Cycling through the grain polders of the Oldambt

Turn right from the car park towards junction 25 and then along the Westerwoldse Aa to junction 23. The Kroonpolder is visible in all its expanse with seemingly endless wheat fields in the summer. The Grain Republic lies before you. The route continues past typical large Oldambt farms, built in the golden age of the Grain Republic.

The route leads through Finsterwolde with not only large farms and beautiful rentier houses, but also along characteristic farm workers' houses in better times. The social contradictions in the Oldambt were great. The rich farmers and the (too) low paid farm workers. These stark differences led to the 1929 Farm Workers ' Strike. It was the most extensive labor dispute in the history of the Dutch countryside. It was not only about the level of wages, but also about power. The impoverished farm workers wanted to get their rights from the prosperous peasantry that did not want to make concessions. It is therefore not surprising that the communist party was firmly entrenched here.