Drachten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdrɑxtə(n)] ⓘ, West Frisian: [ˈdraχtn̩]) is a town in the northern Netherlands.

Although the economic success of cutting peat was short-lived (it even led to Passchier Bolleman's financial ruin), it spurred on to the foundation of Drachten.

In 1746 the first real shipyard was established on the Langewijk, initially only for the construction of timber flatboats, but after 1895 also for iron hull ships.

Along the side of the canal, pubs, shops, shipbuilding facilities, and public utilities, such as a rope-walk, were built.

Today there are approximately 45,000 people living in Drachten; its major industrial production includes electrical goods, transport equipment, machinery, food, chemicals and furniture.

[3] Drachten is situated in the municipality of Smallingerland in the east of the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands.

It is surrounded by many small towns; its environment consists of lowlands with forests and peat moors, and nearby lakes.

[4] In April 2007, artist Henk Hofstra painted a road in Drachten blue with white lettering and traffic markings.

The part of this water that was situated in the centre of Drachten was closed in the 1960s, in order to stimulate the local economy and give space to the increased road traffic.

Drachten received international attention for a traffic experiment known as shared space, a concept pioneered by Hans Monderman.