The Betuwe

When you say Betuwe, you immediately think of fruit. Many apples, pears and cherries are grown in the Betuwe. This is due to the favourable location and soil conditions of the region. The Betuwe has the best agricultural land in the Netherlands. The origin of the name Betuwe is the subject of discussions. One idea is that Betuwe means "good soil". In contrast, Veluwe means "bad soil". Another idea is that the name is derived from the Batavians, who are said to have considered the Betuwe to be part of their core country. The oldest mention of Beusichem is a transcript from the end of the 11th century. The text is about the possessions of St. Maartenskerk in Utrecht and reads: "insulam... iuxta Buosinhem qui propior ville Riswic". There is a beautiful linguistic translation of the name Beusichem.'Chem\\\' is derived from'hem\\\', which means place of residence in Old Dutch.'Beuse\\\' is a corruption of Boso, a personal name, which means'enemy\\\' in Old Germanic. We continue cycling along the river Lek. This Dutch river is the continuation of the Nederrijn from Wijk bij Duurstede. The river is 62 kilometers long. The Lek is connected to other waterways via the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal and the Merwede Canal. We also pass Wijndomein het Spijck and the beautiful Landgoed Heerlijkheid Marienwaerdt and its castle. 3 kilometers after Fort Everdingen you cycle past Fort Werk aan het Spoel. This is part of the New Dutch Waterline. It was built in the period 1816-1824 and was intended to protect the fan lock. Together with Fort Everdingen, the polder at Culemborg could be flooded as protection against the enemy. Fort Everdingen is also part of the New Dutch Waterline. It is a tower fort and was built between 1842 and 1847. At the fort you will find 3 locks. These were used to inundate the polder between the Diefdijk and Culemborg. The Linge River is a Betuwe river with a length of 100 km and thus the longest entirely Dutch river. It is a tourist attraction because there are many orchards along the river. The crossing with the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal is remarkable. Here the river disappears under the canal.