Liberation Route Roosendaal Region

Cycle along the traces of the war and liberation

The war must never be forgotten. In Roosendaal and the surrounding villages there are many monuments and landmarks that commemorate the victims who fell here and the soldiers who liberated the region. Cycle the route and discover the history.

Cycling along the Watermolenbeek and the Willem Dreesweg you reach the Visdonk estate. Via Rozenvendreef and Kerkweg you then arrive at Heijbeeksestraat, where the Peace Chapel designed by the famous architect Joseph Cuypers has stood since 1946. A little further on you will see the church tower of the village of Nispen. During the war it was severely damaged by a tank battle, which meant that the tower had to be rebuilt later.

The remains of the war can also still be found in the pavement at the beginning of the Bergsebaan, in the form of a so-called asparagus barrier . Iron bars could be inserted into these slots to stop enemy vehicles.

On the way to Wouwse Plantage we pass the area where Canadian and British soldiers were involved in a major tank battle with the Germans in October 1944. The fierce fighting resulted in many casualties. After four days the village was liberated, with the church being severely damaged. A so-called bailey bridge was placed over the Zoom so that the Canadian troops could advance further to liberate Bergen op Zoom.

You cycle along the Zoom, a former peat canal, in the direction of the A58. When you cross that road, there are two cemeteries on the right. The Canadian cemetery contains 1,116 mostly Canadian fallen soldiers. The grave of a Dutch pilot serving in the Royal Air Force can also be found here. The British cemetery contains 1,296 mainly British soldiers, including seven graves from the First World War.

Large parts of the Vrederust psychiatric center were used during the war as a field hospital for members of the German Kriegsmarine who were stationed in Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal. After the war, evacuees from Zeeland and the immediate area were received here.

The village of Moerstraten was liberated on October 29, 1944. On the Luienhoekweg there is a monument commemorating nine Canadians who died during the liberation of this village. The cross features the emblem of the Canadian Armed Forces. The monument was made by Umberto Mion from Bergen op Zoom and was unveiled on August 26, 1945. This makes it the first monument in memory of the war in the Netherlands.

The village of Heerle was also liberated on October 29, 1944. To commemorate the civilian victims from the village, a bronze plaque has been placed on the side wall of the Gertrudis Church , which was badly damaged during the war. The design is by Johan Werz from Roosendaal.

Wouw was liberated by the British on October 28 and one of the streets in the village still refers directly to this day. In the 28 Oktoberstraat you will find the monument' Liberation' by Hanneke Mols, dating from 1996, and consisting of four rings. At the Wouwse Doeldreef, the grave of the 26-year-old soldier Cornelis van Dorst who died on May 25, 1940 in Ostend, where he probably wanted to escape to England by boat, can be found in the cemetery .

A Liberation Marker is part of the Liberation Route that follows the path of the Allied soldiers from Normandy to Berlin. On the Markt in Wouw you will find one that tells the story of the V1 rocket that hit the Doeldreef in February 1945, killing seven victims. More traces of the war and the liberation can be found on the Wouwse Markt. The tower of the Lambertus Church was blown up shortly before the liberation and fell into the church building, destroying the beautiful choir stalls. The wooden statues of the choir stalls were not damaged because they were buried a little earlier behind the former brewery De Ster (Markt 27). The church was completely restored to its former glory after the war. A facade stone on the Markt 10 house commemorates the rebuilding of this building.

Via Vinkenbroek you then reach Burgemeester Freijterslaan in Roosendaal. The later mayor was municipal secretary in Roosendaal during the war years, but was also active as a resistance fighter. The bridge over the Watermolenbeek/Vliet on the Kade was blown up by the Germans in October 1944. The installation of a bailey bridge by the British of the Polar Bear Division overcame this obstacle. On May 5, 1960, a statue designed by sculptor Joop Vlak was unveiled here. It consists of a tall column with a polar bear on top. That British division owed its name to an exercise in Iceland. There is also a Liberation Marker on the bridge. When you spin the wheel you will hear more stories about this specific area during the war.