SSHUW Epemastate IJsbrechtum

Epemastate

Originally built in 1652 as an estate/settlement on a house island surrounded by a moat. Before that there was probably a stins at this place. Epemastate has always had an important function, including being the administrative center of the county/municipality of Wymbritseradeel. Well-known names of owners/grietmen include Albada, van Burmania and Baron Rengers. And later by Jonkheer Eysinga-Van Harinxsma thoe Slooten. The garden was designed by the famous Lucas Roodbaard. Nowadays the state is in use as a meeting, party and wedding location. The gatehouse was recently renamed into an exclusive suite, the Gatekeeper Suite, truly a beautiful "hideaway" for the wedding night. The historic country estate Epemastate is of general cultural-historical importance:
- because of the almost intact 17th century main structure
- because of the characteristic landscape-visual values (silhouette effect) and
- because of the special architecture of both the house and the gatehouse.

In 1894 the house was rebuilt with a shell in Renaissance style designed by the architect J. Kok with style characteristics of Viollet-le-Duc. The house is accessible from the Epemawei by the driveway with lime trees and a dammed entrance gate: two square brick pillars crowned by square vase-shaped sandstone ornaments with coats of arms and flame-crowning. For centuries Epemastate was the home of prominent Frisian nobility, such as the Burmanias, the Rengers and the van Eysingas - van Harinxma thoe Slooten. The residents acted as grietman from generation to generation. A function comparable to that of a rural mayor and partly to that of today's district judge. The Sneker town architect Meinse Molenaar designed the church in 1865. A building with a stiletto spire, a spacious church hall with large round-arch windows and a much lower attached choir. The house of worship houses a mausoleum of the residents of Epemastate.

The church more or less forms a unit with Epemastate, and the first stone of this church building was laid in 1865 by Mr. Sjuck van Welderen Baron Rengers. In the church there are among others two funeral plates of the family Juckema and Rengers. The tower was restored in 1950, while the entire church building was restored in 1975/1978 and is worth visiting.

It Sael, the room where the grietijraad once met, now serves as a wedding hall. The atmospheric and stately surroundings of Epemastate lend themselves ideally to weddings, parties, celebrations and other gatherings.