This cycle route of almost 16 kilometers leads you between Hilversum, Soest and Baarn over the Vuursche and Westerheide. This gently sloping nature reserve was formed during the ice ages. This area has been heavily inhabited throughout history. Many camps, banscheidngen, dead roads, urnfields and burial mounds characterize the area, which was also heavily inhabited in history.
Drakensteyn Castle and Estate are located near the municipality of Baarn. The octagonal house, which dates from 1640, was recognized as a knight's court town. The knight who lived in the house built a church with parsonage, a school, a mill and an inn in the village of Lage Vuursche, which was founded at that time. In 1780 a renovation took place in which the Ionic columns of the house were removed. The castle has been in the possession of the knight's family for over 150 years, but fell into disrepair in the mid-20th century. In 2006 it was announced that the house would be renovated. The house and estate are not open to the public, because they are private property.
When you cycle further you will see a renovated castle between the woods of Hilversum and Baarn. This is De Hooge Vuursche Castle, which was opened in 1912. Weddings, presentations and parties are regularly held here. Previously, the castle was used as a hotel-restaurant, but important conferences were held there in the years after WWII. Heineken also owned the castle and used a wing of the building as a safe house.
When you cycle between Baarn and Hilversum, you will see a hill with special cultural-historical value: a burial mound. In the Bronze Age, people buried their dead in burial mounds. They then put a garland of posts around it to demarcate it. The mounds were raised over human remains, which were stored in a coffin or urn. The function of a burial mound is therefore basically the same as that of a hunebed.
# | Description | Distance |
---|---|---|
83 | 83 (3739KS, De Bilt, Utrecht, The Netherlands) | 0.00 km |
82 | 82 (Vuursche Dreef, 3739KX, De Bilt, Utrecht, The Netherlands) | 0.56 km |
33 | 33 (Vuursche Dreef, 3739KX, De Bilt, Utrecht, The Netherlands) | 0.78 km |
98 | 98 (Vuursche Dreef, 3739KW, De Bilt, Utrecht, The Netherlands) | 0.94 km |
Drakensteyn (Drakensteyn, 3749AS, Baarn, Utrecht, The Netherlands) | 3.10 km | |
90 | 90 (Stulpselaan, 3749AW, Baarn, Utrecht, The Netherlands) | 4.06 km |