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Photo: Nummer 12, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The annual Zwolle edition of the Dutch "Liberation Festivals" is one of the largest in the country. Some 16 cities throughout the Netherlands organize these events on the 5th of May, with lead artist hopping from one to the other in helicopters. Each year, 100,000 to 140,000 people headed to Park de Wezenlanden, the festival ground for Zwolle, to see a range of Dutch artists perform in celebration of the Dutch liberation in 1945 and freedom in general. Coins to buy food and drinks cost €2.50. Get some when entering, as the lines on the festival grounds can be pretty long.
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This city park is the most visited of Zwolle's parks, but that's in part due to the event terrain that's located here. It's the scene of the city's annual Liberation Festival as well as a number of smaller events. This is a real city park, an area clearly dedicated to the outdoor needs of the locals. There's a basketball field, a fairly large skateboarding park, an adventure playground and more. The park is about 21 ha in size.
Building of this city gate started in the late 14th century. Today, it's one of the city's main landmarks. It's built largely with natural stones and today it's owned and maintained by the national government. It's classified as a monument of extraordinary cultural-historical importance. The building is open to visitors.
Only small pieces of the former city walls can be seen today. The best place to see them is at the end of the Diezerstraat. Once, the Diezer tower stood here too.
This is one of the smallest parks (only 1.2 ha in size), but due to its location right in the city centre, it's one of the busiest. In summer, locals use the grass fields to enjoy the sun. The park was established in the 19th century, on top and around a part of the historic defence structures. It holds a number of large, old trees, a fountain and some flower beds.
This arts museum is housed in the "Paleis aan de Blijmarkt", built in the first half of the 19th century as the regional Justice Palace. The neo-classicistic building was extensively renovated in 2012, with a new, large elliptical structure added on the roof (nicknamed the UFO by locals). The museum's collection consists of a good range of contemporary and modern art, mostly paintings. The collection is divided over two locations: this one, in the centre of Zwolle, and Nijenhuis castle near Heino.
Sint-Michaëlskerk
This large church right on the central market was built in the 15th century and is dedicated to the archangel Michael. Already weakened by repeated lightning strikes, the tall church tower (the highest tower in the country at the time) collapsed in a 1682 storm. The church has Sunday services and is not open for visitors during the week.