Straelen, Venlo, Hasselerheide

Explore a beautiful piece of history on the Groote Heide west of Venlo. This area covers almost 250 hectares, which played an important role during the Second World War due to its air base. After the war, almost all parts of the Venlo-Herongen air base were demolished, but the control tower remains isolated on the heath. The tower has been designated a monument. Anyone who pays attention will also recognize the remains of a defense structure (land defense) that used to dominate the landscape. Venlo itself is a vibrant trade, transport and industrial city. Venlo managed to grow into the center for the wider area, including an important shopping center for the nearby Ruhr area. That's great, because Venlo is one of the hardest hit places in the Netherlands during the Second World War. Although the people of Venlo can be proud of a characteristic, historic and attractive center, a lot of damage was done between 1940 and 1945, which means there is also a relatively large amount of new construction. The city has numerous sights such as the Schreurs house, the Romerhuis, De Grote Kerk, the Mariaweide and the monumental tower of the former Venlo-Herongen air base. How different is the atmosphere in the small village of Straelen. The village is centuries old; In the ninth century Straelen even had a stone hall church. Yet the town was only mentioned for the first time in a document from 1065. Straelen then had 250 inhabitants, but the town was nevertheless referred to as a city. The large church of Straelen burned down in 1387, except for the tower. The religious building was later rebuilt in late Gothic style as the Hall Church. Straelen was officially granted city rights in 1428. Since then the place has been further expanded and today approximately 16,000 people live there. The route starts and ends at Profile Zweirad-Center vd Stay Der Fahrradspezialist. There is plenty of parking at this bicycle specialist. Before you start the tour, we advise you to have your bicycle checked and any defects repaired. With this Profile you receive a 10 euro discount on maintenance and repairs upon presentation of your bicycle discount pass.