Country houses and mills near the Loosdrechtse Plassen

Explore the Loosdrechtse Plassen and enjoy the stately country houses and classic windmills that determine the atmosphere of the area. The Loosdrechtse Plassen are the beating heart of the nature that you discover during the bike ride. Water gained more and more space through peatification and there are dikes and small islands between the lakes. From the starting point you cycle five kilometers until you see the first three historic country estates on the route: Oud Over, Bijdorp and Vegtlust. Along the east bank of the Vecht, a historic park, a garden dome, a gardener's house/horse stable/coach house and a beautiful main building together form Oud Over. The whole is fenced off with entrance gates. In the nineteenth century, Johannes Willem van Reenen bought four country estates that were next to each other on the Vegt. Bijdorp was one of them, another was Vegtlust, which was built in the eighteenth century. The other two were demolished and a beautiful park was created on the vacant piece of land. In 1981, Vegtlust was renovated and six apartments were built, but Bijdorp is one of the best preserved country estates in the area. Various parts of this country estate are protected because they are national monuments, such as the main building from 1700 and the historic garden and park. Three kilometers further you will find the country estates of Vreedenhoff and Middenhoek. Both country estates are surrounded by beautiful park-like gardens complete with pond, groups of trees, wooded areas and open spaces. The main building of Middenhoek burned down in 1956, but the coachman's house, gardener's house, staff house, tea dome and coach house can still be admired. The final attraction is the Gabriël mill on the program. The mill, also known as the Voorste mill, was built in 1635. The ground sailor is still able to turn, but no longer drains the polder. The running gear and paddle wheel have been removed, but painter Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël immortalized the mill several times on canvas.