Dalen - Zweeloo - Sleen over the Drenthe sandy soils

The first written document in which Oosterhesselen (as Oesterhelsel) and Gees are mentioned dates from 1207. Zwinderen is mentioned for the first time in a document in 1217. The manor'De Klencke\\\' is also of a very old date, although the current building only dates from the eighteenth century. In 1219 the manor was inhabited by Hermanus Clincke.
The church of Oosterhesselen dates from the fourteenth century. The church and the monumental tower remaining from the Middle Ages are now separated. It seems that they were connected in the beginning.
Gees is a so-called esdorp, also known as a village green. These typical villages can be found throughout the Netherlands where sandy soils can be found. Most of these villages originated sometime in the Middle Ages. Somewhere between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries AD. The same applies to Gees, which first appeared in the history books in 1208 and celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2008. The village is located on an elongated sand hill in an area that used to be known for its infertile soil. On this barren ground; gies, the village owes its name.

"The place name Meppen is first mentioned in the archives in about 1335. However, the oldest traces of a settlement here date back to 5000 BC. The first core of habitation took place in the Bronze Age. From this period, a bronze bucket was excavated here. We are talking about an ash village, where small-scale, mixed farms were established over time. These were housed in the thatched so-called Saxon farms economies of scale, there are no longer active agricultural businesses within the built-up area. Almost all of the Saxon farms have been given a residential destination, which means that maintenance is guaranteed. ". Residents who participate in the labor process almost all have their work area outside the village.

Oud-Aalden , an ash village, is located in the middle of the forest plots, greenlands and ash trees. The monumental village in the municipality of Coevorden is full of beautiful Saxon farms. Walk there along the cobblestone roads from the village green and look at the beautiful old apple and pear trees near the farms. This way you go back in time, back to authentic Drenthe.

Princess of Zweeloo
Zweeloo and Wezup originated around 1,500 BC. Various peat bodies, as well as graves, have been found in the soil. One of them is that of the princess of Zweeloo. She lived in the fifth century. By the way, this woman was not a real princess. She was given this name because, when she was exhumed in 1952, she was so beautifully dressed and there were also expensive items in her grave from other European countries. And at that time, goods from other countries were only available to the very rich. After all, there was no travel at all, so anything from abroad was very rare. Her body has been reconstructed and can now be admired in the Drents Museum in Assen.
The princess was found at the Protestant church of Zweeloo, from the 13th century, a late Romanesque hall church with a roof turret. Also striking about the church are the 14th-century Marian bell, a pulpit from 1709 and baptismal font made of Bentheimer sandstone that is as old as the church itself. The church is located on the edge of Zweeloo, but there are also beautiful 'museum pieces' in the old center of the village: a village green, farms (17th-19th century) and a forge (1920) with cast iron windows and old metal billboards.

In Noord-Sleen there is an enormously beautiful dolmen on a field next to the arable fields. It is almost complete with many wreath stones. Next to the dolmen is a bench from where you can quietly view the dolmen and absorb it. In addition to dolmen D50, D51 is less impressive because many stones from D51 are missing. If you want to view the dolmens, which is certainly worthwhile for dolmen D50, you can take the (dead-end) Zweeloërstraat on the right from Noordsleen. Here you will see dolmen D50 on the right and D51 on the left.

Sleen is one of the most authentic green villages in Drenthe. Sleen was the main town of the municipality of Sleen until the municipal reorganization in 1998. History shows that Sleen was created in the early Middle Ages by the division of an old settlement, which was located approximately halfway between present-day North Sleen and Sleen.

Dalerveen is a place in the municipality of Coevorden, province of Drenthe. Dalerveen is located halfway between Dalen and Veenoord - New Amsterdam. The place covers an area of 79 hectares. From 1905 to 1938, Dalerveen had its own railway stop, Dalerveen station on the Zwolle - Stadskanaal railway line.

Dalen is a medieval esdorp north of the city of Coevorden. The village already existed in 1276, the area was already inhabited in prehistoric times. Dalen was always an agricultural village, but because of its tranquility, more and more commuters live there nowadays. In 2019, the village had about four thousand inhabitants.
As beautiful as it is now, it could have been so miserable in the past. Just like Coevorden, Dalen was the victim of wars, raids and raids and plunder several times. Many buildings were destroyed, including the 14th-century Dutch Reformed Church. It was later (1824) rebuilt on the old foundations. Its tower has always remained standing. The clock (1639) was stolen by the Germans during the Second World War, but is now back in its old place. Also very old are the six-sided pulpit, the pews and the organ.