"Assen" a Assen Travel Page by sachara

The history of Assen started in 1258, when the monastery ''Maria in Campis'' was built. Till that time there were only some farmhouses in the small settlements around, like Witten, Deurze and Peelo.

Between the former moats of the the monastery ( called ''Singels'') you can still find old buildings of the different centuries.
The monastery has gone. Only the abbey church (abdijkerk), now a part of the ''Drents Museum'', is still there. And the roads around the citycentre have still the names of the former ''Singels''.
One of the oldest streets in the centre near the former monastery is called Kloosterstraat ( Monastery Street).

West of the Kloosterstraat lies the ''Brink''. Almost all traditonal villages in the Province Drenthe have a brink (village green) in their centre, so Assen has. Many historical buildings are situated around the brink, like the former monastery.
Assen is the capital of the Province Drenthe and the buildings of the Provincial governement were situated at the Brink too, untill they moved out of the citycentre. Now you can find the "Drents Museum'' in these buildings.

East of the Museum you can find "het Museumlaantje'' (the Museum Alley). Here you see a lot of old buildings in different styles, like the Ontvangershuis, the Archives, the Museum of Drenthe and the tower of the Abbey church. All the buildings are built or rebuilt in different centuries and changed their functions several times.