7 – 8 September 2019
The Middeleeuws Festival is the most authentic medieval event in the Netherlands.
With lots of attention to detail, you will be immediately transported back to the 13th century.
As in 1465, groups of travelers, mostly soldiers/mercenaries, but also marketers, craftsmen and musicians, set up campsites around the Monastery for the traditional annual party.
The annual market was not only about trade, but it was also a time of celebration and clashes were settled on the battlefield.
It’s held in a very special setting: around the monastery in Ter Apel (Klooster Ter Apel).
Canons booming, knights charging, medieval banquets, and spectacular fireworks are just some of what you’ll experience.
A unique opportunity to experience the Middle Ages!
You can see a lot of craftsmen, such as carpenters, masons, bricklayers, stained glass workers, forgers, roofers, and more, at the building site of Medieval Festival Ter Apel.
You can even lend a hand by doing some whitewashing or chopping wood.
At the Medieval Festival Ter Apel you can expect lots of fun with so much to see and do.
It’s a family affair with special things for the little ones: a medieval play area where they can bake bread and help build!
Partake in a typical Dutch medieval banquet or medieval midday meal.
On Saturday night, there is a large medieval banquet with medieval dishes, romantic and soaring music of troubadours, stories that bring the Middle Ages very close.
In the Middle Ages, lunch was considered the main meal of the day.
On Sunday, enjoy a richly filled buffet with crispy bush soup straight from the kettle, gingerbread cakes, bread with delicious cheeses, herring, juicy legham with honey cheese sauce, salads and a sweet
Participating in the medieval banquet costs an additional €52.50 per person and the medieval lunch €35.00 per person and the prices include food, drinks and entertainment.
Up to 50 people can eat along, so pre-booking is required.
While dressing in medieval costume is not compulsory, we highly recommend it!
When: 7 – 8 September 2019
Where: Ter Apel, The Netherlands
Official Website: middeleeuwsterapel.nl
Hotels: Hotels in and around Ter Apel
Ter Apel is a village situated in the north-east of the Netherlands in the province of Groningen close to the provincial border with Drenthe, and the country border with Germany.
Groningen Airport is the closest international airport and from there take bus line 73 y to reach Ter Apel.
From Amsterdam take a train to Emmen and change there for a bus to Ter Apel (line 73 or 42).
If driving, Ter Apel lies on the N366, N976 and N391 and the address for your GPS is:
Boslaan 3, 9561 LH Ter Apel.
For parking just follow the P-signs with ‘middeleeuwse dagen’.
This monastery is a unique historical building and the only remaining rural monastery of North-West Europe.
Listed in the UNESCO “Top 100” in the Netherlands since 1992, it’s well worth visiting.
Exhibitions, performances, and lectures at the Medieval Festival Ter Apel
During the medieval Ter Apel, the Monastery is open and can be visited at no extra cost.
Inside you will enjoy the serene tranquility, the exhibitions, as well as various medieval performances.
If you want to know more about the Middle Ages, visit one of the lectures in the Monastery:
This year in the monastery you will also find a medieval hospital with patients.
Children are assigned an important task: they can help the nurse to search for herbs in the herb garden of the monastery to make medicine.
Herb garden with music
There is a beautiful herb garden with almost 130 plant species at the Monastery: a unique place to enjoy wonderful music and singing!
