Cycling through ancient Wierdenland
" 'Further north, the Reitdiep still meanders old-fashionedly through the Groningen countryside.' "
Is it a river? Is it a canal? Reitdiep is a bit of both. And to make it even more complicated: it is actually the old Hunze. And that Hunze, in turn, is the headwaters of the Drentse Aa. The first inhabitants settled in the valley of the Hunze long before the era. For the city, it has long been an important lifeline. Boats go to sea by water. To keep this lifeline navigable, the Hunze was 'straightened'. The river becomes a deep one. This is particularly visible between the town and Garnwerd. Further north, the Reitdiep meanders through the Groningen countryside in the old-fashioned way.
In Zoutkamp you eat fish (or something else)
Salt, I guess that refers to the sea. True, a bit. At Zoutkamp, salt was extracted centuries ago - not from the sea but on the salt marshes outside the dike. The first mention of 'Soltcampum' dates back to 1418. For a long time, it was a bustling fishing town and a strategically located entrenchment on the Lauwerszee. Whoever controls Zoutkamp controls the city of Groningen. The place is of great importance in the Eighty Years' War. The city was Spanish-occupied for a while then. Until 1960, Zoutkamp has a fishing port. That is over after the closure of the Lauwerszee. Yet the village still feels like an old-fashioned fishing village. The perfect place to have a fish dinner. Or take a trip to the Rijksbetoningsloods on the old inner harbour. There sits the Fisheries Museum and you'll find out much more about Zoutkamp.
The iconic mound of Ezinge
Search online for 'wierde' and the first thing you will see is that of Ezinge. Not surprisingly, because this is an icon. Archaeologist A.E. van Giffen shows that the place has been inhabited for centuries. You don't even have to look closely to see that there is something crazy about the mound; as if someone has taken a bite out of it. And that's right. Before the war, many mounds are excavated. The land is fertile and sold. A shame, we think now. Money, they used to think. On the edge of the mound balances a Romanesque hall church with a freestanding tower. Towers are more often loose in Groningen because they also once had a strategic function. Here the villagers are safe. The lord sits on his borg and the villagers in the tower. Want to know more about the wierden? Then you've come to the right place in Ezinge. This is where Museum Wierdenland is located. Hungry, thirsty, or both? Then sit down at the nostalgic pub restaurant De Brug. Uncomplicated, with many products from the region and its own garden.
Allersma: the deposit of lasts
Coming from Ezinge or Aduarderzijl, you can hardly see it: the Allersmaborg. It is an attractive place with wooded banks, an orchard and a moat with a drawbridge. In 1489, it was occupied by one Duurt Allersma. He probably had the task of guarding the sluice at Reitdiep. The back house of the borg is the oldest. When visiting the Allersmaborg, the gigantic dovecote cannot be missed. If you perch there as a pigeon, you feel like the king. It is a copy of the loft that Duurt Elama, a descendant of the other Duurt, had built around 1650. Annie Vriezen is the last resident of the borg. She is the hub of an artists' colony that lives, works and exhibits at the borg. Well-known artists like to come there. When you walk around the estate, you immediately understand. Here lies inspiration. Are you passing by? Then walk around the moat or pick an apple in the orchard in autumn.
From 1 April to the last day of the autumn holidays, the Reitdiepveer takes walkers and cyclists from Schaphalsterzijl to Aduarderzijl, or vice versa. Check the website for the timetable
