A visit to Valkenburg

Cycling through Limburg means cycling over hills, where you fight against the peaks and then glide smoothly down the valleys. You end up from one striking place from history to the next and you see many important locations. The rolling character of the landscape gives you the idea that you are abroad. You come through small church villages and vineyards such as the special Wahlwiller where you taste the atmosphere of the Burgundian outdoor life in Limburg.

Then you follow the Geuldal nature reserve. Due to the alternating wet and dry soil, there is a special flora and fauna to discover. In addition to wet hay meadows and otter flower grasslands, reed orchid and the one and only cuckoo flower, there is also a so-called zinc flora locally. For example, you will find zinc violets and zinc farmer's cress. The Geuldal also has a varied animal life such as the midwife toad, yellow-bellied and crested newt, hazel dormouse, badger, grey shrike, hawfinch, large yellow wagtail, little owl and many butterflies such as the field pearl butterfly.

The history of Wylre Castle in the village of the same name goes all the way back to 1040. Wylre Castle'castle\\\' is no longer a real castle, but rather a spacious mansion surrounded by a moat. The building is surrounded by a beautiful garden, with several terraces at the back that were constructed in 1910. The main building and the outbuildings are all on the National Monuments List.

After cycling 31 kilometres, you will come to three impressive buildings that are located a short distance from each other. First, there is the medieval castle Genhoes, which is beautifully embedded in the Geuldal. The castle is lovingly maintained and is in good condition. The historic castle garden Oud-Valkenburg has also been restored to its former glory, with a few monumental bean remains. Then you come to castle Schaloen, originally from the 14th century and built rectangular. The different types of marl from which the building is constructed, teach us that the building has undergone several reconstructions and renovations. In 1575, a major fire raged there, in 1656 it was restored after years of vacancy, in 1894 it was restored again, this time in neo-Gothic style, and the castle was given the appearance that can still be seen in 2014.

On the south side flows the winding Molenbeek, which in the sixteenth century was still the main stream of the Geul. In 1701 the water corn mill Schaloensmolen was built on this stream, the last ban mill of Oud-Valkenburg and Schin op Geul. At the end of the fifties the mill was shut down. After years of inactivity a group of volunteers restored the mill, without restoring the grinding function. A native garden was created at the mill, which is still open to visitors today. The well-known tourist attraction Valkenburg with its striking castle ruins that look out over the city, has, besides many terraces in the city centre, also beautiful sights.

The French Mill is a water mill and a national monument located in the middle of Valkenburg. It was built in 1804 on the right bank of the Geul by the Frenchman Fertrand Loisel. Because of his origins, the'French Mill\\\' was named as such. The mill was used as a corn mill and was given a new iron water wheel in 1929. Shortly after the Second World War, the mill was shut down. Like many other prominent locations, this building is also a national monument.

The Oude Molen is also called the Banmolen. The exact year of construction is unknown, but it is known that in 1860 the part of the mill that was on the left bank was demolished. A large mill building made of marlstone was built in its place. In 1901 the watermill burned down, which meant that it had to be rebuilt. The opportunity was taken to replace the water wheel with a turbine, which was delivered in 1919. When the Oude Molen came to a standstill in 1960 it fell into disrepair. Since 1984 the national monument has been grinding wheat organically again. The mill is also used to generate electricity.