Holiday apartment in Beesd: Estate, routes and village history
Accommodation in Beesd
Beesd combines traditional village architecture with the landscapes and routes of Heerlijkheid Mariënwaerdt. The mill, churches, avenues and dikes provide the village with a variety of historical and landscape landmarks.
Village history and notable buildings
A compulsory mill already stood at the site of De Vrijheid in the 14th century and was under the authority of Mariënweerd Abbey near Beesd. The exact year in which De Vrijheid was built is unknown; the present mill probably dates from the 18th century. The Sint Pieterskerk is a brick hall church with white-rendered façades. Its substantial late Gothic tower is protected as a separate monument. The Voorstraat in Beesd is a protected village area approximately 900 metres long and lined with pollarded lime trees.
The Heilige Kruisverheffingkerk is a three-aisled Neo-Gothic hall church with a partially integrated tower. During its restoration in the early 2000s, parts of the Neo-Gothic interior were restored. The church is considered one of the earliest works by architect Alfred Tepe (1840–1920).
Mariënwaerdt: Avenues, meadows and estate history
The historic Mariënwaerdt estate comprises a park woodland, kitchen garden and entrance avenue; meadows flank the estate, and two cross avenues run through it. The Notenlaan has more than 200 walnut trees, planted in a double row in 1928. The famous Appeldijk on Mariënwaerdt is lined with standard fruit trees along the slope of the dike.
During the annual Landgoedfair, guided tours explain the history of Heerlijkheid Mariënwaerdt.
Routes for different day plans
You can cycle, hike or go mountain biking at Heerlijkheid Mariënwaerdt all year round. Shorter and longer routes through a variety of landscapes are available for planning your day.
The Enspijkse Veer is a tourist ferry for pedestrians and bicycles between the village of Enspijk and Heerlijkheid Mariënwaerdt. The 5 km Kloosterroute passes country houses, monumental farmhouses, hay barns and flood barns.
The 9 km Leidschehoevepad leads through a landscape of old dikes, standard fruit trees and a historic estate. The 12 km Kooiroute starts at De Stapelbakker. At 5 km, the Kloosterroute is shorter than the 9 km Leidschehoevepad and the 12 km Kooiroute.
The Mariënwaerdt MTB trail consists of two interconnected routes and a junior route. The red Mariënwaerdt Hoog MTB route runs for approximately 12 km between the railway line and the River Linge.
Organic products and regional cuisine
De Stapelbakker in Beesd serves pancakes made with organic ingredients. At De Stapelbakker, the starting point of the Kooiroute is combined with a restaurant in Beesd.
The estate shop at Heerlijkheid Mariënwaerdt sells organic estate products, including vegetable jellies and jams from the kitchen garden, chutneys, curd, estate cheese, estate juices, Lakenvelder beef, homemade apple pie and walnut tartlets made according to a recipe by Baroness Van Verschuer.
Other places: Deil, Geldermalsen, Meteren.
Back to the main travel overview: Geldermalsen.
