It is quite unique that a building is designated as a provincial monument. Only the provinces of North Holland and Drenthe have provincial monuments, which protect it against building plans, for example. “These are buildings that do have a supralocal appearance, but do not qualify as a national monument,” explains Sterre Brummel of the province of Drenthe, who specializes in cultural heritage.
“Provincial monuments are then a kind of interim solution. In 2009 and 2010, a list of monumental buildings was drawn up, but this building was apparently overlooked. The list was updated in 2018, but it was not on the list even then. list.”
According to Brummel, the fact that Ruinerweg 3 will now receive the Provincial Monument stamp is completely justified. “It is a very original building.” It will be the first post house in Drenthe to receive this status. But whether it stays there is the question. “Precisely because of the regional significance of the network of post houses and post roads, it is conceivable that more such buildings are in the picture to be designated as monuments for the future,” says an advisory. “However, few to no representative examples have been preserved that qualify in this category.”