Renting a House in Drachten

"The fastest-growing peat colony in the Netherlands became a city."

Drachten has only existed since 1641, when the Drachtster Compagnonsvaart was dug and peat extraction began. Three hundred years later, it was still a Frisian vlecke — a large village. Then Philips came. In 1950, shaver production began in the VVV building with thirty employees. Within ten years, Smallingerland was the fastest-growing municipality in the Netherlands. Neighborhoods sprang up from the ground, the population doubled, and Drachten transformed from a peat colony into an industrial center. This explosive growth explains why the city looks the way it does: a compact center surrounded by rings of residential areas from successive decades — the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and still today.

Today, Drachten has over 45,000 inhabitants and functions as the central city of Southeast Friesland. The housing supply is broad, prices are Frisian — meaning considerably lower than in the Randstad — and the A7 takes you to Groningen or Heerenveen in half an hour.

Peat Canals, Shavers, and De Stijl

The character of Drachten is layered in an unexpected way. Its origin as a peat colony is still visible in the street names of De Wiken: Korte Wyk, Lange Wyk, Swartzenbergs Wyk — named after the canals that once drained the peat. The Drachtstervaart, for years filled in and forgotten, has been reopened and now brings watersports enthusiasts all the way to the carillon near the old Hoofdbrug, the historic central point where the Kaden and Moleneind converge.

Then there's its surprising art history. In the 1920s, Drachten was a hotbed of De Stijl. Theo van Doesburg befriended the Rinsema brothers — Evert and Thijs, one a shoemaker, the other a painter — and together they designed houses in primary colors that caused quite a stir in the village. Museum Dr8888, housed in a former monastery, showcases this avant-garde history and enjoys national fame. The Van Doesburg-Rinsema museum house, in its original yellow, red, and blue colors, is one of the tangible traces of that period.

And then Philips, which in 2025 is still located in Drachten — now as a knowledge center with six hundred engineers and part of the Innovation Cluster Drachten, a collaboration of high-tech companies. The city has its own airfield, once built as an airstrip for Philips. It's an unlikely profile for a Frisian town of this size, and it explains the mix of down-to-earth Frisian and technically educated people found in its population.

Drachten-Noord: De Folgeren, Vrijburgh, and De Swetten

The northern part of Drachten comprises a series of neighborhoods that together form the most varied residential zone of the city. De Swetten and Noordoost are the oldest parts, built in the 1950s and 1960s — partly by housing corporations, partly by Philips' then-housing company for its growing employee population. Noordoost is currently undergoing complete restructuring: much existing construction is making way for new builds with a more spacious and varied layout.

De Folgeren, built in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is spaciously designed with green belts and water features. Vrijburgh and Fennepark are newer neighborhoods, with modern homes in a mix of terraced houses, semi-detached houses, and detached homes. Shopping center Noorderpoort (with Aldi, Jumbo, and specialty shops) serves the entire northern part. The neighborhoods are directly accessible via the N31 (Wâldwei) and the Noorderhogeweg.

Drachten-Oost: De Wiken and De Venen

De Wiken is the neighborhood whose street names most directly reflect its peat past. Built in the 1960s as a rapid expansion — over a thousand homes in two years — the neighborhood has a stock of terraced houses and gallery flats characteristic of that building period. The streets in the north of De Wiken are almost identical, known as "revolution housing." The municipality and housing corporations are working on renovation projects to upgrade the neighborhood.

De Venen adjoins De Wiken and was built slightly later, with a similar profile but more variation in housing types. Both neighborhoods have their own shopping center with multiple supermarkets, a medical center, and good bus connections. Nij Smellinghe hospital is located on the east side. These are functional family neighborhoods: not spectacular, but spacious, affordable, and well-equipped.

Drachten-West: De Drait, Morrapark, and Himsterhout

The western flank of Drachten tells the city's story in three generations of residential areas. De Drait is the 1970s neighborhood: the largest expansion in Drachten at that time, built in clusters with lots of green and play areas in between. The initial years yielded terraced houses; later, semi-detached houses and homes in the free sector were added. To the west lies a villa neighborhood (Slinge and Sydwende). Shopping center De Drait has recently been renovated with a diverse offering.

The Morrapark is an ecological experiment: a residential area from the late 1980s and early 1990s that for years was the national example for sustainable building. Car-free, child-friendly, lots of greenery and water features. The layout is deliberately different from the surrounding neighborhoods — it feels more like living in a park than in a city.

Himsterhout is the newest new-build neighborhood on the southwest side, with forest plots, walking and cycling paths, and predominantly detached and semi-detached houses. De Trisken, from the 1980s, is a child-friendly neighborhood with fast cycling connections to both the center and the wooded area of Beetsterzwaag. And then there is the Drachtstervaart neighborhood: new construction of approximately eight hundred homes with a strong emphasis on waterways — most homes have their own jetties. Scandinavian architectural style, colorful facades, and a type of living experience you won't find anywhere else in Drachten.

The Center: Compact and Complete

The center of Drachten is not a historic city center — its peat colony past didn't create one. It is a post-war shopping area around Raadhuisplein, with chain stores and specialty shops, the entertainment square De Drift, and the De Lawei theater as its cultural focal point. De Lawei is the largest theater in Southeast Friesland, with about 270 professional performances annually and the summer festival Simmerdeis taking over Slingepark.

The housing supply in the center consists of apartments and upper-floor dwellings — no single-family homes. The strength of Drachten's center lies not in architectural beauty but in completeness: everything is there, distances are short, and parking is not an issue. For those looking for a home in the surrounding residential areas, the center provides daily amenities just a five-minute bike ride away.

Responding to a Property in Drachten

The supply in the free sector changes regularly. Popular homes — especially in Himsterhout, Vrijburgh, and De Drait — are quickly taken. Make sure your proof of income and identification are readily available when you respond. On our platform, you can set up an alert to receive immediate notification when a new home matching your desired neighborhood and price range comes online.

The corporations WoonFriesland and Accolade manage most of the social rental housing in Drachten. Allocation is done through a joint platform based on registration duration. Waiting times are generally shorter than in the Randstad, but for popular neighborhoods and housing types, you still need patience. Register as soon as you know you want to live in Drachten.

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