Beautiful Zwolle: Strolling through green Zwolle-Zuid

Starting point

The walk starts at Het Engels Werk, the former fortifications of Zwolle. Around 1828 a park was laid out here in a romantic English landscape style. The national monument, has a large pond and various hiking trails. The kingfisher is one of the permanent residents of the park.

In 1908, a piece of swamp land was added to the park. The area, called the Kieftegat, has a permanently high groundwater level. When the IJssel is high, this entire area is flooded by the seepage water. The Kieftegat, with a wide variety of flora, is connected to the rest of the park by a bridge and footpath.

Spoolderbos

From the Engels Werk you end up in the Spoolderbos. Much of Zwolle's drinking water comes from this area. The twenty-hectare forest was created in 1980 on the occasion of the celebration of 750 years of Zwolle city rights. Thousands of Zwolle residents bought a tree or shrub to plant in the water extraction area.

The wide footpath that runs from the IJsseldijk through the Engels Werk and the Spoolderbos is called the Horreüs de Haaspad. The path connects the water wells and owes its name to the Zwolle preacher Horreüs de Haas. De Haas was a great nature lover.

Hanseatic country

The route then takes you through Hanzeland. This district has a lot of high-rise buildings and little greenery. Some people also call Hanzeland the'Manhattan van Zwolle\\\'. Hanzeland is home to Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, among other things. Despite the abundance of asphalt and concrete, you can still enjoy beautiful water features with surrounding greenery.

Schellerberg estate

As soon as you have left the residential areas of Zwolle-Zuid, you will return to greenery. On your right, the Schellerberg estate is hidden between the trees and shrubs. A building from the Middle Ages that was easy to defend at that time. In the past it was mostly inhabited by the noble families of the Netherlands.

Neighborhood IJsselzone

The walk continues through the hamlet of IJsselzone. The pristine river landscape is an oasis of calm amidst the hectic pace of the city. Many special plants and animals benefit from the regular floods here.

The IJssel

The dike along the river takes you back to the starting point of the route. From the dike you have a beautiful view of the river IJssel. In addition to the city front of the Hanseatic town of Hattem, you can also see the contours of the Veluwe. On the other side of the dike is the Schellerwade. With a bit of luck you can see a black tern landing here.

As you continue down the dike, the beautiful lines of the Hanzeboog loom up. The railway bridge over the IJssel is part of the rail connection from Zwolle to Utrecht and Lelystad. The bridge was opened in 2011.