Enjoy surprising Limburg

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

One of those villages is Sint Anthonis, which has less than 5,000 inhabitants (2015). The village is hundreds of years old and in a will from 1312 it was referred to as'Oelbroec\\\'. This name referred to two natural elements; a grove on high sandy soil (oele) and the surrounding swampy lowland (broeck). At that time, the village was part of the free estate of Boxmeer. Gradually the name of the village 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 cycle past the Groenendael estate, where you can also visit the Groenendaalsmolen. This beautiful castle was mainly used for agricultural purposes. Only the 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 had no knight status. Some of the wall remains of the old building have been incorporated into the wallwork 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 water mill was used to grind corn. In 1871 the mill and associated house had become so dilapidated that they were demolished and rebuilt. A grim fact is that in 1939 an eighteen-year-old maid was grabbed by a rotating axle. His injuries were so serious that he died. In 1951 a fire broke out in the mill, which subsequently  was repaired and rebuilt again. The mill was completely converted into a house in 1966, thus losing its function as a flour mill. Because the mill is privately inhabited, it cannot be visited.

In Bemelen there is a belt mill from 1855: the Van Tienhoven mill. What is special about this mill is that it is the only mill in the Netherlands that is largely constructed from marl stones. The high place where the mill was ultimately built was favorable because of the wind catch. Whichever side you approach the mill from, it is always visible from afar.

Also get off your bike in Libeek to admire the castle. Until 2011, Libeek, or Liebik as the Limburgers call it, was part of Margraten. The place was founded in the thirteenth century and the town is home to the Libeek farm, 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 tenant farm. Libeek has the largest farm in Limburg, which surrounds a square courtyard and the house, which is built of marlstone, was built and improved in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

When you return to Noorbeek, take a break in the courtyard of an old half-timbered farm. At Hoeve De Witte Olifant Noordbeek you can recover from the bike ride in a leafy garden. If you want to enjoy the Limburg landscape for longer and, for example, take route 183719, you can rent an attractive house there. Hoeve de Witte Olifant Noorbeek is an official free charging point with a picnic area.