Southeast of Assen is Amen, a small village surrounded by greenery. The wooded area of the village is worth exploring, for example via the walking route ‘Acht van Amen’.
Presumably the stream north of Amen was formerly called Aam or Ame. That could also explain the name of the village itself – as it were, Amen in that sense means settlement on the Aam. Today the stream bears the name Amerdiep.
Where Amen now has just under a hundred inhabitants, in the seventeenth century the village consisted of only three farms. Although a school was founded in 1819, it was demolished in 1853 due to a shortage of students.
Amen is known to music lovers for the cafe that has been there for more than a century. A lot happens in that café, especially given the size of the village. Live music is played very regularly, sometimes even by big names. Literary and cultural activities also take place in the brown pub.
Wooded banks are boundaries between farm plots made of raised soil, which was then planted with trees and thornbushes, such as hawthorn. These were commonly used in the past, but since the advent of barbed wire, they are scarce. There are still several wooded banks in Amen and the surrounding area. Given that many animals like to hide here, it is definitely worth paying attention!