Route 25: Spiekertocht Ter Apel

Monastery Ter Apel, a national monument, is a former Kruisheren monastery dating from the 15th century. It is the last monastery founded in Groningen, but the only one of the 34 that the province counted in the Middle Ages that is still recognisably preserved as a monastery. The convent building is used as a museum of monastic and church history and religious art under the name Museum Klooster Ter Apel. The convent's former lay church serves as a reformed church. This Bosch church forms the south wing of the monastery

The Kloosterspieker is a replica of a historic storage barn from 1650, built on original boulders and finished with clay and thatch. Originally, the barn served as a schaapskooi on the monastic enclave. The name "spieker" is a derivative form of the word spica, which is the Latin word for ear of corn. Spicarium is Latin for storage place for corn, a storehouse or granary.

At the Spieker, you can look around and view the (digital) presentation about Ter Apel and Westerwolde with no obligation. For further information, see https://www.kloosterterapel.nl

The Kloosterbos was designed and laid out as an English landscape park in the 19th century. It was commissioned by the city of Groningen, owner of the old Kruisheren monastery and the surrounding grounds, including many farms. The city council regularly sent regents to Ter Apel to inspect those properties. The Hotel Boschhuis was the establishment where those regents stayed. The park became the place where they could relax while walking. It had well-trodden paths, some ponds, some small bridges, and thus in many places a good view of the monastery. It was a park where romance splashed off. The City of Groningen kept its possessions until well after the war, but eventually transferred the walking forest to the State Forestry Commission. In the period that followed, the forest lost some of its character. It became somewhat wilder, rougher, darker, the lines of sight to the monastery faded or disappeared. To make the monastery and its immediate surroundings, the Monastery Enclave, more attractive to visitors, in 2021, at the request of the board of Museum Klooster, SBB restored the lines of sight in the monastery forest, so that from the monastery the forest pond can be seen again and vice versa. Trees have also been removed around the pond and replaced with grass and plants, such as Stein plants, the wood hyacinth and winter aconite.

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This is a route of the Walking in Westerwolde Foundation. Sponsors of this route are Camping Moekesgat and SportPlaza Ter Apel

Camping Moekesgat, Heembadweg 17, 9561 CS Ter Apel, www.moekesgat.nl, info@moekesgat.nl, tel +31 6 10889217

SportPlaza, Viaductstraat 59, 9561 AC Ter Apel, www.sportplazaterapel.nl, info@sportplaza.nl, tel. 0599 580 802