A 60-metre brick chimney rises above the meadows, with no factory around it and, most of the time, no smoke. It's the first mystery Lemmer offers river boat passengers, and solving it alone is worth the port call. This Frisian town on the shore of the IJsselmeer, the Netherlands' former inland sea, has always lived between two waters: those of the Frisian lakes behind it, and those of the open water in front. Its whole history lies in this fragile balance, and in the extraordinary machine that maintains it.

The Woudagemaal, a Cathedral of Steam

The chimney belongs to the Woudagemaal, the largest steam-powered pumping station ever built, and the only one of this power still in working order in the world. Commissioned in 1920 to relieve Friesland of its winter floods and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998, it can discharge more than 4,000 cubic metres of water per minute. The interior looks like a retro science-fiction ship: four twin steam engines driving eight pumps, lined up beneath a framework inspired by the Amsterdam School, polished brass, pressure gauges, the smell of hot oil. The visitor pavilion, with a film and guided tours led by passionate volunteers, explains how it all still works: during high water, the boilers are fired up again and the monument goes back to work.

A Lock in the Middle of Town

Back in town, the show is constant. The Lemstersluis, the historic lock, cuts the centre in two: sailboats and motor yachts literally parade between the patios, at coffee-cup level. You settle in along the canal, watch the manoeuvres and listen to the bridge bells as it opens and closes. In midsummer, dozens of boats can pass in a single hour, to the amused commentary of the regulars. Few places in the Netherlands offer such an up-close nautical theatre.

The Land of the Lemsteraak

Lemmer gave its name to a boat: the lemsteraak, a flat-bottomed sailboat with leeboards, designed here in the 19th century for fishing in the shallow waters of the Zuiderzee. Now a traditional yacht, it takes part in closely followed regattas, and it's not unusual to see several moored in the harbour, varnished hulls and brown sails furled. The quays line up shops, fishmongers and brown cafés, those Dutch bistros with dark wood panelling where herring and local beer are served. Smoked eel, a legacy of the old Zuiderzee ports, is eaten on the go, facing the masts.

Simply Strolling

The old streets can be explored in a leisurely hour: cobbled lanes, narrow gabled houses, a small market on certain days. The more curious will continue to the town beach on the IJsselmeer, where Frisian families come to swim in summer, or rent a bike to follow the dikes between meadows and reed beds. The surrounding countryside, flat as a pancake, belongs to the cows, the sheep and the wind.

The Essentials at a Glance

Friesland claims its own language, its own sporting traditions and a quiet pride you can feel in every conversation. Lemmer is an unpretentious gateway to it: a town that lives from the water, with the water, and sometimes against it. Following the canals again, you take away the image of that gleaming engine room waiting, ready to save the province once more, and that of brown sails gliding between the patios. Great stories sometimes fit into small harbours.