The Mata Hari Walking Route is an A3-sized map featuring a walking route that follows in the footsteps of Mata Hari through the city centre of Leeuwarden. The map is in Dutch, but you can find English translations of the stories via the QR code on the map.
About the Mata Hari walkingroute
The Mata Hari walking route is a trail that follows in Mata Hari’s footsteps. The route takes you chronologically through the key locations of her life in Leeuwarden. The map features short stories about the places associated with Mata Hari’s childhood in Leeuwarden. Her later life outside Leeuwarden is also briefly described. Along the way, you’ll explore Leeuwarden, come across interesting exhibitions and spot references to Mata Hari in many shop windows.
The route is approximately 5 km long and starts at Mata Hari’s house of birth, but you can also start at other places along the route.
Available
The Mata Hari Walking Route will be available exclusively from the Leeuwarden Visitor Centre (Heer Ivostraatje 1) from 23 May. The map costs just 2 euros. Our other maps are also available at the Visitor Centre. Are you looking for more information about Mata Hari? Then join our guide on a Mata Hari Tour in Leeuwarden.
You can also join a guided tour
This Mata Hari Walking Route was created by the guides at A Guide to Leeuwarden. They’d love to show you the city’s most beautiful spots in person and tell you a little more than what fits on the map. You can book a Mata Hari Tour all year round. Between 23 May and 7 August 2026, there are also a number of public Mata Hari Tours with a guide in Dutch. In addition, you can join a public Leeuwarden Free Tour every Tuesday to Sunday afternoon. Every Saturday at 12 PM we also offer one in English. On these walks, you’ll hear the best stories about the history and famous Leeuwarden residents such as Mata Hari, and we’ll show you the finest street art. Afterwards, you can decide for yourself what you think it’s worth.
Food and drinks
In the city centre, as well as traces of Mata Hari, you’ll also find plenty of lovely places to eat or drink. Did you know that you can order a Mata Hari toasted sandwich at Café de Bras? And that you can have lunch at Huize Kwast, in the very spot where Mata Hari used to perform?
The shop windows featuring Mata Hari & updates
Our map also features a number of red dots with letters inside them. You may spot Mata Hari in the shop windows at these locations. We have compiled a list of these shop windows below
Below you can find translations of all the texts on our map
More than 100 years after her death, Mata Hari remains a fascinating woman shrouded in mystery. From 1905 onwards, she performed in Paris as the exotic dancer Mata Hari, which means ‘eye of the day’ in Malay, or the sun. She became a huge star, adored by many men. She danced in all the major theatres across Europe. During the First World War, she is said to have been asked to spy for both the Germans and the French. She was eventually arrested and convicted by the French. On 15 October 1917, she died at the age of 41 by firing squad.
The myth
Mata Hari became a legend even during her lifetime, and she played a full part in this herself by telling the most fantastic stories in interviews.
After her death, countless films, books, plays and songs were made about her, ensuring that her name lives on to this day.
Many biographies have also been written about her life. They bear titles such as ‘The Real Mata Hari’ or ‘The Naked Truth’. But Mata Hari remains elusive. And that is, of course, only to be welcomed, as it allows everyone to create their own version of Mata Hari.
150 years of Mata Hari
In 2026, it will be exactly 150 years since Mata Hari was born in Leeuwarden! Not as Mata Hari, but as Margaretha Geertruida Zelle. This year, we’re once again taking a moment to reflect on this free-spirited, headstrong and courageous woman who, despite all the setbacks in her life, became a global star. 150 years after her birth, she’s still the most famous woman from Leeuwarden.
You’ll find her on T-shirts, paintings, postcards, magnets, tiles and beer labels, amongst other things. 150 years after her birth, she can still be seen everywhere in Leeuwarden.
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, later known as Mata Hari, was born here on 7 August 1876. Her father, Adam Zelle, ran a hat and cap shop here, which he had taken over from his father, Cornelis, in 1866. Her mother’s name was Antje van der Meulen and she was originally from Franeker. Upon the birth of their daughter, her father Adam placed an advertisement in which he referred to his wife as Anna, which sounded just a touch more distinguished than Antje. As the shop’s figurehead, Father Adam was always well-dressed; he always wore a top hat and a long overcoat. Her father’s shop was known as ‘in de klok’. Mata Hari lived here for the first six years of her life. She also had three younger brothers here. In 1878, her brother Johannes was born, followed in 1881 by the twins Arie and Cornelis.
In 2013, there was a fire in the adjacent building. Mata Hari’s birthplace was damaged in the fire but not destroyed, after which the façade was restored based on Adam Zelle’s original advertisements.
Diagonally opposite her birthplace, on Korfmakerspijp, stands a statue of Mata Hari. It was designed by Suze Boschma-Berkhout. It was unveiled on 13 March 1976, 100 years after her birth. The date of 13 March was chosen because it was on that day in 1905 that she first performed as Mata Hari. According to legend, on a full moon you can hear her laughing and her jewellery jingling…
The New Tower once stood on this empty little square at the corner of Grote Hoogstraat and Torenstraat. During Mata Hari’s childhood, it was the tallest tower in Leeuwarden. The information board features an old photograph. In 1884, the tower was demolished because there were fears it might collapse.
Prior to that, in 1877, Gerharda Matthijsen took photographs of Leeuwarden from the tower. During Mata Hari’s youth, she was one of the most progressive women in Leeuwarden. In 1878, she organised the first ‘Exhibition of industrial and artistic objects made exclusively by women’ in the whole of the Netherlands.
The Saint is a T-shirt shop, and the owner, Rudy, always enjoys selling T-shirts featuring designs by local artists. For example, he sells a T-shirt with a drawing of Mata Hari. The drawing was created by Edward Kobus. If all goes well, the T-shirt will also be on display in the shop window
From early June, a display inspired by the First World War will be on show at the Treinenpassage. Inside, visitors can also see a carriage from the Orient Express, on which Mata Hari is said to have travelled.
In a small room in this building, Mata Hari and other children from the upper middle class took dance lessons from bandmaster Herman de Jong. She was taught the polka, mazurkas and waltzes – dances very different from those for which she later became famous.
Richard Hageman was born in the same building in 1881. He would go on to win an Oscar in 1939 for the music he composed for the film Stagecoach. It is possible that they may have met as children.
This school opened in 1877 and was officially known as Municipal School No. 3, but was commonly referred to as the Hofschool because it is located next to the Stadhouderlijk Hof. This was Mata Hari’s primary school. Here she learnt calligraphy, etiquette, music and French.
During break time, Mata Hari played with her classmates in this square and on the steps of the town hall.
With her beautiful clothes, she was described by her classmates as ‘an orchid in a field of dandelions’. But in the class-conscious society that was Leeuwarden, she must have realised here that she was ‘merely’ the daughter of a shopkeeper.
On the corner of Grote Kerkstraat and Pijlsteeg, diagonally opposite her second home, a small painting of Mata Hari has been hanging in the window for years.
With four children by now, Adam Zelle found the upstairs apartment at Kelders 33 too small or too ordinary, so in 1882 he bought this stately property on Grote Kerkstraat for 14,674 guilders. This was a street where people with double surnames and high-ranking positions lived. A place where he wanted to belong. The people of Leeuwarden also mockingly referred to Adam Zelle as ‘The Baron’. To little Mata Hari, this L-shaped house dating from 1545, with its grand front door, spacious rooms and small tower, must have felt like a castle. The family also had two servants and a nanny living in the house. It was here that she is said to have spent her happiest years.
Her carefree childhood was rudely disrupted in 1889 by the bankruptcy of her father, Adam Zelle. Her father left for Amsterdam and Mata Hari had to leave this house with her mother and three younger brothers.
Mata Hari was very spoilt as a child. What many of her old classmates still remember clearly years later is that she is said to have been given a goat cart for her birthday. In a surviving photograph, you can see little Mata Hari on the cart under the watchful eye of her father, Adam Zelle. At the bottom of Pijlsteeg there was a stable at the time where the goats, and perhaps the cart too, were kept.
The Prinsentuin was and remains a popular place for a stroll. Mata Hari, too, often came here as a child. An old school friend of hers recalled that she once wanted a little white velvet hat, but was not allowed to have it because it was too expensive. A few days later, she saw Mata Hari walking in the Prinsentuin wearing the very same hat. Seventy years later, she could still remember the exact spot. Many of her old classmates’ memories revolve around clothes. As a child, Mata Hari was spoilt and received beautiful clothes from her father.
In 1873, Mata Hari’s father, Adam Zelle, was chosen to carry a flag during King William III’s visit to Leeuwarden. He was so proud of this honour that he had a painting made of the occasion. Although the proportions do not seem quite right, he donated the painting a few years later to the newly established Fries Museum. In the background stands the Stadstusschool. Today, it houses the HCL, Leeuwarden’s archive.
At the HCL, there is a display case filled with books about Mata Hari, and you can also read some of these books in their reading room. They have also produced a lovely leaflet here featuring a timeline of Mata Hari’s life. You can take a copy home for free. Further down the corridor, you can explore Leeuwarden’s Hall of Fame. Mata Hari is among those featured there.
The archives also hold documents relating to Mata Hari. For instance, they keep one of Mata Hari’s school reports in the Treasure Chamber. This can only be viewed under supervision.
Tresoar holds a number of letters that Mata Hari wrote to her (ex-)husband Rudolph MacCleod. These letters have also been collected in the book Don’t Think I’m Bad. This book can also be viewed in Tresoar’s reading room (upstairs).
Downstairs, from the beginning of June, there will be a number of display cases where you can view both photographs and footage of Mata Hari.
Local artists have created their own versions of Mata Hari. These have been used as campaign images to mark the 150th anniversary of Mata Hari. At the Leeuwarden Visitor Centre, you can see all six Mata Haris and pick up a free postcard of your favourite!
The Torenwachter is a little shop that sells souvenirs, and they also stock Mata Hari magnets and Mata Hari tiles.
Mata Hari attended the Girls’ Secondary School here. As well as receiving a good education, it was also important to learn good manners and to dress appropriately. Mata Hari proved to be a good student in French and German. She wasn’t much of a singer, however, as she received very low marks in that subject. She also wasn’t an easy pupil. She had numerous disciplinary notes and her marks fluctuated. But that may also have had something to do with her home life, as her parents were going through a divorce.
This old-fashioned supermarket opened in 1901. Mata Hari was no longer living in Leeuwarden by then, but a visit there takes you right back in time.
This restaurant is named after the Kwast family, who lived here between 1883 and 1890. Father Barend Kwast was a musician and music teacher in Leeuwarden. His stepdaughter Henriëtte Repelius was a friend of Mata Hari. As professional musicians, this family stood somewhat outside the class-based society, and Mata Hari must have felt right at home there. Both girls also played the piano. In 1890, the year Mata Hari’s parents were going through a divorce, the Kwast family moved to another town, just at the moment when Mata Hari needed a friend.
This square is now home to a theatre and a music venue. A fitting location for Mata Hari Square, given that she later became a dancer and performer. She must have walked past here many times in her youth.
At the time, Hotel Nieuw Duinkerken (now Bistro Duinkerken) was located on Groot Schavernek. On 21 August 1882, a townhouse in Grote Kerkstraat was put up for sale there. Two weeks later, on 4 September, the sale of Mata Hari’s second home was
completed and signed by her father, Adam Zelle, at ‘t Klein Wagentje, an inn at Nieuwestad 1.
Following her father’s bankruptcy and her parents’ divorce, Mata Hari was forced to move with her mother and younger brothers. In July 1889, they moved from the large house on Grote Kerkstraat to a flat at 30 Willemskade.
She lived there for about two years. On 10 May 1891, her mother died of tuberculosis. On that very day, the sound of piano music could be heard coming from the house. ‘That was me; it was to ease the pain,’ Mata Hari would tell a friend two days later.
While the neighbours looked after the children, Adam Zelle placed another advertisement in the Leeuwarder Courant.
On 12 November 1891, Mata Hari was officially deregistered from Leeuwarden. She was 15 years old at the time.
In the hall of the Markt 058 student accommodation block, there is a huge mural of Mata Hari. It was created by the Italian artists Solo and Diamond. They have depicted her as a femme fatale. The portrait of Mata Hari is based on a photograph taken in Vienna in 1907.
In the mural, they have also given her a superhero mask. This mask features animals depicted in flat colour fields that slowly transform into other animals. It is a reference to another famous Leeuwarden native: M.C. Escher. It also refers to the cattle market that once stood on this site. Unfortunately, the hall is only accessible to residents.
The railway station in Leeuwarden was completed in 1864. The first railway line to Harlingen opened in 1863, followed by lines to Groningen and Sneek. In 1868, a connection was established with Heerenveen and the rest of the country. In 1904, the station entrance hall underwent extensive renovation, featuring Art Nouveau tiles and stained-glass windows. In that same hall, there is also a display case from the Fries Museum housing a mini-exhibition on Mata Hari.
It is not known whether Mata Hari also left Leeuwarden by train in 1891, but it is quite possible. She first went to stay with an uncle and aunt in Sneek. She then went to a boarding school in Leiden. At the age of 17, she moved in with relatives in The Hague. It is said that, at the age of 18, she read an advertisement in the newspaper from a 39-year-old officer from the Dutch East Indies who was on leave. This Rudolph MacLeod was looking for a ‘young lady or widow of good standing’ to marry. The advertisement may well have been a joke. But the young Mata Hari sent her photograph, and a correspondence followed. On 24 March 1895, they met for the first time at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Six days later, they were officially engaged…
The Frisian Museum houses the largest Mata Hari collection. You can now see an intimate yet permanent exhibition on ‘The Lives of Mata Hari’.
After her marriage, she gave birth to a son in 1897 and moved with her husband to the Dutch East Indies. There she also had a daughter, but her son died. Back in Europe, she divorced her husband in 1902 at the age of 25. As a divorced woman, she had a hard time. Especially as her ex-husband did not pay alimony. She wanted so much to be a good mother, but she could not manage it. In 1904, she left everything behind and set off for Paris. There, from 1905 onwards, she would become a star as the dancer Mata Hari. She was adored and lived in luxury. But as a mother, she lost contact with her daughter. When the First World War broke out in 1914, that golden age came to an end. In 1917, she was arrested by the French on suspicion of espionage.
This vacant shop has been adorned with a huge sticker featuring various icons of Leeuwarden, such as our fountain, the Bokhuispoort and, of course, Mata Hari. It was a graduation project by Julia Holkema.
More information (in Dutch) is available on the Binnenstad-Leeuwarden website.
This mural was created in 2019 by Yasja Ligtelijn (Studio Yasja) on commission from Writer’s Block. Yasja had visited the Mata Hari exhibition ‘The Myth and the Girl’ at the Fries Museum in 2017. She thought Mata Hari was a strong woman and therefore wanted to pay tribute to her here.
This former prison was built between 1870 and 1876. So, during Mata Hari’s youth, it was a brand-new building housing real prisoners. Nowadays, it’s a really lovely place with cafés, a library and shops in the former cells of the H-wing.
Mata Hari herself also ended up in a prison like this, but in Paris.
Smoel kunstwerkplaats is located on Nieuwe Oosterstraat. It is a workshop for people with disabilities. In 2017, they all created portraits of Mata Hari. A number of these portraits have been displayed on the façade and can still be seen today.
De Utrecht is a magnificent Art Nouveau building dating from 1904. This style was very popular when Mata Hari was a successful dancer in Paris. On Friday and Saturday afternoons, you can explore the interior of De Utrecht. The richly decorated interior, full of symbolism, takes you back to the era of ‘La Belle Époque’ around 1900.
In 1879, the Fries Museum opened in this house. Adam Zelle then donated a painting of himself to the museum. The museum kept it in storage for a long time. In 1996, the first major Mata Hari exhibition was held here. It is now a museum house where you can experience how the Van Eysinga family lived here in the 18th century.
Part of the route takes you to ‘t Andere Museum – from Classic Cars to Lace. There, three display cases tell the story of Mata Hari, the ‘Lady of Fashion’, and the fashion of the 1900s to the 1930s. The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 1 pm to 5 pm.
Location: Oostersingel 8
This kiosk was built in 1898 and once housed three separate kiosks. Cigars, lottery tickets and possibly newspapers were sold there. On 16 October 1917, the Leeuwarder Courant reported that Mata Hari had been executed by firing squad in Paris the previous day. ‘The dancer of foreign origin’ was clearly guilty and had been sentenced to death, according to the report. The fact that she was born in Leeuwarden was not mentioned.
Mata Hari’s great-grandfather and grandfather lived at 12 Voorstreek.
Mata Hari’s great-great-grandfather, Herman Otto Zelle, bought a property at Over de Kelders 28 in 1793. He was a German immigrant and, around 1770, the first Zelle in Leeuwarden. The Zelles probably originally came from the town of Celle in Lower Saxony. Grandfather Cornelis moved to Kelders 33.
For anyone who is curious and wants to know more!
Join one of our walking tours with one of our guides. Every Saturday at 12 pm you can join a public tour in English. But you can also book a private tour on any day of the week.
Follow A Guide to Leeuwarden on instagram and watch some of our diy tours in the stories and highlights.
Check out the other Do-it-Yourself routes? Click here to see which other routes are available