There’s one real reason to visit the sweet little town of Oudewater in Utrecht’s southwest: witchcraft. Until the 17th century the Heksenwaag was thought to have the most accurate scales in the land; women came from all over the place to be weighed here, on suspicion of being witches.
The house has a modest display of witchcraft history in the loft upstairs, and at the end of your visit you’ll be invited to step onto the old scale. If you feel light on your feet it’s because your certificaet van weginghe (weight certificate) makes your weight shrink – an old Dutch pound is 10% heavier than today’s unit.
