The Scheldt-Rhine route (also known as LF 13) leads from Middelburg above Eindhoven to Venlo and further after Duisburg.
background
Zeeland Delta
At the beginning of our era, instead of today's Zeeland, there was an extensive, inaccessible moorland, which was separated from the sea by an almost continuous coast of low dunes and sandbanks. Several narrow rivers, forerunners of today's Ooster- and Westerschelde, ran through the area. The settlement was concentrated on the sandbanks. Among other things, various Roman objects from the period up to AD 283 were found here, such as coins and images of the Gallo-Roman sea and fertility goddess Nehellennia.
During the last quarter of the 2nd century and in the 4th century the sea made breaches in the coastline in various places during storm surges. Large parts of the dunes and the moor behind them were flooded and knocked away. Watercourses cut further and further into the moor and crumbled the area into islands. There were a lot more than today and some of them were elsewhere. Because of the regularly recurring masses of water, most of the population was forced to move to safer places of residence. After the water had calmed down, the mud they had brought with them settled inland and connected some of the islands together again. From the year 800 the population from Flanders and North Brabant increased again. They let flocks of sheep graze in the salty vegetation.
First, the new residents secured their homes by raising them. After a heavy flood in 1134, in which large parts of Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland were washed away, the inhabited islands were fortified with ring dikes. From the 13th century onwards, new polders were created around the islands in further rings. Another series of devastating storm surges followed in the 16th century: During the Sint-Felix-Quade-Saterdach flood of 1530, the floods disappeared, among others. St.-Philipsland, Noord- and Zuid-Beveland east of the Hansweert - Yerseke line under water. Part of Reimerswaal, at that time the third largest city in Zealand, was also lost. Further overflows meant that the city was finally evacuated in 1632 and exposed to the floods. Many of these areas were later reclaimed, but some are still used as Verdronken land designated.
The polders look completely different from the 17th century. They are large and of regular structure. One was also less and less restricted by nature: in the same polders both Scorch (which only ran under water during a spring tide) as well as unplanted ones Slikken (which were inundated with each flood) and watercourses included. It was not until 1870 that Zuid-Beveland and Walcheren were connected with each other (by the Sloe dam) and with Noord-Brabant (by the Kreekrak dam). These dams also made it possible to build the only railway line in Zeeland, the Roosendaal - Vlissingen line.
The Watersnoodramp of February 1953, in which large parts of Zeeland were flooded and around 1,500 people died, resulted in a fundamentally "modern" approach to the problem of flooding. The Delta plan was born. From the 1960s onwards, all inlets, which at the same time also represent estuaries of the large rivers (except those of the Western and Eastern Scheldt), were closed off, thus shortening the coastline by a few 100 km. Zeeland could thus also be opened up for tourism.
Brabant sand area
In the west at Woensdrecht the terrain drops steeply in the direction of Zeeland, in the east it borders on the former high moor Peel. Compared to the surrounding clay and peat areas, the Brabant sandy grounds convey a chaotic impression due to the strong alternation of forest, pasture, fields and heather and often idiosyncratic land forms. The reason for this is the height differences between the higher sloping deck sand ridges and the valleys with their streams and rivers. Depending on the altitude and the associated moisture and fertility of the soil, the suitability for certain forms of land use changes. This resulted, inter alia. to the fact that the old Franconian villages could not expand unhindered, but small hamlets were built some distance from the mother village. I.a. around Oirschot this development is clearly visible.
In addition to this type of settlement, domains (large estates) arose in the Franconian period, consisting of a central part on which slaves worked for the owner, and a number of ancillary businesses that were managed by semi-free servants on behalf of the owner. The desolate areas, including the heath, belonged to the "lords" such as the lords of Bergen op Zoom and Breda or the dukes of Brabant. Middle of the 13th century these gentlemen began to spend the desolate areas. Above all, the financially strong monasteries took the initiative to cultivate nasty areas. Many bog areas in West Brabant have been drained, excavated and converted into agricultural areas under her leadership. The associated courtyards were laid out on the sand ridge and parallel rows of block-shaped parcels were created. In the east of Brabant these cultivations took on a different form: elongated villages developed along the roads, and narrow, elongated plots were laid out at right angles to them. The remaining deserts remained the property of the masters, but were given to farmers for use by them in return for payment.
These ownership relationships only came to an end in the French era (1789-1813). The desert areas, which still made up almost half of Noord-Brabant, came into the hands of newly created communities, which in the course of the 19th century. each of them sold parts of the heathland when they needed it. Around 10,000 hectares were cultivated in this way, two thirds were planted with forest, mainly with pines. At the end of the 19th century the pace of change from heather to forest increased rapidly. Until the Second World War, free forest areas were created, including on this route the estates "De Mattenburgh", "De Moeren" and "De Pannenhoef" as well as the "Forests of Chaam" (Chaamse bossed). Only a few heather and sand areas have been preserved for nature conservation reasons.
The life of the Brabant farmers was not easy. The mixed farms had too little land to be profitable, and the more the population grew, the poorer it became. Vincent van Gogh's famous painting "The Potato Eaters" shows the life of these people, which is by no means picturesque. In the 18th and 19th centuries, part of this unused workforce was put into a house industry, which began in the 2nd half of the 19th century. factory-built in order to keep costs low and foreign competition away. The number of cheap labor available remained high well into the 20th century thanks to falling death rates and unchanged high birth rates. This and the improved transport connections with the trading centers (including Zuid-Willemsvaart 1826; Eindhovens Kanaal 1846; connection to the railway network 1866) also created industrial sites for new products in Noord-Brabant. By far the most important company is Philips, which more or less by chance began producing incandescent lamps in the textile city of Eindhoven in 1891. Around 1970, around 42,000 people in the region were employed by Philips. Another important company until well into the 1970s was the original trailer factory of the van Doorne brothers, better known under the acronym DAF. Other cities also grew into important industrial locations, including Tilburg (wool and metal), Bergen op Zoom (metal) and the Langstraat between Raamsdonksveer and Vlijmen, where the Dutch shoe industry is based. A lot of industry has migrated to the new low-wage countries since the 1960s, but Noord-Brabant is still the number one industrial location in the Netherlands.
Peel, Meuse and Rhine plains
preparation
getting there
Route description with sights
Middelburg - 's-Gravenpolder
Middelburg - 5 km - Oudedorp - 1 km - Nieuw- en St.-Joosland - 8 kilometers - Nieuwdorp - 4 km - 's-Heerenhoek - 3 km - 't Vlaanderte - 4 km - Nit - 3 km - 's-Gravenpolder
Overall length: 28 km
's-Gravenpolder - Woensdrecht
's-Gravenpolder - 4 km - Eversdijk - 3 km - Hansweert - 4 km - Kruiningen - 5 km - Waarde - 5 km - Gawege - 9 km - Bath - 6 km - Volckerdorp -2 km - Woensdrecht
Overall length: 40 km
Woensdrecht - Rijsbergen
Woensdrecht - 2 km - "Lindonk" estate - 1 km - "Mattemburgh" estate - 3 km - "Wouwse Plantage" estate - 3 km - Vleet - 6 km - Nipples - 3 km - Steenpaal (B) - 2 km - Horendonk (B) - 4 km - Oude Buisse Heide - 2 km - "Walsteijn" estate - 5 km - Estate "De Moeren" - 5 km - "Landgut Pannenhoef" - 2 km - Estate "Waterman" - 2 km - Rijsbergen
Overall length: 40 km
Rijsbergen - Alphen
Rijsbergen - 2 km - Kaarschot - 1 km - Galderse Meren - 2 km - Boven Mark - 2 km - "Mastbos" estate - 4 km - Breda - 2 km - Ginneken - 1 km - "Bouvigne" castle - 2 km - Ulvenhout - 1 km - Ulvenhoutse bos - 3 km - Sint Annabos - 3 km - Prinsenbos - 1 km - Boss Chaamse - 3 km - Alphen
Overall length: 27 km
Alphen - Best
Overall length: 36 km
Best - Heitrak
Overall length: 44 km
Heitrak - Venlo (border)
Overall length: 35 km
Venlo (border) - Duisburg
Overall length: 55 km
overnight stay
security
trips
literature
Web links
- Dutch related website:LF 13
