Discover the Veluwe

The Veluwe is a predominantly wooded region in the Dutch province of Gelderland and a former quarter of the Duchy of Gelre. Clockwise from the city of Hattem in the north, the area is roughly bordered by Apeldoorn, Dieren, Arnhem, Wageningen, Ede, Barneveld and Harderwijk. It is sometimes wrongly equated with De Hoge Veluwe National Park, which makes up less than one twentieth of it. During this route you can enjoy the peace and quiet with your children. On the way we pass Staverden Estate. Most tourists who visit the Ermelo area in the summer know Staverden Estate as 'the castle with the white peacocks'. Less well known is the fact that Staverden is officially the smallest town in the Benelux (and probably even the smallest place with city rights in the world). The city rights for Staverden were granted by the German king Rudolf to Count Reinoud van Gelder I in 1298. However, Reinoud did not get further than his own stone house in building that city. Although his son Reinoud II expanded that house after 1320 into a castle with a moat and a walled garden, the idea of actually founding a city was already abandoned at that time. The current castle, now the fourth, was built in 1905 on the foundations of the previous castle, from the eighteenth century. We also pass a sheepfold. The sheep of a sheepfold generally graze the heathland around the sheepfold under the management of a sheepherder. This form of natural landscape management ensures that the heathlands are preserved and do not overgrow with grass, shrubs and trees and ultimately become forests. The authentic appearance of a sheepfold means that most sheepfolds are a tourist attraction in the region. It is often stated where the sheep are at the moment and when they will return to the fold under the guidance of the shepherd.