Tropische Kas, Beetsterzwaag (Lycklamahûs glasshouses)

The Lycklamahûs, at Hoofdstraat 80, was built around 1824 for Catharina Johanna Aebinga van Humalda. On her death in 1835 it passed to her great-niece Ypkjen Hillegonda van Eysinga, who married the burgomaster Jan Anne Lycklama à Nijeholt in 1836; the couple enlarged the house and laid out gardens on both sides of the street. Local sources say members of the family brought back plants from warm countries on their travels, and these needed shelter from the Frisian climate.

The first glasshouses went up in 1869 in the garden across from the house: a lean-to vinery and a flower house. A coke-fired boiler house was added on the north side around 1900. In 1930 the flower house was replaced by the present tropical house, although the association's own site describes a cold house of 1869 converted into a tropical house that year. In 1930 too, the household staff gave two orange trees to mark a family wedding.

In 1971 the municipality of Opsterland bought the property and made the Lycklamahûs its town hall. Since 2004 the Friends of the Tropische Kas association has run the complex, and a reception glasshouse was built that year. The site is protected as a municipal monument.

The complex sits at the back of the Lycklamahûs garden, reached from Kerkepad Oost. It now brings together five buildings of different dates: the 1930 tropical house, two orangeries, the 1869 vinery and the 2004 reception house.

The 1869 house, built for vines, is described as a 'lessenaarskas', a desk-type or lean-to glasshouse. It is the oldest part of the group and the only survivor of the estate's first glasshouses; the flower house built the same year was either replaced or converted, depending on the source.

Heating came from a boiler house built around 1900 on the north side, which burned coke. Around the glasshouses, the former kitchen garden has become flower borders, and a short walk of boxed citrus trees completes the layout.

The collection brings together plants once brought back from warm countries and citrus trees, some of them described as a hundred years old; two orange trees given in 1930 recall the family's history. The boxed trees of the citrus walk have recently been given new tubs, and their flowering is one of the highlights of a visit.

The garden also keeps old fruit varieties, among them the apples 'Reinette Herrant' and 'Notarisappel', as well as a monumental horse chestnut. Where the vegetable garden used to be, perennial borders are planted in schemes of purple, white and pink or red and yellow. Guided tours tell the story of the complex and its plants.

The glasshouses stand at the back of the Lycklamahûs garden, in the heart of the village of Beetsterzwaag. Entry is free, with voluntary contributions welcome; the complex opens from King's Day to mid-October, mainly on weekend afternoons, with extra days in summer.

An hour is enough for the glasshouses and garden. Guided tours and special days, such as Heritage Day in September, offer more background. The walk can continue in the neighbouring Lycklamapark and through the village streets.