Tour of Wijhe and Windesheim

De Gelder
De Gelder was a manor in Wijhe (Overijssel) that was demolished in 1913. The existing estate with the same name has been managed by Jan Reint baron de Vos van Steenwijk since 2010.

The De Gelder house was first mentioned in 1382 and was originally part of the ten Campe homestead. In 1601 there is mention of a separate house that was considerably expanded in 1611 by Herman Van der Beecke. In 1683, the manor was sold to the Van Dedem family, in whose possession it would remain for a long time. In the 19th century it was inherited from the also baronial Van Knobelsdorff family, after which it came through purchase to the baronial De Vos van Steenwijk family. The manor was demolished in 1913. All that remains of the house is a white marble sundial located on the south wall of the village church of Wijhe and a barn in the village that was built from brick released during the demolition. There are still some buildings on the estate, such as a coach house, a bridge and an entrance gate that belonged to the manor. The moat also remained intact.

The Wijhese Mill
The Wijhese Molen is a flour mill in Wijhe in the Dutch province of Overijssel.

The mill was built in 1703 and is therefore the oldest existing octagonal tower mill in the province of Overijssel. The mill remained in operation until the Second World War, but at the beginning of the war the windmill cross and scaffolding disappeared. The mill has been owned by the De Wijhese Molen Foundation since 1977. The mill was restored in 1979 on behalf of this foundation.

The rods of the mill have a length of 24.30 meters and are equipped with the Old Dutch fencing with sails. The mill is capable of grinding with one pair of grinding stones.

Nicholas Church
The Nicholas Church in the Overijssel town of Wijhe is a three-aisled late Gothic church.

The oldest church on this site dates from around 1100. The tuff stones of this church were later reused in the construction of the new church. The tower was built around 1300 in Romanesque style. In a later period the tower was further raised in Gothic style. The choir was renovated late in the 14th century. The nave of the church took its current shape during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Outside values
De Buitenwaarden is a nature reserve in the floodplains of the IJssel near Wijhe.

The reserve is one of the most bird-rich areas along the IJssel and an important link in the chain of nature reserves along this river. In the spring, the marshy meadows are an important feeding area for meadow birds, such as the northern shoveler and the black-tailed godwit. In the autumn many winter visitors can be seen, such as the pochard and wigeon.

Tichelgaten Windesheim
At the Tichelgaten Windesheim, a small but beautiful nature reserve was created by excavating clay for the nearby brick factory. 

In 1902, the NV Waalsteenfabriek Windesheim was built at this location along the IJssel. Large quantities of heavy river clay were excavated with an'excavator\\\' and brought to the factory by narrow-gauge railway with tipping carts and horses.

During its heyday, the NV baked approximately 24 million bricks per year. The declining demand for bricks in the early 1970s heralded the beginning of the end.

After the bankruptcy of the brick factory in 1982, the dug clay holes were transferred to Staatsbosbeheer. In the past 30 years, the barren plain has turned into a popular hiking area. 

Congregation of Windesheim
Until the Reformation, Windesheim was the mother monastery of the Congregation of Windesheim. From here, monasteries were founded throughout Northwestern Europe that felt related to the doctrine of Modern Devotion. Two cellars and the former brewery, which now serves as a Protestant church, have been preserved from this complex.

Family grave of the lords of Windesheim
The family grave was constructed in 1834 at the Reformed cemetery on the Pastorieweg in Windesheim for members of the De Vos van Steenwijk family, who called themselves lord of Windesheim. Mr. Hendrik Anthony Zwier baron de Vos van Steenwijk called van Essen (1786-1834), free lord of Abbenbroek, was the first in this series. He bought the Windesheim House in 1813.

The cast iron grave monument erected for him, made by Nering Bögel in Deventer, shows his name and family coat of arms.

House Windesheim
House Windesheim is a former manor and country estate in the Overijssel town of Windesheim.

The manor of Windesheim was built around 1600 on behalf of Reinier Schaep. Until 1744 it was a building of modest dimensions. 

One of the later owners had a landscape park built at the country estate by the architect Jacob Otten Husly in 1789.

In 1813, Windesheim came into the possession of members of the De Vos van Steenwijk family.

In 1915, the gardens at the house were laid out by the landscape architect LA Springer. 

On October 20, 1944, the house was destroyed by incendiary bombs. Since that time, all that remains of the main residence is a ruin. However, the rest of the country estate was preserved. Both buildings have been restored. The last private owner from the family, Jan Arend baron de Vos van Steenwijk from Essen to Windesheim (1922-2008), left the estate to the Windesheim Landgoed Foundation.

The entire complex, consisting of the ruins of the house, the park, the two buildings, various service residences, fences, bridges, garden ornaments and a stable, was designated as a national monument in 2005 and registered in the register of monuments. 

What is special is that the park built by Husly is the only park that he designed and that, in the opinion of the Cultural Heritage Agency, has been well preserved. The park is part of the ecological main structure of the Netherlands.

IJssel power station
The Centrale Harculo, also called the IJsselcentrale after its former owner and builder, was a power station on the river IJssel near the hamlet of Harculo in the Overijssel municipality of Zwolle.[1] The power plant was an initiative of the NV Electriciteitsfabriek'IJsselcentrale\\\' in Zwolle. In the last years of its existence, it was, together with six other power stations in the Netherlands, owned by Engie Nederland, formerly Electrabel.

The plant was designed by the engineering firm De Gruyter from Zwolle. In 1955, the two coal-fired turbines with associated chimneys were put into operation. Three more turbines were built between 1961 and 1972, so that the power station finally had five chimneys. The third unit was suitable for burning coal and fuel oil. The fourth unit from 1964 was suitable for heating on fuel oil. The two oldest units were converted from coal to fuel oil and natural gas in 1971. In 1973, the third unit was converted to burn natural gas. The first turbine was shut down in 1981. As of 1998, two units were still in service. The three chimneys that are no longer in use were then demolished. In 2010, one of the two remaining chimneys was still in use. In 2012, the last electricity generation unit was shut down for reasons of profitability. The unit was sometimes started up in emergencies. In 2015, this unit was finally decommissioned.

The power plant used coal when it was commissioned, from 1972 onwards it was switched to oil combustion and eventually to natural gas. Not all units are adapted for the use of natural gas. Before its closure, the heart of the plant consisted of a natural gas and bio-oil-fired combination unit of 350 Megawatts. The plant ran on natural gas for a long time, but occasionally vegetable oil or biomass was also used. The plant used, among other things, frying oil, palm oil, olive oil and nut oil. These oils and biomass were delivered by ship.

Route offered by: Fietsnetwerk.nl