Oldebroek: Culture, Mills and Routes

Oldebroek combines historic sites with routes that vary in activity and designated length. If you are looking for a hotel in Oldebroek, you can plan your stay around architectural history, walks, or cycling tours. The Boerderijmuseum De Bovenstreek shows how people used to work, harvest, and live on the Veluwe. Various events are held there throughout the year, focusing on historic crafts. This allows you to connect a museum visit with the region’s everyday history.

Cultural history in Oldebroek

The Sint Lambertuskerk, also known as the Dorpskerk, is a Rijksmonument. Its tower dates from the 14th century and the choir from the 15th century; the church features both Romanesque and half-Gothic architecture. The different construction periods give you two specific historical points of reference when viewing the building. During the war, the vaults next to the tower were used as hiding places for Jews, pilots, and people in hiding.

Molen de Hoop in Oldebroek was built by Kornelis Blaauw in 1853. There is one condition for visits: when the blue flag is flying, the mill is open, and the miller offers a guided tour and explains how it works. If you plan to visit, check in advance whether the flag is flying.

Hiking routes by length and landscape

Even on foot, the routes differ in their designated lengths. The marked Het Vreepad hiking trail is 16 kilometres long and starts, among other places, at the Boerderijmuseum De Bovenstreek in Oldebroek. It leads through the varied countryside of the municipality of Oldebroek, past meadows, country estates, and the remains of a drifting sand area, as well as an old settlement and historic farmhouses. Check the trail conditions before setting out.

The Bovenstreekroute is five kilometres long and passes through the countryside behind the museum; farmhouses and polders are among its highlights. The Mulligenroute, also five kilometres long, runs through the area around Oldebroek, with farmhouses and polders among its highlights. For a longer route, the ten-kilometre Eekterroute is another option: it passes through the area around Oldebroek and Oosterwolde. Its highlights include farmhouses, woodland, polders, and a country estate.

Cycling routes with cultural and landscape themes

The Boerderij Beleeftocht combines a visit to the Boerderijmuseum with a healthy farmers’ breakfast, provided in a backpack to enjoy on the way or at the museum. The package’s availability may vary. It includes four cycling routes between 23.5 and 43.5 kilometres long, which can be followed using a special web app. The app features games, puzzles, and interesting facts for the journey.

The “Van Kerkdorp tot Dorpskerk” cycling route starts in Oldebroek. At each church along the route, a QR code at the entrance provides information, photos, and videos about that particular church. The Fietsroute WO2 Oldebroek passes through the municipality, taking in crash sites, hiding places, streets named after people who were killed, and other notable places.

Landscape routes also offer different highlights. The Landgoedroute passes through the area around Wezep, Oosterwolde, and Oldebroek and features five country estates, farmhouses, and polders. Highlights of the Bos&Hei-route include farmhouses, forests, heathland, a sheep shelter, a country estate, and A.Vogeltuinen.

Heathland and the Sheep Market

The Oldebroekse Heide is a natural area in the Noord Veluwe with heathland and coniferous forests in between. Visitors can spot hares, foxes, rabbits, wild boar, roe deer, and red deer there. This adds a nature theme to the architectural history and routes around Oldebroek.

A regular date in the annual calendar is the traditional Sheep Market in Oldebroek: it takes place every year on the Wednesday before 17 September. If you want to plan your stay around it, check the date for your year of travel.

Discover more destinations: 'T Loo, Noordeinde, Wezep

For the main travel overview: Oldebroek.