Round Horst

We start this route in the center of Horst. Horst is the most important town in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas. Horst has made an international name for itself through its flourishing mushroom cultivation. Approximately half of the entire production of mushrooms in the Netherlands is produced in Horst. From Horst we cycle in the direction of Meterik. Here you will find a beautiful church that was built in 1907 according to a design by the Roermond architect Caspar Franssen and enlarged in 1922 according to a plan by his son Joseph Franssen. We also find the Eendracht Maakt Macht mill here. This is a belt mill, which was built in 1899 by Wijnhoven from Venray. From here we cycle into the Schadijkse Bossen. There used to be extensive heathlands here. Farmers dug sods and let sheep graze there. This created bare spots and the wind got a hold on the underlying sand. Hence the hilly character in a large part of the forest. At the end of the 19th century, sand drifts were tackled by foresting large areas with Scots pine. And the heathlands were transformed into agricultural areas. There is another sand drift on the Bergsteeg, which is also locally called the sand mountain. We also visit the town of America on this route.