Giethoorn, Netherlands

Giethoorn is a mostly car-free village in the northeastern Dutch province of Overijssel. It’s known for its boat-filled waterways, footpaths, bicycle trails and centuries-old thatched-roof houses. It was founded in around 1200CE, by people called the Flagellants. The Flagellants made it the first Village in Peatland of the Netherlands. Around the 16th Century, the villagers started digging the first channels, and many farmers began building there farm at the Channels. The villagers had dug up so much Peat that even lakes came there.