The young writer Jacob van Lennep and his friend Dirk van Hoogendorp had just finished their law studies when they took a long walk through the Netherlands in 1823. In their diaries they described what the fatherland was like.
Around 1800, many wealthy young people made a cultural trip through Europe. Jacob van Lennep and Dirk van Hoogendorp, who both came from prominent families, also wanted to go out. Only they decided to hike through their own country. There was still plenty to discover. The Netherlands had only officially become one country ten years earlier, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The various towns, villages, regions and provinces all still had a local character. What could be nicer to visit all those regions?
And so the two men went out into the wide world. From May 28 to September 2, 1823 they walked through the Netherlands and described what they saw. They thought that the mores – the norms and values – of the country were important. According to Van Lennep, the 'famous Dutch cleanliness' deteriorated. On the island of Marken he noted:the men are very clean, but the women and houses less so. And in Friesland:'the stiff Frisian pursues low lust, unbridled debauchery and filthy immorality.'
Writing in this way a colorful picture emerged of the population, but also of the way of thinking of two arrogant students. Van Lennep's words about the Frisians are rather ambiguous if you consider that he had only just fathered an illegitimate child in Amsterdam. Seen from that point of view, it was indeed not so good with the 'Dutch cleanliness'.