City Walk Assen (City of Palaces)

With the convent of Maria in Campis, the history of Assen begins in 1260. An extraordinary start, as unlike most provincial capitals, Assen has no urban past. You begin the marked tour at the place where the monastery once stood.
This monastery of the Cistercian order originally came from the vicinity of Coevorden and was founded between 1234 and 1246. Due to the dampness in this area, the monastery was moved to the site of today's Drents Museum between 1260 and 1271. Following the introduction of church reform in Drenthe, the monastery was dissolved around 1600.
After centuries with little activity, Assen was granted city rights in 1809 by Louis Napoleon, the King of Holland, despite its small population (600). And in 1814 it became the provincial capital. The wealthy bourgeoisie of the city then built their "palaces" here.
The route starts at the Drents Museum at Brink 1. You cannot park here, but you can park (for a fee) near the museum on Torenlaan. It is also possible to start the route at other locations according to the signage. You can shorten the route from Vaart NZ via Kolk towards Gymnasium Street and Dr. Nassaulaan. This part is also signposted.