Discover Diessen: church, pilgrimage history and trails

Diessen combines a focus on cultural history with routes for different ways of getting around. At Willibrordus Church, architectural history meets a historic pilgrimage tradition; the routes vary in duration, length and mode of travel. If you are choosing between a walk, an art trail by bike and a tour through the rural landscape, the details provided for each offer different points of reference.

Church and historic pilgrimage tradition

The priests’ choir is the oldest part of Willibrordus Church and dates from around the end of the 14th century. Willibrordus Church and its tower date from the early 16th century and are a fine example of Kempen Gothic. The dates refer to different points of reference: the oldest part, on the one hand, and the church and tower, on the other.

Next to the church is the Willibrordus Well. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the well attracted many pilgrims; its water was believed to have healing powers against “Willibrord’s affliction”. This historical tradition adds the religious past of the place to its architectural history.

Christmas Nativity Scenes in Diessen

The nativity tradition also spans different periods. The Christmas nativity scene in Sint-Willibrordus Church is more than 100 years old and was acquired around 1900. There is also a nativity display beneath the tower, with figures made of white clay from 1950. The dates refer to different details: around 1900 indicates approximately when the nativity scene was acquired, while 1950 is the year the clay figures were made.

Every year, Jong Nederland Diessen publishes the Christmas Nativity Scene Route in the DiessenApp. Both the nativity scenes in the church and a route published annually are part of Diessen’s Christmas tradition.

Walks and art trails

The Muizenpad is a walk of about 50 minutes, designed for children aged 0 to 6. This gives both an approximate duration and a clearly stated age group. Kunstwandeling 3 is an art walk of about 4 km through Diessen. Kunstfietstocht 1 is a cycling route through Diessen and is about 24 km long.

The routes offer different points of reference for planning: the Muizenpad is described in terms of its approximate duration, while the two art routes are described by distance. They also differ in how you travel: Kunstwandeling 3 is a walk, while Kunstfietstocht 1 is a cycling route. This makes it easy to choose based on whether duration, an art walk or a cycling route matters most to you.

Rural landscape and former land use

The Leemsputten are now fishing ponds. They were formed from clay-rich soils that were once excavated to make bricks. This landscape feature brings together two different periods: today’s ponds and the former use of the soil as a raw material for brickmaking.

The Van dun Heikaant nor ut Broek route offers another perspective on the landscape. It passes through the rural surroundings of Baarschot, Diessen and Haghorst, runs mostly along unpaved paths and is suitable for horse riders and carriage drivers. The route also passes through Diessens Broek, an important meadow bird area with pastures and hay meadows. For nature lovers, it brings together details about the trail surface and mode of travel with a specific landscape feature: the meadow bird area, its pastures and its hay meadows.

Discover more destinations: Groenstraat, Hilvarenbeek

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