Holiday apartment in Gelselaar: trails, village history and tradition

Gelselaar combines short and longer trails with an unusually rich ensemble of village history, places of remembrance and living traditions. The village and the surrounding esch areas form a nationally protected village landscape. When planning a holiday apartment in Gelselaar, this opens up various ideas for day trips: you can choose a cultural and historical tour, take a hike of varying length, or discover history at individual sites and monuments.

Hiking ideas for planning your stay in Gelselaar

The Boereneschpad starts at Pannenkoekenboerderij Erve Brooks at Broekhuisdijk 5 in Gelselaar. The Hondorp bus stop in Gelselaar and the Baan bus stop in Geesteren are connected to the trail. The route is marked in both directions with blue clog-shaped markers. This provides clear and easily recognisable wayfinding.

The Ommetje Gelselaar is a 7.5-kilometre hiking route that can be shortened and starts at Café Florijn. The Meester-Heuvel walk also starts at Café Florijn and is a cultural and historical tour through the heart of Gelselaar's protected village landscape. Anyone wishing to compare different walking distances will find a shorter route with an option to shorten it, as well as a tour focusing on the village landscape.

Along the Ommetje, numbered points indicate sights along the route. A brochure and an information board provide more details about these points. The Avonturenpad is also located near Erve Brooks: an approximately one-and-a-half-hour walking activity with obstacles and games. This allows you to include both a leisurely exploration of the village and a more playful form of exercise in your day's plans.

Churches, monuments and traces of the past

The Hervormde kerk is Gelselaar's present Waterstaatskerk and replaced an older chapel in 1841. It welcomes visitors for church services and visits. At the Stokkink farmstead stands a water point made of Bentheim sandstone dating from 1575. It is considered the oldest Rijksmonument in the village.

The former goose-keeping tradition also remains visible in the village landscape: a goose statue near the school on Van-Bevervoordestraat, an outdoor goose board game and a goose meadow at Bevervoordeterrein serve as reminders. At the corner of Dorpsstraat and Schoolstraat, a bronze writers' monument honours the three Gelselaar personalities who wrote: H.W. Heuvel (1864–1926), H.J. Krebbers (1852–1936) and G.A. van der Lugt (1879–1966).

The location and contours of a former Havezate have also been identified near Gelselaar. The ditches and the shape of the terrain have been made visible again. Together with the church, water point and protected village landscape, this creates a tour through different layers of history, without suggesting that the former Havezate exists as a present-day estate.

Tradition and different rhythms of the day

The annual Ganzenmarkt takes place on the first Sunday in July in the historic village centre and includes the election of the best goose herder. The market features exhibitions, demonstrations, theatre performances and appearances by regional artists. Another way to explore the village and its surroundings is the Ganzenrondje Gelselaar, an approximately 13-kilometre cycling and walking route.

When choosing your holiday apartment in Gelselaar, you can take these differences into account when planning your days: the Boereneschpad, the Ommetje and the Meester-Heuvel walk each focus on different aspects of trail length and local history. The Avonturenpad adds obstacles and games to the hiking options, while the Ganzenrondje, monuments and historic sites provide further opportunities for active or culture-oriented exploration.

Other places for orientation

If you would like to compare Gelselaar with other places in the same overarching area, you can find Beltrum, Nederbiel, Rekken, Eibergen, Ruurlo, Neede, Borculo and Geesteren here.

For the overarching travel overview: Berkelland.