Ruurlo, quite an experience

There is plenty to do for cyclists in and around the town of Ruurlo. Breathe in the history of the cozy town, enjoy the quiet scenic landscape and try to find your way out of the largest hedge maze in the world in Boswachterij Ruurlo.

Ruurlo Castle
Ruurlo once started as a settlement in a vast area with forests and swamps. Nowadays it is a charming town that you really must see. Ruurlo Castle is one of the most striking sights. This country estate dates from 1326 and has been owned almost continuously by the noble Van Heeckeren van Kell family from the fifteenth century until 1978. The current owner wants to establish a museum in the castle in 2016 with paintings by Carel Willink.

Wandering in a maze
Boswachterij Ruurlo originated from the former estate of Ruurlo Castle. You drive through quiet forests in which meadows occasionally provide an open space. In this forest you will pass the largest hedge maze in the world (on the Hengeloseweg). This maze was built in 1890 by the owners of Ruurlo Castle. Do you dare to tackle the maze?

Centuries-old Kroeze tree
Centuries ago, in the east of the Netherlands, people sometimes planted a tree on an ash tree to mark a border or intersection and to administer justice there. Such a tree was then called a Kroeze tree. In Ruurlo, at the intersection between Borculoseweg and Kroezelaan, there is one of the last two Kroeze trees in the Netherlands. It is estimated that this monumental pedunculate oak is one of the oldest trees in the Netherlands, with an age of 400 years.