Walking through the Balloon Column Forests

Near Merselo you can take a beautiful walk through the beautiful Ballonzuilbossen. In addition to characteristic farms, you will also see a unique monument on this route: the Balloon Column.

Balloon column forests
You first walk a bit through the Esdorp Merselo. You pass the St. John the Baptist Church. It was rebuilt in 1891, only the choir still dates from the fifteenth century. Further on you walk into the Ballonzuilbossen. Originally, this forest, created in the early 1900s, served for the production of (mining) wood, but today many deciduous trees also grow there. It is nice and quiet here, so you can enjoy the forest at your leisure from the paths.

Aviation monument
Near the fishing pond you will pass the Balloon Column, the first aviation monument in the Netherlands. This column commemorates the landing of the hot air balloon 'La poste de Paris' in 1871 on the then heathland of Merselo. In the balloon were three men who had escaped Paris, surrounded by Prussian troops, with their secret post. At the end of your route you will pass Nooit Gedacht, a flour mill from 1867.