Westervelde: Village History, Monument and Walking Route

If you are looking for a hotel in Westervelde, the village offers several themes to explore, including its protected village setting, the Kamp De Fledders monument and the Westervelde-Norg Knapzak Route. Its history, memorial site and landscape offer different perspectives to help you decide which aspects of Westervelde suit your trip.

Village setting and historic buildings

Westervelde is part of the designated protected village setting of Westervelde en Zuidvelde. The historic village centre developed along Hoofdstraat, Schoolstraat and Steeg; the large triangular village green, or brink, is also located there. Several attractive 19th-century farmhouses stand along Hoofdweg and Schoolstraat. The historic village setting therefore includes both prominent landmarks in the village centre and farmhouses along two of the streets mentioned.

Another building with a distinctive form is Huis Westervelde, also known as Tonckensborg. The single-storey house has a block-shaped design and a U-shaped hipped roof. A farmhouse is attached to its north-east corner. The house was probably built in the second half of the 15th century. Its estimated date of construction is several centuries earlier than that of the 19th-century farmhouses. The village setting thus brings together historic streets and architectural features from different periods.

The Kamp De Fledders monument

The Kamp De Fledders monument commemorates the 120 Jewish forced labourers who were housed in this labour camp from July to October 1942. It stands in a meadow between Westervelde, Zuidvelde and Huis ter Heide, beside the road from Zuidvelde to Kolonievaart, level with the entrance to the former Jewish labour camp.

A glass panel depicting barbed wire is set between two curved concrete supports. The brick-built platform is shaped like a Star of David. The design thus connects the memorial site with specific forms and materials: glass, curved concrete and brickwork all contribute to the monument’s appearance.

Westervelde-Norg Knapzak Route

The 17-kilometre Westervelde-Norg Knapzak Route can easily be shortened to two separate routes of 9.5 kilometres each. For planning your walk, you can therefore choose between the longer 17-kilometre route and two shorter options. The route passes through Norgerholt, beneath tall oaks and old holly trees with almost impenetrable undergrowth. It also runs alongside a hunebed, burial mounds and a meandering stream. The choice of route length therefore goes hand in hand with the different landscape and archaeological features along the way.

More natural and historical highlights

Hunebed D2 is the Westervelde hunebed and one of two hunebedden in Noordenveld. The Norger bosmuur occurs in the nearby area and is found almost nowhere else in the world. A natural burial ground was established in the area around Westervelde in 2019, where eternal rest is guaranteed.

Discover more places to visit: Roden, Veenhuizen, Roderesch, Peest, Alteveer, Een, Norg, Zuidvelde.

For an overview of the wider area: Noordenveld.