Meetjesland

Want to take a bike ride to recharge the proverbial battery? Come to the Achterhoek, where you cycle through a wonderfully quiet bocage landscape of meandering streams, wooded banks and forests. The route also takes you through Groenlo, Eibergen and Winterswijk.

Zwillbrocker Venn
Just across the border you pass through one of the oldest nature reserves in Germany: the Zwillbrocker Venn. This rugged swamp is a remnant of a large raised moor area that once stretched far into the Achterhoek. Striking: the Venn is the northernmost breeding area for flamingos in Europe, you can spot them between March and June. The St. Francis Church from 1720 is located in the hamlet of Zwillbrock. It is the best preserved baroque church in Münsterland.

Largest boulder
The largest boulders in the Netherlands are not in Drenthe, but surprisingly enough in the Achterhoek. In Meddo there is a copy of 38,000 kilograms at the canteen of the local football club. The boulder at the old town hall of Winterswijk, which was also found in Meddo, is the largest in the Netherlands: it weighs just under 43,000 kilos. You will also pass some ancient Saxon farmhouses. For example in Olden Eibergen, a hamlet that is divided in two by the river Berkel.

Historic Groenlo
Groenlo was a fortified town for centuries. Although most of the fortifications have been demolished, you can still see the Mussenberg stronghold (also known as Kanonswal or Noorderbastion). On this stronghold is the cannon that Frederik Hendrik donated to Groenlo in 1627 after his victory in the battle for the city. In 2008, ten replica cannons were placed along the Groenlo canals. There are a number of sights in the center, such as the Old Calixtus Church, which was built between 1275 and 1520. Two skulls have been bricked into the outside of the church to remind churchgoers that earthly life is finite. Just outside Groenlo you cycle past AVOG\\\'s (Achterhoekse Airplane Wreck Excavators Group) Crash Museum, a tribute to the Allied airmen of the Second World War. The permanent exhibition gives a picture of the technical side of the battle in the air during this war.