Route 5: The Crab Bridge Veele

Veele is not a young peat-colonial village, but an ancient esdorp between Wedde and Vlagtwedde, situated on the Mussel-Aa canal and the Veelerdiep. The walk goes through the stream valleys of the Ruiten Aa, the Westerwoldse Aa, the Veelerdiep and through the esdorpje Wessinghuizen.

History has changed the village of Veele profoundly. The construction of the Mussel-Aa canal brought commerce and liveliness, the steam tram ran there over the swing bridge until the war, and in those days Veele had no less than seventeen tradesmen.

At the end of war '40-'45, the liberation of Veele again led to a transformation. On 12 April 1945, a unit of liberators led by Colonel Blondeel (the road on the north side of the canal is named after him) marched towards the bridge. Three young Belgian soldiers, 10 German soldiers and a baby from Veele died in the fighting. Fourteen farms, houses and barns went up in flames. The bridge went up for the second time in that war. The restored bridge is named after 21-year-old Belgian sergeant Philippe Rolin, one of the three Allied casualties. A small monument stands near the Rolin Bridge.

The Westerwold canals were dug between 1911 and 1917 and were a response to the increasing flooding caused by the ever-increasing reclamation of the marshes and peatlands. The peatlands acted as a large sponge, able to absorb a lot of rainwater. To the south, the Ruiten Aa canal joins the Stadskanaal in Ter Apel; the Mussel Aa canal does so at Musselkanaal. Near Veelerveen, northeast of Veele, both canals meet in the United or B.L. Tijdenskanaal. The Ruiten Aa canal is divided into nine 'properties' and the Mussel Aa canal into eight properties, each with a level difference of 1 metre. Many old swing bridges have been replaced, as in Veele, by fixed concrete bridges.

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This is a route of the Walking in Westerwolde Foundation. You can still sign up as a sponsor for this route. Mail to info@wandeleninwesterwolde.nl