Holiday apartment in Culemborg: discover culture and river landscapes

Holiday apartment in Culemborg between urban history and river landscapes

Culemborg combines architectural landmarks, cultural sites and paths through the river landscape. The Binnenpoort is a brick gate tower dating from the 14th century and a Rijksmonument, meaning a Dutch national monument. It is currently used as the studio of artist Rop Philippi. The Oude Stadhuis was built in 1534 in the Brabantine Gothic style.

The Elisabeth Weeshuis Museum is Culemborg’s municipal museum. In nine museum rooms, it takes visitors through a monumental building while conveying a journey through time. The Culemborg orphanage is the oldest orphanage in the Netherlands built specifically for orphaned children. More than 700 orphans grew up there between 1560 and 1952. From Culemborg railway station, you can walk to the museum in 15 to 20 minutes. The restaurant serves coffee, tea, local specialities and light lunch dishes.

The Johannamolen was built in 1878. It mills flour from organic wheat, spelt and emmer, which are grown as locally as possible, and offers the half-day workshop “Be a miller for a day”. During the workshop, participants carry out the miller’s tasks themselves.

Culture and historical traces in the urban area

Kasteeltuin Culemborg is located on the grounds of a former castle; the site is of high archaeological value. The former castle grounds are intended to be developed into Kasteeltuin, a public historical cultural city park. The Groene Schuur hosts an annual exhibition of archaeological finds from the soil.

Stichting Stadsgidsen Culemborg offers an approximately 1.5-hour historical city tour with a city guide. There is also an accessible tour through the historic centre with several resting points and wheelchair-accessible toilets. A Stolpersteine tour leads to the places where Jewish residents of Culemborg lived and worked. The walks organised by Stichting Stadsgidsen Culemborg are possible every day at any time of day.

Trails and waterways around Culemborg

Werk aan het Spoel is situated in the natural river landscape, three kilometres from Culemborg city centre via the Lekdijk. From Culemborg, the fort can be reached on foot or by bicycle via the Goilberdingerdijk. Werk aan het Spoel is one of the forts of the Hollandse Waterlinies, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Guided tours along trenches and through the floodplains focus either on nature stories or on the history of the waterline. Werk aan het Spoel also offers excursions and guided tours, an annual nature day, a Fortenfair, as well as dance and theatre performances.

The Goilberdingerpad is a 15-kilometre Klompenpad hiking trail in the western outskirts of Culemborg. It begins at Werk aan het Spoel and passes meadows, dikes, Fort Everdingen and the Lek floodplains. The Jan Blankenpad is a 3.5-kilometre interactive discovery trail through the floodplains from Werk aan het Spoel in Culemborg to Fort Everdingen and back. In Culemborg, the two trails therefore differ considerably in length and route.

Ronde Haven is located on the site of a former port of Culemborg and includes a body of water with an old river channel called “Kleine Lek”, as well as several meadows and a willow forest. The ferry between Culemborg and Schalkwijk carries all types of traffic, operates year-round and docks in Culemborg at the marina on the Veerkade.

Culemborg