2026 – Kings Day in Dokkum (24th to 27th April)
King’s Day (for us) turned out to be a big surprise. Obviously we were aware that celebrations would be taking place throughout the Netherlands for the 59th birthday of King Willem-Alexander, but what we didn’t know was that he, the Queen and their daughters would actually be spending part of the his actual birthday on 27th IN Dokkum itself. What a treat for us (and him we presume).
The town had gone all out to showcase itself, with a busy four day programme of activities planned for the townspeople and visitors, and to give the King and his family a day to remember.
Over the course of our first few days moored up near the Altenabrug, many historic ships arrived to lay in both the inner waterways and the Bolwerken area between Woudpoortbrug and Altenabrug, all looking stunning by day and even more so lit up at night. The local council had planned out a route for the royal tour, marking it out for visitors to follow by securing small bronze plaques onto the pavements – sadly many of these were stolen in the lead-up to the visit, presumably as souvenirs of the occasion?
Our initial impression of the town and the arrangements for the following four days was “it’s going to be incredibly noisy” as, just some 200m from our mooring, an enormous concert stage was slowly erected, a massive setting designed for plenty of loud music and lots of flashing lights.
There were also two other stages set up in and around the centre, but this was definitely the largest – we were definitely in for some fun filled evenings! And on the other side of the town was a large funfair to keep the more thrill-seeking revellers entertained.
The local council had arranged for several musical events throughout each day; over sixty historic ships were crowded along the waterways; a fun fair (Kermis) sat at the edge of the town; plus many and various smaller areas were set up to showcase various traditional activities, some of which even the King and his family took part in.
Day 4 of the festivities saw the arrival of the King and the Royal family, and even though Dokkum is not a huge town, there must have been tens of thousands of people visiting, but especially so on the day the King came to visit.
Anyway, on arrival at the Bonifatius Fountain on Strobosserweg, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and their daughters, Princesses Amalia, Alexia and Arianne, were welcomed into Dokkum by a soprano singing from onboard one of the large ships. The Mayor then made a short speech before escorting them on towards the historic city centre with displays of typical Frisian and national sports performed along and on the water including kaatsen (Friesian hardball), fierljeppen (pole vaulting over water), sailing, dancing and even ice-skating. At each sport the royal family seemed thrilled to join in, and no more so than with the ice skating.
(King Willem-Alexander himself took part in the famous 200km Elfstedentocht (Eleven Friesian Cities) ice skating tour in 1986 at 18 years of age. At that time, he entered anonymously under the name “W.A. van Buren” and so, on this King’s Day celebration, he was gifted with a jacket bearing that name.)
Continuing on with the this, the King was able to operate a farming simulator, and the family was able to explore local culture at designated stops, before moving on via the Woudpoortbrug into the heart of the city, where they spent time chatting briefly with people lining the route. At the turning point of the Elfstedentocht, which is located in the center of Dokkum on the Kleindiep, they carried on to the street of De Zijl where farmers, fishers and chefs shared the flavours of the region with tasty tidbits, and a number of social organisations talked about their care and love for society.
A short walk further on was the Vleesmarkt where standard-bearers from the 52 villages which, together with Dokkum, make up the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân, proudly presented themselves. Many historic ships lined the waterways at every turn, and they were able to admire them as they passed.
Later the royal family was taken to the Mill at Zeldenrust on the Westerbolwerk and shown a spectacle where art, history and nature all came together.
They then proceeded across the Wittebrug (White Bridge), a “winskbrêge” (wish bridge) draped with hundreds of orange ribbons tied to the handrail, each covered with handwritten personal and community wishes to mark the royal visit.
Continuing along the Westerbolwerk the royal family stopped on the Nieuwe Hellingbrug before they reached the final stage at De Helling, where the King gave a speech and enjoyed a public toast.
And here the day ended for the Dutch Royal family, and they were chauffered off to leave the music festival to continue for the last few hours of the day.