The outskirts of Zwolle

This long route takes you through the area between the Hanseatic cities of Zwolle and Hasselt. Vast polders, numerous birds, watercourses and cultural-historical treasures: this walk has it all.

From the Westerveldse Bos, a young forest on the banks of the Zwarte Water, you walk through the ancient hamlet of Langenholte to the forest on the Agnietenberg, a river dune dating from the Ice Age. You cross the Overijsselse Vecht with a ferry and continue your route through the quiet and bird-rich grasslands. It is one of the few areas in the Netherlands where the rare lapwing flower grows.

Just below Hasselt you will see the Varkensgat on your left, a branch of Galgenrak, which is a little further on. At the end of the Varkensgat, a marina has been constructed from which ships can reach the Zwarte Water . From this place, from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, the so-called hannekemowers were shipped: German seasonal workers who mowed grass in Holland. After a while they also took German products to trade.

Along the Galgenrak you walk for a kilometer on the Stenen Dijk, which dates from the sixteenth century. This dike was originally intended as protection against the former Zuiderzee. The historic seawall is a national monument.

In Hasselt you walk through the beautifully preserved old center. You will see some beautiful monumental buildings. You will also pass windmill De Zwaluw, a flour mill originally dating from 1784. After a fire in 1857, the mill was rebuilt.

Once you have crossed the Zwarte Water, you enter the medieval Polder Mastenbroek. This area is one of the oldest reclaimed land in the Netherlands. The landscape here is straightforward: narrow ditches separate the elongated parcels of grassland. Occasionally there are mounds in the landscape. They were raised by farmers who did not have complete confidence in the then new technique of poldering. While walking you see many cows and birds in the grasslands. In the hamlet of Mastenbroek you walk past the monumental Reformed Church. It
original building dates from the fifteenth century but is different
restored after damage.