Around the year 1000, there was a farm here by the water.
A thousand years ago, you could only get here by boat. There was one farm by the water, and nothing else.
Pean It is first mentioned around the year 1000. The name comes from “oppa eeën”: on the Ee. From Goëngahuizen, a footpath ran to the farm, and a wooden bridge took you to the other side.
That isolation defined life here. The community was small, the work was hard, and the water was the way out.
Pean on the map, at the Peanstar Ee
A Thousand Years in Brief
| years | What happened |
|---|---|
| around 1000 | Pean is mentioned for the first time: “oppa eeën”, a farm by the water |
| sixties | Jan and Ids give the first sailing lessons; the bûthús becomes summer accommodation. |
| 1968 | The sailing school is founded |
| 1976 | The farm is closing down |
| 2011 | Christophe and Natasja take Pean over |
| 2020 | Twelve water lodges open as Pean-buiten Akkrum |
| 2025 | Pean-buiten Weidum opens |
| June 2025 | Pean-buiten It Kathûs is added |
Hard work, and spinning and weaving in the winter
Farm life at Pean followed the seasons. In the summer, hay was harvested and the land was worked. In the winter, it was about maintenance, spinning, and weaving.
Behind the house stood the bûthús. The livestock was cared for there, but butter was also made and odd jobs were done.
Generations lived together on the farm and everyone had a task. After the war, this became increasingly difficult to sustain. In 1976, the farm ceased operations.
1968: the first sailing lesson
In the 1960s, people discovered Friesland as a place to be free. Jan and Ids, the farmer's sons, saw potential in this: they gave sailing lessons and turned the bûthús into a summer guesthouse.
What became of that sailing school?
The sailing school was founded in 1968. Guests returned, and some became instructors themselves. Today, the sailing school is a separate enterprise. Zeilschool Pean Friesland; Pean-buiten resulted from it.
The first boathouse of the sailing school
From haystack to dwelling
The farm ceased operations in 1976. The old haystack and the milking parlor were given a new purpose: the haystack became De Berch, the milking parlor De Jister, with the bûthús next to it as sleeping quarters.
How has construction been carried out since then?
Always with what was already there. No grand gestures, but space, water, and silence. In 2011, Christophe and Natasja took Pean about; since 2020 you sleep on Pean-buiten Akkrum, since 2025 also on Pean-buiten Weidum.
Who Pean now runs
Since 2011 is Pean in the hands of Christophe and Natasja.
Christophe and Natasja
Name Pean transitioned in 2011 and built upon what was already there.
Rienk
Former sailing school instructor. Joined later and helped make the company future-proof.
Three locations
Pean-buiten Akkrum, Pean-buiten Weidum en Pean-buiten It Kathûs.
Three words
Relax, meet, develop. Those three are still there.
Why you 'on Pean' say
You normally use “on” for an island. Yet here it is simply: on Pean.
That is due to the water. What was called “oppa eeën” around the year 1000 is still surrounded by water.
Anyone driving onto the yard notices it immediately: the road ends, the water begins.
Frequently asked questions about the history of Pean
Where does the name come from Pean come from?
From “oppa eeën”, which means “on the Ee”. The Ee is the waterway along which the farm was situated and by which one reached it. The name is first mentioned around the year 1000.
How old is Pean?
Pean It is first mentioned around the year 1000, as a farm in an area that was only accessible by water. People have therefore lived and worked here for well over a thousand years.
Since when has there been a sailing school at Pean?
Since 1968. Jan and Ids, the farmer's sons, gave the first lessons in the sixties and founded the school in 1968. Zeilschool Pean Friesland is a separate enterprise nowadays.
Who are the owners of Pean-buiten?
Christophe and Natasja took Pean in 2011. Rienk, a former instructor at the sailing school, joined later.
When were the water lodges built?
In 2020. There are twelve of them on it. Pean-buiten Akkrum, with 400 m² of open space around each house. Pean-buiten Weidum followed in 2025.
Why do you say 'up Pean' and not 'in Pean'?
Because the place lies like an island, surrounded by water. “On” belongs with islands, and that is how it stuck here.