Aalten: Holiday apartment between history, nature and routes

History and landscape take on tangible forms in Aalten. The Nationaal Onderduikmuseum presents the history of hiding and resistance during the Second World War through small personal stories. This includes the “Escape Room for Freedom”, which is based on questions and dilemmas faced by people who were forced to flee. The museum also offers an interactive experience of the original hiding place and the building’s shelter in Markt 12, as well as wartime stories.

Culture and history

The Boerderijmuseum De Neeth also preserves vivid evidence of the past. It is housed in a barn from 1910 that has largely been preserved in its original condition. The De Neeth Schoppe has officially operated as a museum since 2000. A special collection is housed at ’t Hoekendaalshuusken: it contains 600 different toilet-paper strips and rolls from around the world. The small museum is open from 1 April through 1 October inclusive without an appointment and with free admission.

Bredevoort is a former seigniory and a fortified small town in the municipality of Aalten. The present-day De Prins van Oranje windmill, built in 1870, stands here. The mill is open to the public, generally on Saturdays and by appointment.

Koppelkerk can be reached from Aalten railway station by Buurtbus 191 in six minutes. In the evenings, it becomes a venue for lectures, concerts and debates. The Aalten Synagogue offers another insight into the town’s history. It offers Dutch and German school classes, as well as groups of young adults, guided tours along several Stolpersteine and through the synagogue. At the same time, it is one of the few synagogues in the eastern Netherlands that is still suitable for religious services.

Nature

The landscape of the municipality of Aalten is characterised by extensive grasslands, small-scale ash fields, densely overgrown hedgerows, centuries-old forests and distinctive raised bog areas. The municipality includes the Aaltense Goor, the IJzerlose Rug, the monastery landscape near Bredevoort, as well as the Slinge and Keizersbeek streams.

The Aaltense Goor is a nature reserve covering approximately 200 hectares. The area has a high density of breeding birds. In the Loohuis area, visitors can hike through the forest along the water, as well as through grassland and arable land with hedgerows. Loohuis can be reached from Aalten railway station by bicycle in approximately 15 minutes.

Hikes starting from Goorzicht follow old sandy paths through the Achterhoek landscape with hedges, hedgerows, ditches and streams. In this way, the paths show various landscape elements in their immediate succession, without requiring any additional characteristics of the area.

Routes

The two Onderduikroutes are cycling routes of 20 and 35 kilometres respectively, focusing on hiding during the Second World War. They pass hiding places and shelters in Aalten, Dinxperlo and the surrounding area. The Akkerrandroutes around Aalten comprise five cycling routes and two hiking routes. GPX files are available for download; the routes start and finish at the same point.

In Dinxperlo and Suderwick, the Smokkelroute conveys smugglers’ stories and anecdotes through QR codes on the route posts. The “GrenzenLos” hiking route illustrates the shared history and special cooperation between Dinxperlo and Suderwick.

The Aaltense Gängeskes route is 2.5 kilometres long and leads through the historic narrow lanes in the centre of Aalten. The Aalten West MTB route starts at Het Noorden restaurant, Lichtenvoordsestraatweg 44 in Aalten, and is 18 kilometres long. In addition, the Erfgoedroutes connect heritage sites and landscape; route booklets and information boards explain the stories behind them.

Included services, price components, as well as booking and cancellation conditions may also be important. To do so, open the listed offers and compare these points at your leisure before deciding on an entry. If you have different preferences regarding location, scope and conditions, it is worth looking at each individual offer.

Other places: Aalten, Ijzerlo, Bredevoort, Dinxperlo.

To the higher-level travel overview: Gelderland.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Geldermalsen, Lingewaal, Epe, Overbetuwe.