Appelbergen
The primal force of nature left a huge mark on the Groningen landscape. In the Appelbergen near Glimmen, this created a wooded landscape full of lakes, hills and shifting sands.
Take a closer look
Just a very short distance from the hustle and bustle of the city, you come face to face with prehistory. In the heaths of the Appelbergen there are small round lakes here and there. These are pingo ruins. Underground ice pushed up the ground, and when the ice melted, craters with water appeared. But not everything about the Appelbergen is prehistoric. The deep gullies in the field are medieval cart tracks. For centuries, carts between Groningen and Coevorden dragged all the plants out of the sand. The wind had free rein and blew the loose sand into the numerous, still visible mounds along the cart tracks. Quite a lot for flat Groningen: hence the name 'mountains'.
And the 'apple'? That comes offi...
Just a very short distance from the hustle and bustle of the city, you come face to face with prehistory. In the heaths of the Appelbergen there are small round lakes here and there. These are pingo ruins. Underground ice pushed up the ground, and when the ice melted, craters with water appeared. But not everything about the Appelbergen is prehistoric. The deep gullies in the field are medieval cart tracks. For centuries, carts between Groningen and Coevorden dragged all the plants out of the sand. The wind had free rein and blew the loose sand into the numerous, still visible mounds along the cart tracks. Quite a lot for flat Groningen: hence the name 'mountains'.
And the 'apple'? That officially comes from pine cones. Yet you will often hear Groningers put the emphasis on the first e. The word 'appel' is a native reference to the military training ground that the forest was for many years. Hike through the Appelbergen as part of the Pieterpad or go for a shorter route. The signposted walk from Glimmen (Hereweg 52), for instance, is also fun with children. Who knows which bird whistles there? At the end of the walk, a playground awaits them; and perhaps a well-deserved pancake in Paviljoen Appelbergen.