Hunze Route

Hunze or Oostermoerse vaart , the Hunze river originates as Achterste Diep in the Exloosche Landen and the Exloosche Monden and as Voorste Diep, winding its way through the Hondsrug near Borger, in the Eeservenen. The Hunze lies in the valley between the Hondsrug on the west and a low sandy ridge on the east. This low sandy ridge prevented the former Bourtangermoor from reaching the Hondsrug. The Hunze flows into the Zuilaardermeer and then flows as the Drentsche Diep to the Winschoter Diep. The Hunze valley was formed during the Ice Age. In the mid-18th century, the Hunze became important for peat shipping. The Hunze was navigable as far as Gasselternijveen. In the 1960s, the Hunze was canalized to regulate drainage for agricultural purposes. Because the Hunze is largely fed by seepage water, this regulation proved to be inadequate. Large parts of the river basin, spread over various locations such as the Elzenmaat, are being returned to nature by excavating old meanders.

Sems Line
The word "Semslinie" initially brings to mind a defensive structure from earlier times. While it is old, it has nothing to do with defense. The conflicts between landowners from Drenthe and Groningen reached a peak in 1614. According to the people of Drenthe, the monastery in Ter Apel belonged to Drenthe, but according to the people of Groningen, to Groningen. To resolve the conflict, a Frisian surveyor, Johan Sems, was hired to determine a border. He drew the border in a more or less straight line between Huis Ter Haar (north of Ter Apel) and the Martini Tower in Groningen. This did not resolve the conflict; the people of Groningen were unwilling to relinquish the monastery to them. With the construction of the Stadskanaal, the definitive border was established, with the monastery remaining part of Groningen. A small section of the Semslinie is recognized as a provincial border.
  
Museum railway STAR
The STAR Museum Railway is the longest museum railway in the Netherlands. Since 1995, the line has run from Veendam to Musselkanaal. Parts of the Museum Railway run along the Semslinie. The Noordoosterlocaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (NOLS) constructed the Assen-Gieten-Stadskanaal section (now a hiking trail) in 1905 and the Veendam-Stadskanaal section in 1910. The original STAR (Groningen-Drenthe Railway Company Stadskanaal-ter Apel-Rijksgrens) constructed the Stadskanaal-Musselkanaal section in 1924.

Gasselternijveen
Although the name Gasselternijveen only appeared on maps during the French period, it is considered the oldest peat colony in the Hunze region. In the 17th century, the Hunze River was navigable, and the Stadskanaal (City Canal) did not yet exist. From Gasselternijveen, so-called mouths were dug, and from those mouths, canals and ditches were dug through the peat. In 1667, the States General decreed that the Hunze River would be free to pass through. As a result, Gasselternijveen developed into a shipping village. These skippers transported peat to Groningen and later to the rest of the Netherlands. Eventually, they also sailed to Scandinavia and England on coasters. Because they remained in Gasselternijveen, the village flourished between 1840 and 1930. In 1913, Gasselternijveen was the fourth largest seaport in the Netherlands in terms of the number of ships, after Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Groningen. After 1930, shipping declined.

Gieten-Borger Forestry
The trees in the forest were planted in the last century for timber harvesting. Beautiful fens and heathlands are hidden among the trees. Several roads are paved with Drenthe cobblestones, which were unearthed during the reclamation. On the west side lies the Anderensche Diep river valley, with its beautiful grasslands and old hedgerows. The forest has two "hemelrijken" (literally "heavenly kingdoms"). 't Olde Hemelriek is a beautiful natural fen and 't Nije Hemelriek, a dugout recreational lake with a stand.

To pour
Gieten is first mentioned in 1221, but must be much older, given the burial mounds in the Zwanemeerbos forest, located north of Gieten. The current Hotel Braams was built in 1617 as an inn along the medieval Groningen-Coevorden route. Part of this can still be seen as a dirt road through the Zwanemeerbos forest.