Castle Route: tour of Zutphen and Lochem

Long ago, old Hanseatic cities sprang up along the IJssel. Zutphen grew during the Hanseatic period by transporting herring, butter and beer across the IJssel to the Rhine. The skippers brought back wine, but the timber trade also flourished. Striking towers and stately merchant houses determine the street scene. Just past junction 43 you can take a detour to a park-like estate with a stately country house: De Voorst. The seventeenth-century country house is also called the Versailles of the Achterhoek because of its appearance. It was designed by the architects of Paleis Het Loo.