Nijeveen: Paths, Water and Village History

Explore Nijeveen through its paths, waterways and historic sites. For planning your trip, the selection of walking routes offers a practical starting point: three short village circular walks, a walk of around 12 km and the 54 km van Geluk leisure route. There is also the Nijeveense Grift, which runs across the village, a swimming lake to the northwest and landmarks from the village’s history.

Walking routes by distance

Nijeveen has three short village circular walks, measuring 2 km, 3.5 km and 5 km. The different distances give you a basis for matching the length of a walk to the other plans for your trip. The routes are marked with posts showing directions for the green, blue and red routes.

There is an information board at the starting and finishing point by the De Sterrenberg windmill. It lists the three village circular walks and provides information about various sights along the routes. The board and the colored directional markers complement each other: at the mill, you will find the overview; along the way, the posts point you in the direction of the respective route.

A longer walk is the Izakje-de-Vries walk, at around 12 km. It passes partly through Nijeveen’s village center and by farms in the rural area to the north. Its distance is therefore quite different from that of the three shorter village walks; at the same time, its route description includes both the village center and the rural area to the north.

The van Geluk leisure route is 54 km long and offers another point of comparison in terms of distance. For orientation, it is helpful to consider it as a separate option alongside the village circular walks and the Izakje-de-Vries walk: the routes mentioned range from short loops to a considerably longer leisure route.

The Grift and water in Nijeveen

The Nijeveense Grift runs across the village and is the oldest man-made waterway in Drenthe. Until the mid-19th century, the Sluisje in the Grift served as a lock for regulating water. This means the waterway has two distinct features: its course across Nijeveen and its historical role in water regulation.

The Tussenboerslanden swimming lake lies northwest of the rural village and is also colloquially known as Nijeveense Plas. Both names refer to the same lake. It is a separate geographical landmark alongside the Grift, which runs through the village.

Buildings, mill technology and local history

The Sint-Barbarakerk was built as a complete structure shortly after 1477. Its construction provides a specific historical point of reference for the village’s history. Another landmark is the bronze monument “Boer met melkbussen” by the village community center “De Schalle.” It commemorates Nijeveen’s history of milk and cheese.

The De Sterrenberg windmill also connects history with distinctive technical features. It was brought from Germany to the Netherlands in 1977 and uses the techniques of self-winding and self-sailing. The overview of the three village circular walks also starts and ends at the same location, so the mill can be seen both as a landmark for the routes and as part of the village’s history.

Anyone who would also like to discover Nijeveen and Kolderveen through photographs can visit the publicly accessible digital image archive of the Historische Vereniging Nijeveen. The association has digitized and made available old and new photographs of both places. The collection adds a photographic perspective on local history to the buildings and monuments.

Discover more destinations: De Schiphorst, Meppel, Broekhuizen.

Return to the main travel overview: Meppel.