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© Lydia Annema via Merk Fryslân
Category:Friesland

The Eleven Cities Tour monument

A unique skating event deserves a unique work of art. It is called 'It sil heve', which means ‘it will happen’ – the statement made by the event’s chairman in 1985 to announce that an Eleven Cities Tour would be held for the first time in 22 years.

  • Discover the Eleven Cities Monument to the north of Leeuwarden.
  • The ‘tiled bridge’ is decorated with over 7000 tiles.
  • See which skaters completed the tour through the years.

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The last bridge

The work of art was installed on the Canterlandse brug across the Murk river in Friesland. It is the last bridge in the famous and infamous skating tour, on the route between Oudkerk and the finish in Leeuwarden. The work was created by two artists, Maree Blok and Bas Lugthart.

Honorary arch

The work consists of thousands of blue glazed tiles containing pictures, names and years of the competitors. From further away these thousands of portraits together create a new image of skaters riding one after the other. As a result, the bridge forms an honorary arch for the participants. It has become known as the ‘tiled bridge’.

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