Route 20: Ol’ Graitje Jipsinghuizen

The bridge over the Ruiten Aa in Jipsinghuizen is a historic site. Near the bridge lies the Bisschopskerkhof, the place where, in 1665, Willem van Nierop’s army routed the 1,800-strong army of the Bishop of Münster. At that time, the village itself – consisting of a dozen Saxon farmhouses and many sheep pens – was situated a little further north.

In the 1930s, the village centre shifted slightly to the south-east, towards the Plaggenborg area, which owes its name to a major activity of those years: peat extraction. Jipsinghuizen was perhaps better known – or more notorious – back then than it is today. The steam tram brought in hundreds of unemployed people to reclaim land.

The walking route follows the course of the Ruiten Aa through a gently rolling landscape with a pleasant mix of fields and woods. The ‘round fields’ and ‘horn fields’ are situated in the northernmost part of the route. These names refer to the area’s history. In its wilder days, the Ruiten Aa moved a great deal of sand through this area.

The walking route then passes through Wollinghuizen, a hamlet with around ten farms and houses. The straight road between Jipsinghuizen and Wollinghuizen used to follow the route of the railway line. The steam tram was popularly known as ‘Ol’ Graitje’.

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This is a route of the Walking in Westerwolde Foundation, sponsored by Hotel de Waalehof.

Hotel de Waalehof
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info@hoteldewaalehof.nl
www.hoteldewaalehof.nl/