Holiday apartment in Vledderveen – history, landscape and routes

Holiday apartment in Vledderveen between history and landscape

Vledderveen is a place whose landscape reflects human influence through peat extraction, land reclamation and the Colonies of Benevolence (1818–1824). Development began in 1780: the Heloma brothers from Heerenveen took on Vledderveen and opened up the area with ditches from Friesland.

Colonial history and places of remembrance

After 1850, discharged and deserter colonists with many children from Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord settled in Vledderveen’s moorland and peatland area. The Immer Moed colony farm covers 20 hectares and was built between 1920 and 1925 to train colonists’ children as farmers. The Werkhorst farm dates from 1914 and was acquired by the Maatschappij van Weldadigheid in 1918. The merchant P.W. Janssen donated money for the construction of a road that later bore his name and a water pipeline through Vledderveen; the work was completed in 1903.

The Jewish monument in Vledderveen is an erratic boulder with a plaque. It commemorates 180 Jewish men who remained at Kamp Vledder from January 1942 until 2 October 1942. In Vledderveen, a street is named Jodenweg; in 1942, Jewish men from Kamp Vledder carried out roadworks there.

Traces in the moorland and border landscape

Koelingsveld is home to a burial field with burial mounds from the late Bronze Age. There are several traces of pingos near Vledderveen. In the Vierdeparten area (Friesland), there are colony cottages along Oostvierdeparten road. The road runs approximately 200 metres parallel to Grensweg, the provincial border with Friesland.

Vledderveen by bike and on foot

The Ommetje op wielen route leads to Vledderveen and passes along P.W. Janssenlaan and Werkhorstlaan. The 57.8-kilometre Route 1 passes the churches of Vledder, Vledderveen, Frederiksoord, Wilhelminaoord, Havelte and Wapserveen.

The 17-kilometre Rondje Vledder-Boschoord walking loop passes Vledderveen and follows the Blauwe Gat back to Vledder. Hoeve De Werkhorst is located between Vledder, Vledderveen and Doldersum, near hiking junction 11, and serves as a rest stop.

The route lengths provide a concrete framework for planning the day and distinguish the long cycling route from the shorter walking loop: Route 1 covers 57.8 km, while Rondje Vledder-Boschoord measures 17 km. This places a longer route passing churches in six villages alongside a shorter loop featuring Vledderveen, the Blauwe Gat and the return to Vledder. Those planning their routes can consider these different distances separately and choose either the route past the churches or the loop as the day’s main focus.

Other places for orientation

For further orientation in the area, you can also visit Diever, Wilhelminaoord, Havelte, Nijensleek, Dieverbrug, Wapserveen, Wateren and Frederiksoord.

For the broader travel overview: Westerveld.