Meerlo, Broekhuizenvorst and Wanssum

Meerlo is a village in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas. The village has several historic buildings, such as the former castle farm of Meerlo Castle and the former mayor's house Huize Meerlo. The surrounding burial mounds date from around 700 BC. This suggests that the area has been inhabited for a very long time. The village is bisected by the Groote Molenbeek. The beautiful stream valley, aptly called the Molenbeek Valley, consists of poplar forest, a heavy alder forest and small-scale landscapes with swamp scrub and flower-rich wet grasslands.

The first sight of the route presents itself within 10 minutes after departure. On the edge of an old Meuse meander, De Gun castle farm flaunts itself on the edge of a high terrace. The moat around the former castle is still partly visible. Note the brickwork under the eaves.

Broekhuizenvorst is a village in northern Limburg and has a historic center. The original village was located in Upper Gelre and was part of the Kessel district. The Spanish king, who owned the manor here, sold it to the States of Gelre in 1655 due to financial problems. Broekhuizenvorst was occupied by the Prussians in 1713 and formally became Prussian. This remained so until the French conquered the region in 1794. During the Belgian struggle for independence in 1830, this area opted to join Belgium. Broekhuizenvorst has been officially located in the Netherlands since 1866.

Just after Broekhuizenvorst you cycle past the 17th century Ooijen Castle, which is worth seeing in itself. Over the years, so much has been renovated to the castle that there is doubt whether much of the original building remains.

We are working hard on water area development between Ooijen and Wanssum. The opening of an old Maas arm and other restoration work in the river will create space for a unique water landscape.

The last sight on the route is the undershot watermill of Geysteren. The special thing about a mill is that it is one of the oldest machines and is also driven by pure natural power. This beautiful Geysteren watermill was built in 1897 and replaced a predecessor that stood on the same spot. However, the mill quickly fell into disrepair due to an electrically powered mill. In 1961, the mill and corridor were removed and the mill was converted into a home.