Enjoy the surprising Limburg

Cycle through the hilly Limburg, from one village to the next. The towns you cross are small and picturesque, and give you that authentic Limburg feeling.

One of those villages is Sint Anthonis, which has fewer than 5,000 inhabitants (2015). The village is hundreds of years old and was referred to in a will from 1312 as'Oelbroec\\\'. This name referred to two natural elements; a grove on high sandy soil (oele) and the surrounding marshy lowlands (broeck). At that time, the village was part of the free lordship of Boxmeer. The name of the village gradually became corrupted to Sint Anthonis in Oelbroec, which referred to Saint Anthony Abbot to whom the impressive parish church in the village was dedicated. In 1590, the name"Oelbroec\\\' was officially replaced by Sint Anthonis.

You will cycle along the Groenendael estate, where you can also visit the Groenendaalsmolen. This beautiful castle was mainly used for agricultural purposes. Only foundations of the original building from 1775 remain, because the building was demolished in 1921. Originally it was not really a castle but more of a fortified, moated house. It therefore did not have knightly status. Part of the wall remains of the old building have been incorporated into the masonry of the new house.

The Groenendaalsmolen is a beautiful watermill that is also called Groenendalsmolen. The mill, which grinds on the water of the Gulp near Euverem, originally belonged to Groenendaal Castle. The exact year of construction is unknown, but what we do know is that the watermill was used to grind corn. In 1871, the mill and associated house had fallen into such disrepair that they were demolished and rebuilt. A gruesome fact is that in 1939 an eighteen-year-old servant was caught by a rotating axle. His injuries were so serious that he died. In 1951, a fire broke out in the mill, which was then repaired and rebuilt again. In 1966, the mill was completely converted into a house and thus lost its function as a corn mill. Because the mill is privately inhabited, it cannot be visited.

In Bemelen there is a belt mill from 1855: the Van Tienhovenmolen. What is special about this mill is that it is the only mill in the Netherlands that is largely built from marl stones. The high place where the mill was eventually built was favourable because of the wind catch. From whichever side you approach the mill, it is always visible from far away.

In Libeek, get off your bike to admire the castle. Until 2011, Libeek, or Liebik as the Limburgers call it, was part of Margraten. The town was founded in the thirteenth century and the Libeek farm is located in the town, the oldest parts of which also date from the thirteenth century. There used to be a knightly house on this site, but after the castle changed owners in the sixteenth century, the fortress was gradually converted into a leasehold farm. Libeek has the largest Limburg farm that stands around a square courtyard and the house, which is built of marlstone, was built and improved in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.