The Vredenhof Military Cemetery (begraafplaats Vredenhof) on Schiermonnikoog is a peaceful and poignant cemetery nestled in the dunes. The cemetery’s origin dates back to 1906, established to bury individuals who had washed ashore, mostly by local initiative. Schiermonnikoog is a Dutch island on the northerns side of the Netherlands in an area called the Wadden sea (on the south east side of the North sea). The Wadden Sea stretches from the Dutch city Den Helder, in the northwest of the Netherlands, past the great river estuaries (Wezel and Elbe) of Germany to its northern boundary at the ciity of Skallingen in Denmark.
Founders & Development
In 1917 to 1920, local islanders, including Captain Ruurd Fenenga and the farmers Theunis Riekert Visser and Rink de Boer together with hotelier Sake van der Werff, formalized the site as a dedicated burial ground. They built a mortuary and chapel, and planted the grounds, with support from Count von Bernstorff, who donated the land.
Vredenhof Military Cemetery
At the Vredenhof Military Cemetery are graves from both World Wars, and others who perished before or after the wars.
Deceased during World War I: Originally established for drowned German sailors, around 13 graves were added during that period.
Deceased during World War II: Many Allied airmen often from Bomber and Coastal Commands washed up and were interred with military honors, sometimes by German occupiers.
Notably, on 2 August 1940, 18 French soldiers who perished during Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk in northern France after the German assault named Fall Red, were buried here; nine remained while the rest were repatriated. Additional WWII burials continued into 1949, including crew from a Halifax bomber.
Current estimates indicate around 110 to 118 individuals interred at Vredenhof including war casualties and drowned victims schiermonnikoog. The War graves from WWII number approximately 70 to 94, with a total of about 65 soldier casualties recognized by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
Nationalities including these victims come from the Commonwealth (UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand), France, Germany, some wartime burials, and a few Polish graves).
Visit
Today the cemetery is still a site of commemoration.
Vredenhof remains an emblematic site of peace where even war adversaries rest together, it’s also the culmination point of the island’s “Stille Tocht” on May 4, the Dutch national Remembrance Day. Sake van der Werff, instrumental in founding and maintaining the cemetery, was honored with the Medaille de Reconnaissance Française for his efforts to keep the French soldiers’ graves on the island. The management remained with the local foundation rather than transferring to the Oorlogsgravenstichting (Dutch War Graves Foundation).
The Cemetery lies in the dunes and is free to visit during day time hours.
