The cycle route takes you past the most beautiful places and on the app you will find short descriptions of these estates and country estates per location. There is an overview and more detailed descriptions on the ‘Renkum Leeft’ website.
This cycling route through the municipality of Renkum shows that the southern Veluwezoom has traditionally been a popular area to live. There are many traces from the pre-history of habitation, the earliest in what is now the Netherlands. The rough dry soils of the moraines, the moist fertile stream valleys and the wide fishing and hunting area of the Rhine valley provided the daily needs. Dozens of burial mounds from the ‘Funnel Beaker’ culture (approx. 6,000 years ago) have been found on moraines such as the Wageningse Berg and the Keijenberg. In the last century, many country estates and estates have been founded by nobility and wealthy citizens.
During the Second World War, the region underwent heavy fighting during the Airborne operation ‘Market Garden’, which turned out to be ‘a bridge too far’. Many characteristic buildings were lost, including several villas in the Heerlijkheid Doorwerth. In the late Middle Ages, Doorwerth Castle was the center of power of the southern Veluwezoom between Wageningen and Arnhem. The lords of the Lordship of Doorwerth built various hunting lodges and estates in the 17th and 18th centuries, but other noble families also founded estates and built beautiful villas on them.
On the route you will experience the height differences in the region and enjoy surprising views over the Rhine valley and the various stream valleys. You can take a short trip at the estates and other sights along the way to find out more or to enjoy the various exhibitions. You will also encounter plenty of opportunities for a snack or drink along the way, sometimes on an estate you pass or otherwise in the charming villages you cycle through.
- Category:
- Cycling
- Cycling route
