Discover Nijkerk

A hotel stay in Nijkerk can be planned around city walks, cultural history or nature. In town, the focus is on walks, the Grote Kerk, Museum Nijkerk and an art and poetry trail; northwest of Nijkerk lies the Arkemheen Natura 2000 site. This creates a thematic arc from the town centre to a nearby polder, whose birdlife changes over the course of the year. If you are looking for a hotel, these differences can help you decide what to focus on during your stay.

Explore Nijkerk on foot

Nijkerk offers guided and self-guided city walks that take about an hour and a half. One walk passes buildings and monuments that recall the town’s rich history. The approximate duration gives you a time frame for this part of your itinerary, while the historical perspective on the townscape provides a thematic focus.

A city walk along the Brede Beek follows the stream from the town park through the centre of Nijkerk to the Plein. It then continues via Kolkstraat to the harbour. This route makes it easy to navigate using specific places and streets: from the town park through the centre and the Plein to the harbour. The walk can therefore be followed as a sequence of named stops, without assigning an unsupported walking time to its individual sections.

Architectural history and art

The Grote Kerk brings together two remarkable historical features: an organ dating from 1756 and a pulpit from 1789. The pulpit’s wood carvings depict tobacco leaves, recalling Nijkerk’s tobacco-growing past. The two dates provide a specific historical context for the objects, while the carved motif further connects the pulpit with the town’s history.

Museum Nijkerk is housed in a listed national monument that was originally the late-medieval Gasthuis. The art and poetry trail offers another focus in the town centre: it passes twelve striking works of art and starts and ends at Nijkerk station. The station is therefore both the starting point and the endpoint of the route, while the artworks give it its urban character. The church, historic Gasthuis and art in the town centre offer different ways to explore Nijkerk’s history and culture.

Arkemheen: water and birdlife

Arkemheen lies northwest of Nijkerk and is a Natura 2000 site of importance to meadow birds, breeding birds and migratory birds. In winter, the Arkemheen polder is an important place for wintering wigeon, geese and Bewick’s swans; in spring, lapwings, black-tailed godwits and redshanks can be observed there. The seasonal contrast is clear: the winter visitors mentioned differ from the birds that can be seen in spring.

The Arkemheen Visitor Centre provides information about the polder, its special natural features and the role of water. The Hertog Reijnout steam pumping station adds a water-management perspective: it operated from 1883 to 1983, pumping excess water out of the Arkemheen polder. It is the only remaining functioning pumping station with two external paddle wheels. The Arkemheen area therefore showcases both the polder’s natural features and the historical and technical importance of water management.

Find your way around by bike

Several cycling routes pass by and through Nijkerk. Cycling and walking maps are sold at the VVV Information Point in Nijkerk, which also stocks a wide selection of Klompenpad route guides. Bikes can also be rented from the VVV. Two bikes are available for trips from the town centre to the Hertog Reijnout steam pumping station. So, in town you will find both maps to help you navigate and a specific bike rental option for the ride to the pumping station. If you are planning a city walk rather than a bike ride, you can also ask about walking maps there.

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