Kolderveen route

Kolderveen is first mentioned in 1368. The peat area was excavated and converted into arable land that was later converted into pasture. The 14th century Gothic church (1471) stands on a high sand ridge in the peat area. The 300 meter long beech avenue connects the church with the village. The Drenthe tower was initially separate from the church. There is an authentic wooden shoe shed in front of the entrance to the church. The sarcophagus lid (12th-13th century) was used as an altar stone; a second sandstone altar stone has been used as a gravestone. The interior includes a Van Oeckelen organ (1869).

Weerribben-Wieden National Park
The Wieden were created by peat extraction from the 15th century. They can be recognized by swamp forests, reedlands, lakes and ditches. The area has special animals and plants such as the otter, the black tern and various orchids. As a low-lying peat area, the area is one of the most important in Western Europe. De Wieden, together with De Weerribben, form the Weerribben-Wieden National Park.

Wanneperveen
Wanneperveen is first mentioned around 1284. There were probably already some houses along the now disappeared Wanepe river. Wanneperveen was originally located near the current Belterwijde. Over the centuries, the village shifted to the east because it was drier there and the original place became increasingly wetter due to the excavation of the peat. To transport the excavated peat, six grifts (canals) were dug, such as the Haagjesgracht.
The westernmost village disappeared in the 16th century. The current church was built in 1502 and the current village around it. The bell chair is from 1767.
  
Giethoorn
Around 1200, members of the sect of the Flagellants (also called the Flagellants) moved as monks in the existing Franciscan monastery in the hamlet of't Klooster. In the peat they found many goat horns from goats that had died in the storm surge of 1170 from the Zuiderzee. They therefore called the settlement Geytenhorn, which later became Giethoorn thanks to the dialect. It became the first peat colony in the Netherlands. In the 16th century, wet peat painting began, resulting in the Dorpsgracht being dug for the transport of peat. People settled along this waterway, including many farmers. Many houses are, as it were, built on islands, which can only be reached via bridges. Most of the more than 176 bridges are privately owned. The only continuous connection over land is a cycle and walking path that runs straight through the village, the main traffic takes place over the water. The punt is used for this purpose, propelled by a punt boom, just like the gondolas in the real Venice. Giethoorn is also called Dutch Venice. Due to the peat extraction, extensive lakes such as the Bovenwijde were created around Giethoorn. These lakes are often no more than one meter deep. The Gieterse Meer between Giethoorn and Blokzijl is the only lake that was created during the Ice Age.

Nijeveen
Nijeveen is already mentioned in 1310, but not as Nijeveen but as Hesselerveen. The peat belonging to Hesselte and Hesselte was located near Havelte. It was the monks of Ruinen who mined the peat from Havelte. Nijeveen was built along an old dike. Kolderveen was also built along the same dike. A new dike was constructed northwest of Kolderveen and Nijeveen and Kolderveense and Nijeveense Bovenboer were built.
The Gothic church, now outside the village, dates from around 1480 and is still in almost original condition with an offering table from 1477. There is a modern bell tower at the general cemetery.