Along the villages around Weerribben-Wieden

Your route starts at Buitengoed Fredeshiem. You drive straight through the nice fortified town of Steenwijk to the Weerribben-Wieden National Park. This area has been extensively excavated due to peat extraction. Now you see lakes, ponds, canals, vast reed fields and flowery hay fields. Otters and pine martens are found in the forests. In the village of Nijeveen you can see the De Sterrenberg mill from 1786: the only mill in the Netherlands with a compass rose on the hood for automatic winding. There is a beautiful village church in Kolderveen, at the end of a long avenue. Wanneperveen was already mentioned in 1284. The town takes its name from the peat and a small river that used to run near the village. This elongated, extensive village (ribbon village) owes its shape to the reclamation of the area.