcher can spot as many as a hundred different species. About 80 different bird species breed in the spring, especially in the dune areas, but in total about 300 species have been observed on Texel. De Muy, a dune area between De Koog and De Slufter is a protected area; it is the breeding ground of the oldest spoonbill colony in the Netherlands. Other striking bird species on Texel are the little tern and the short-eared owl. The herring gull occurs in large numbers.

Ecomare  is a nature museum, aquarium and seal and bird sanctuary. The center is located in the National Park Dunes of Texel near De Koog on Texel. In Ecomare you can learn a lot about nature and animals on and around Texel, the Wadden Sea Region and the North Sea and about the influence of humans in this area.