Junctions: 85 - 83 - 82 - 81 - 83 - 85
Number of km: 2 km
Starting point: Biesbosch MuseumEiland, Hilweg 2 in Werkendam
The Pannekoek is a beautiful area full of pollard willows, perhaps the most common tree in this area. During this trail, you can take a nice wander around on the way there or back before continuing on the trail.
You park at the Biesbosch MuseumEiland. There is ample free parking and a charging station for electric bicycles. The museum is open all year round. You can visit the museum, of course, but also enjoy a cup of coffee or a delicious lunch in the restaurant area.
Our storyteller Prisca took a look at pollarding the willows at De Pannekoek and wrote a story about it.
Tip!
In the winter months, you can come and watch the pollarding of the willows in the grove (provided you keep some distance). Especially in the winter period it is wonderful walking in the area. The peace and quiet are exceptional and along the way you will see many animals such as hares and different types of birds. With some luck you might even spot an industrious beaver!
Investigate and find the gnome children's nuggets
One day, Gnome Clogmaker was hard at work with a large order of gnome clogs in all kinds of cheerful colors. It was gnome school vacation and his children were bored. He made some extra nuggets and decided to set out a fun route in the forest for his children and their friends so they would have something fun to do. He marked the route with the brightly colored nuggets and at each stop he made up an assignment. The assignments were fun and educational for the gnome children; after all, they must be very good at running, recognizing trees and knowing a lot about the environment. The children spent the entire vacation playing in nature, and Gnome Clogmaker was finally able to finish his work.
The gnome vacation is over, but the route is still there, for another vacation. And good news, the kids in Altena get to use the trail all year, too. Will you join us?
In cooperation with Brabant Landscape.
Starting point: Parking lot intersection Wilgenhof/Parallelweg Giessen
Find the nugget with the correct number and perform the tasks below there:
1. Who is fastest, left or right?
Will it be left or will it be right? Pick a side and find out which of you is fastest. 3, 2, 1... GO!
2. Over the hills
How adventurous are you? Find the path through the hills and go over them. Listen carefully! Can you hear the leaves in the wind?
3. Find the trees in love
Even trees sometimes fall in love! Some trees under the ground hold each other's roots, and others give each other hugs above the ground. Can you find the trees in love in the Almbos? They are an alder and an elm.
4. Time for a game
Guess the Tree - Close your eyes, and be taken to a tree. Feel, smell: is the tree thick, thin, does moss grow on it, is it wet, what kind of smell does it have? Ready? Let yourself be taken back to the path. Open your eyes again - can you now discover which tree it was?
Are you with 3 or more people? Then you can play tree swapping. Everyone stands by a tree, except the ticker. He stands in the middle. Then you switch trees: you make eye contact with someone at another tree, and then run fast to each other's tree. But be careful! If you're not near a tree, the ticker may tap you. If you succeed, you become the ticker. Play until you are tired.
5. Tracking
Gnomes are super good trackers. How about you? Do you see tracks in the forest? Paw prints, scratch and gnaw marks, half-eaten plants, nuts or pine cones, or maybe a tuft of fur? Which animal do you think the track belongs to? And while you're tracking, where would you hide if you were a gnome?
6. Break and Find Leaves
Find leaves on the ground and place them on the table from small to large. Do you know which tree or shrub they belong to? See how big the trees are here? You can have fun playing hide and seek there.
7. At the circus
Balancing can be learned! Walk across this tube.
8. Listen carefully
Gnomes are not only good at tracking, they also have very good ears. Be very quiet? Can you hear which animals live here? With your eyes closed you can listen even better.
9. Aged tree
This thick tree is a hornbeam. The wood of hornbeams is very hard. So hard that wheels used to be made from it, which is why it is called a wheel tree. Because this tree is so thick, we think it is very old, but we don't know exactly how old. How old do you think the tree is? What would this tree have been through?
10. Spot the kingfisher
The kingfisher is a striking bird because of its blue and orange appearance. Can you find one? When they fly by you only see a 'blue streak'. Many birds make their nest from branches and fluff, but did you know that the kingfisher digs tunnels at least half a meter deep? This is where the female lays her eggs. Sit on the bench and peer at the water, maybe you'll get lucky and a kingfisher will pass by. Not seen one? Then be sure to come back again!
Walk this gnome trail at your own risk.
You start at the parking lot along the dike overlooking the Afgedamde Maas. The first part of the walk you follow this dike and you can enjoy the beautiful view towards the province of Gelderland that lies on the other side of the water. Between the trees you can see Slot Loevestein and sometimes you can also see large grazers on the river bank. You walk along the Petter trail, named after former mayor Frank Petter who is also known for saving a very elderly woman from drowning in the wide ditch next to the trail. In the vernacular, then, the Petter trail is called Spetterpad with a smile. You continue walking along the Veldweg to get back to Rijswijk. This walk combines perfectly with the walk around Woudrichem!
The city walk begins at the World Shop, Kerkstraat 7.
You'll see the Gevangenpoort from the intersection. Walk under it toward the river.
The Prison Gate is one of five remaining gates from the 15th century. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the building was used as an arresting room. Some prisoners have their names carved inside the wall as mementos.
The water gate still serves at high tide. Beams are pushed into the concrete recesses and the space between them is filled with sand. This cofferdam holds back the raging water and protects the fortified town.
On d'n Bol (or in dialect 't Hôôd) you can see at a glance three rivers: Maas, Waal and Merwede and three provinces: North Brabant, Gelderland and South Holland.
In the Historic Harbor, ships are refurbished and launched there. The large barges are occupied. If you turn around and look up, from here you can see the house of Doctor Tinus* from the SBS6 series of the same name.
On the city wall stands the former barracks of the Royal Military Police, the middle part of which was used as a police station until the end of the 20th century. The most famous policeman in Woudrichem was called Pietje Potlood. Not surprisingly, he liked to write out tickets.
Ice was stored in the ice cellar (near house number 20) until the early years of the last century. In winter, blocks of ice were cut from the city canal and brought here. Fishmongers used the ice to keep freshly caught fish cool The walls of the ice cellar are as much as a meter thick, which kept the temperature constantly low.
House number 2, the Jacoba of Bavaria House, is the oldest stone house in the fortress. Jacoba was countess of Holland, Zealand and Hainaut. A peace treaty was signed here in 1419 and Jacoba reconciled with her uncle John of Bavaria. From 1965 to 1985, Franciscan nuns lived here. Since 2019, the house bears the title Jacoba Culture House and hosts music classes, lectures and concerts.
The thirty-four-meter-high Martinus Tower was built in the first half of the 15th century. The upper two girders date from around 1530. The tower bears the nickname The Mustard Pot. Once there was a mustard factory in the fortress. Windblown seeds took root on top of the tower, giving it its name. This fun fact does not compare to the following terrible story. At the end of World War II, the tower was full of gunpowder. The occupying forces wanted to blow up the tower. Fortunately, this did not happen at the last minute. Unfortunately, the mill on the Rijkswal was not spared this fate. A remarkable fact is also the time indicated on the tower. For a number of years -during WW2- it was national time. Woudrichem time was then the time everyone had to assume.
The arsenal, built in 1851, houses the Fisheries and Cultural History Museum. Previously, it was used to store military equipment. Just in front of the arsenal is the statue of Jan Claessen the trumpeter from Prince Maurice's army (1585-1625) and a cannon from 1818. The fortress has had an important military function over the centuries. It was part of the Old and New Dutch Water Line. Its role as a military stronghold and the function it fulfilled in this was abolished by royal decree on May 27, 1955. In 1972, the entire fortress was designated a protected cityscape.
The white house between the arsenal and city gate The Cow Gate was built in 1856 as a military guardhouse for soldiers and officers. After the city gate closed, pedestrians paid 2 1/2 cents to enter the gate. If you wanted to enter by horse or horse and carriage, the fees went up quickly. The guardhouse also served as a nursing home for cholera sufferers. And... it seems to have been haunted ever since....
Korenmolen Nooit Gedagt was blown up in WW2. Where the tower was spared, the mill suffered. The occupying forces feared the tall mill was being used as a lookout. In 1996, the rebuilt mill was put into operation. It is a unique specimen, as the corn mill is the Netherlands' only octagonal stone scaffold mill. The mill sells products that the miller grinds himself as well as other regional products that you must have tasted. And let's face it... The best pancake flour is of course bought here!
The two gunpowder cellars from around 1850 were used as ammunition storage areas during wartime threats. They were restored in 2007. These powder cellars are also part of the heritage of the Old and New Dutch Waterline.
The Roman Catholic church is a water state church, built in 1838 In the niche of the facade is a statue of the Czech John Nepomuk (1350-1393), patron saint of bridges. Nepomuk had confessed to the wife of King Wenceslaus. When the king asked him what his wife had told him, Nepomuk was silent. Wenceslaus had him thrown from the bridge into the Moldau with a stone around his neck. Nepomuk died a martyr.
The barracks, built in 1854, was the residence building for soldiers and their equipment. It served as such until WW2. Here in Woudrichem, conscription was known long before it was instituted nationwide. Since 1747 a civilian company operated here in which able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and sixty had to serve.
The century-old foot ferry is best known for its slogan Heen motte betaole and again. A trip to Loevestein Castle is easily made from here. The skipper sails when you are ready and you can take your bicycle on the ferry. If you want to go back, ring the ship's bell on the Gelderland side of the river and the skipper will pick you up again.
From this point the salmon fisherman looks out over the water. The kierbesluit should ensure that salmon from the North Sea have access to the rivers again via the Haringvliet. Perhaps in the future salmon fishing in Woudrichem can flourish again. The salmon fisherman is keeping an eye on things.
To the left of the building with house number 46 you can see the De Wittspoortje, also called the Annopoortje. The year gives away that it was built in 1611. Just imagine. For more than 400 years this little gate has followed the fortunes of Woudrichem. If stones could talk... The little gate owes its name to council pensionary Johan de Witt. He was the grandfather of Mayor Johan de Witt who married and held office here in 1611.
In 't Oude Raedthuys (1592) sat the city council. To its left are three little jails that were still in use until the last century. They are the darkest, coldest and clammiest caverns in the city. Imagine spending a night in them.
Hoogstraat is the oldest street in the fortress. A settlement arose here around 900 on the high bank along the river. That settlement slowly grew into a military stronghold: fortified town of Woudrichem! Several houses from the late Middle Ages have been preserved. They are decorated with illustrative gable stones as can be seen at In Den Vergulden Helm and De Salamander.
When you walk, you can take your time to discover the world around you. You slow down and encounter the most beautiful things. Be it nature, heritage or the activity on the water or the farmland.
In the Biesbosch Line there is a network of hiking nodes. You can easily map out your own route along the numbered signs and choose the distance that suits you.
In each individual core of the municipality of Altena there is also a mapped out route along the hiking nodes. These are collected in the walking guide that is available free of charge at the VVV Biesbosch Line folder posts or digitally on this page.
Scavenger hunt Woudrichem (running time 1.5 hours - 2 km)
Welcome to Woudrichem, or as the people here call it: Woerkum. Tie your laces, loosen your muscles, take a deep breath, shoulders straight, chin up and ... sleuthing away!
Don't know an answer? Then ask someone you meet on the street for help. You might just hear an exciting story from a real Woerkumer! Good luck and have fun while searching for the answers!
Overview of all our routes in the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie