Garnwerd - Afternoon - Ezinge route
Het Hogeland, Groningen, The Netherlands
Cycling route: 1945210
Provided by: Abel Tasman
15.0 km
00:53 h
264 kcal
1 m
Description
Description
The route passes through the National Landscape Afternoon Humsterland. It is characterized by a very open landscape with an irregular pattern of agricultural land and a relief of mounds, dikes and salt marshes. The irregular subdivision with curved shapes of the ditches and plots is a result of the reclamation based on the former silted up mudflat channels. In the Middle Ages there were two islands, Middag and Humsterland. The channel between the two islands has since silted up.
The tour takes you through the afternoon. The name is a corruption of'midoog\\\' which means'middle island\\\', compare'oog\\\' in'Schiermonnikoog\\\'. The earliest traces of habitation on the fertile salt marshes date from 500 to 600 BC. The first residential hills then emerged. Around the Common Era, more and more residential mounds, called mounds in Groningen, and terpen in Friesland. Around 1200 it became a prosperous area. The farmers built dikes to protect their land from the sea. Afternoon and Humsterland grew together again. More information at www. afternoonhumsterland.info.
There is much to see in this old cultural landscape. The mound village of Niezijl (in Humsterland) was voted the most beautiful village in the Netherlands by the weekly magazine Elsevier in 2019. In 2020, the ANWB designated the village of Winsum, bordering Middag, as the most beautiful in the Netherlands. The monastery museum in Aduard is dedicated to the famous St. Bernadus Abbey, founded in 1192. In its heyday in the Middle Ages it was one of the largest in Europe. From the outset, the monks have been committed to the diking and reclamation of the surrounding salt marsh area.
The cycle route goes through part of Afternoon. A nice destination of the tour is the mound village of Ezinge, the former main village of Middag. The town is famous for the archaeological excavation and research by Van Giffen in the first half of the 20th century. In the Wierden Museum of Ezinge, the history of the mound country is told and the results of the excavations are shown. A visit is highly recommended.
Description, sights and things to know
The cycle route starts in Garnwerd, a beautiful village on the Reitdiep with a protected village view. The village itself is also worth a visit: the church, the mill, the mayor Brouwerstraat. It is said to be 'the narrowest street in the Netherlands accessible to cars'. And don't forget the Hammingh café-restaurant, and the newer Garnwerd aan Zee with recreational harbour. The name Hammingh has been associated with Garnwerd for a long time. The current café was built in 1876. Before that, the family already had a scrapyard of wooden ships on the slipway in front of the café. They also had ferry rights over the Reitdiep. That connection became redundant in 1933 when the current lifting bridge came into use. The café still has the name Hammingh, but it has been owned by other owners since 1982.
The route goes from junction 65 via point 19 to 64. It runs along a canalized part of the Reitdiep (actually the canalized lower reaches of the Hunze). The Reitdiep used to be the connection between the city of Groningen and the sea. It was a tidal river, ebb and flow were visible right into the city. In the Hanseatic period, trade with the Baltic Sea took place along this waterway. With a view to smooth sailing, the Reitdiep was straightened in several places in the 17th century, including the stretch near Garnwerd. On Google.maps the old winding course is still very visible as the Oude Diepje.
After junction 19 you cycle over the Wetsingerzijl, which was restored in 2013, one of the many drainage locks of the Reitdiep. The diking of the Reitdiep took place from approximately the 13th century. The salt marsh landscape along the river was gradually reclaimed. It then became necessary to discharge the water from the polders into the Reitdiep via drainage sluices (\\\'zijlen\\\'). This happened automatically if the internal water in the polder was higher than the external water in the river. Conversely, the side doors were pressed shut and sealed by the incoming outside water. Because it could also be necessary to turn the inland water, there were usually two sets of doors, ebb doors and flood doors. Ships could not be locked here like in a normal lock, they had to wait for an equal water level on both sides of the Zijl before the lock doors could be opened.
At junction 64 there is a narrowing in the Reitdiep with a bicycle bridge over it. The Wetsingersluis used to be here. This lock was built in 1877 to regulate the water level near the city of Groningen after the Reitdiep near Zoutkamp was closed off from the sea. Later, in 1931, the Dorkwerder lock took over the lock function. The Wetsingersluis was in danger of falling into disrepair, but was restored in 1998 and included in cycling and walking routes. An information board at the bicycle bridge tells the history of the lock.
The route continues over the Reitdiep, towards junction 1. You cycle through the open landscape of Middag. You pass the Aduarderdiep. This deep was dug around 1300 by the monks of the Aduard Monastery, for the drainage of the peat areas west of the city of Groningen.
From junction 1 follow the road north to junction 66 in Ezinge. The tour passes Feerwerd with the church and the still operating grain mill'Joeswert\\\', producer of various types of flour, including spelt.
Ezinge is famous for the excavation of the mound in the 10s to 30s of the last century. In the Wierden Museum in Ezinge the story is told about the origins of Wierden (Terpen). The habitation and living conditions of the Middag-Humsterland, since 600 years BC and therefore the oldest Cultural-Historical Landscape in Western Europe, became known through the archaeological excavations by Groningen professor van Giffen.
From Ezinge the cycle route continues to junction 47 in Aduarderzijl. On the way you will pass the Allersmaborg. The deposit has been restored and is operated by the University of Groningen. The deposit and garden are only open by appointment, the orchard and the walking paths outside the moat are freely accessible.
If you turn right at junction 47 in Aduarderzijl towards the Aduarder Diep, you will come to a campsite with a marina and a rest point for a drink and a snack. The Reitdiep ferry also departs from here for the trip across the Reitdiep to the Schaphalsterzijlen. In the months of July, August and September, the ferry leaves Aduarderzijl every hour on the hour during the day. A return trip takes one hour.
If you turn left at junction 47 towards junction 65 in Garnwerd, you first drive past't Waarhuis\\\', a three-century-old building that has been used as a law house, lock house, café, among other things. Now it is a house for exhibitions, concerts, cabaret and dinners or a tea table.
Immediately afterwards you drive over the Aduarderzijlen. This is also a lateral complex, now for the drainage of the Aduarder Diep. The first side was built here around 1285, at the same time as the digging of the deep by the monks of the monastery in Aduard. The lock has been renovated several times and later a new lock was added because the amount of water for the old lock became too much. The complex had an important strategic value and was often the scene of fierce battles in the 16th and 17th centuries. The current stone Oude Sluis was built in 1706. The current double Nieuwe Sluis dates from 1867. There must have been a lot of shipping traffic at the time. In Aduarderzijl this led to a large number of bars because the skippers to and from the Aduarder Diep killed the waiting times with the necessary "drinks". An unpleasant side effect is that not all skippers were able to leave on time in this way.
The last part of this cycle route takes you back to Garnwerd.
The route passes through the National Landscape Afternoon Humsterland. It is characterized by a very open landscape with an irregular pattern of agricultural land and a relief of mounds, dikes and salt marshes. The irregular subdivision with curved shapes of the ditches and plots is a result of the reclamation based on the former silted up mudflat channels. In the Middle Ages there were two islands, Middag and Humsterland. The channel between the two islands has since silted up.
The tour takes you through the afternoon. The name is a corruption of'midoog\\\' which means'middle island\\\', compare'oog\\\' in'Schiermonnikoog\\\'. The earliest traces of habitation on the fertile salt marshes date from 500 to 600 BC. The first residential hills then emerged. Around the Common Era, more and more residential mounds, called mounds in Groningen, and terpen in Friesland. Around 1200 it became a prosperous area. The farmers built dikes to protect their land from the sea. Afternoon and Humsterland grew together again. More information at www. afternoonhumsterland.info.
There is much to see in this old cultural landscape. The mound village of Niezijl (in Humsterland) was voted the most beautiful village in the Netherlands by the weekly magazine Elsevier in 2019. In 2020, the ANWB designated the village of Winsum, bordering Middag, as the most beautiful in the Netherlands. The monastery museum in Aduard is dedicated to the famous St. Bernadus Abbey, founded in 1192. In its heyday in the Middle Ages it was one of the largest in Europe. From the outset, the monks have been committed to the diking and reclamation of the surrounding salt marsh area.
The cycle route goes through part of Afternoon. A nice destination of the tour is the mound village of Ezinge, the former main village of Middag. The town is famous for the archaeological excavation and research by Van Giffen in the first half of the 20th century. In the Wierden Museum of Ezinge, the history of the mound country is told and the results of the excavations are shown. A visit is highly recommended.
Description, sights and things to know
The cycle route starts in Garnwerd, a beautiful village on the Reitdiep with a protected village view. The village itself is also worth a visit: the church, the mill, the mayor Brouwerstraat. It is said to be 'the narrowest street in the Netherlands accessible to cars'. And don't forget the Hammingh café-restaurant, and the newer Garnwerd aan Zee with recreational harbour. The name Hammingh has been associated with Garnwerd for a long time. The current café was built in 1876. Before that, the family already had a scrapyard of wooden ships on the slipway in front of the café. They also had ferry rights over the Reitdiep. That connection became redundant in 1933 when the current lifting bridge came into use. The café still has the name Hammingh, but it has been owned by other owners since 1982.
The route goes from junction 65 via point 19 to 64. It runs along a canalized part of the Reitdiep (actually the canalized lower reaches of the Hunze). The Reitdiep used to be the connection between the city of Groningen and the sea. It was a tidal river, ebb and flow were visible right into the city. In the Hanseatic period, trade with the Baltic Sea took place along this waterway. With a view to smooth sailing, the Reitdiep was straightened in several places in the 17th century, including the stretch near Garnwerd. On Google.maps the old winding course is still very visible as the Oude Diepje.
After junction 19 you cycle over the Wetsingerzijl, which was restored in 2013, one of the many drainage locks of the Reitdiep. The diking of the Reitdiep took place from approximately the 13th century. The salt marsh landscape along the river was gradually reclaimed. It then became necessary to discharge the water from the polders into the Reitdiep via drainage sluices (\\\'zijlen\\\'). This happened automatically if the internal water in the polder was higher than the external water in the river. Conversely, the side doors were pressed shut and sealed by the incoming outside water. Because it could also be necessary to turn the inland water, there were usually two sets of doors, ebb doors and flood doors. Ships could not be locked here like in a normal lock, they had to wait for an equal water level on both sides of the Zijl before the lock doors could be opened.
At junction 64 there is a narrowing in the Reitdiep with a bicycle bridge over it. The Wetsingersluis used to be here. This lock was built in 1877 to regulate the water level near the city of Groningen after the Reitdiep near Zoutkamp was closed off from the sea. Later, in 1931, the Dorkwerder lock took over the lock function. The Wetsingersluis was in danger of falling into disrepair, but was restored in 1998 and included in cycling and walking routes. An information board at the bicycle bridge tells the history of the lock.
The route continues over the Reitdiep, towards junction 1. You cycle through the open landscape of Middag. You pass the Aduarderdiep. This deep was dug around 1300 by the monks of the Aduard Monastery, for the drainage of the peat areas west of the city of Groningen.
From junction 1 follow the road north to junction 66 in Ezinge. The tour passes Feerwerd with the church and the still operating grain mill'Joeswert\\\', producer of various types of flour, including spelt.
Ezinge is famous for the excavation of the mound in the 10s to 30s of the last century. In the Wierden Museum in Ezinge the story is told about the origins of Wierden (Terpen). The habitation and living conditions of the Middag-Humsterland, since 600 years BC and therefore the oldest Cultural-Historical Landscape in Western Europe, became known through the archaeological excavations by Groningen professor van Giffen.
From Ezinge the cycle route continues to junction 47 in Aduarderzijl. On the way you will pass the Allersmaborg. The deposit has been restored and is operated by the University of Groningen. The deposit and garden are only open by appointment, the orchard and the walking paths outside the moat are freely accessible.
If you turn right at junction 47 in Aduarderzijl towards the Aduarder Diep, you will come to a campsite with a marina and a rest point for a drink and a snack. The Reitdiep ferry also departs from here for the trip across the Reitdiep to the Schaphalsterzijlen. In the months of July, August and September, the ferry leaves Aduarderzijl every hour on the hour during the day. A return trip takes one hour.
If you turn left at junction 47 towards junction 65 in Garnwerd, you first drive past't Waarhuis\\\', a three-century-old building that has been used as a law house, lock house, café, among other things. Now it is a house for exhibitions, concerts, cabaret and dinners or a tea table.
Immediately afterwards you drive over the Aduarderzijlen. This is also a lateral complex, now for the drainage of the Aduarder Diep. The first side was built here around 1285, at the same time as the digging of the deep by the monks of the monastery in Aduard. The lock has been renovated several times and later a new lock was added because the amount of water for the old lock became too much. The complex had an important strategic value and was often the scene of fierce battles in the 16th and 17th centuries. The current stone Oude Sluis was built in 1706. The current double Nieuwe Sluis dates from 1867. There must have been a lot of shipping traffic at the time. In Aduarderzijl this led to a large number of bars because the skippers to and from the Aduarder Diep killed the waiting times with the necessary "drinks". An unpleasant side effect is that not all skippers were able to leave on time in this way.
The last part of this cycle route takes you back to Garnwerd.
Height Profile
Directions
| # | Description | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|
65 | 65 (9893PD, Het Hogeland, Groningen, The Netherlands) | 0.00 km | |
19 | 19 (Karspelweg, 9773TM, Het Hogeland, Groningen, The Netherlands) | 1.21 km | |
64 | 64 (9773TM, Het Hogeland, Groningen, The Netherlands) | 2.16 km | |
1 | 1 (Meedenerweg, 9892TB, Westerkwartier, Groningen, The Netherlands) | 5.36 km | |
66 | 66 (9891BA, Westerkwartier, Groningen, The Netherlands) | 8.57 km | |
47 | 47 (9892TG, Westerkwartier, Groningen, The Netherlands) | 12.05 km |
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Reviews
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