Holiday apartment in Drieborg – dike history and hiking trails

Drieborg is a dike village with an unusually vivid history: the settlement gradually developed after the Oudedijk was built in 1657. To this day, dikes, polders and historic buildings shape the themes through which you can get to know Drieborg on walks, hikes or a bike ride. The combination of village history and experiences in the landscape is therefore a particularly good reason to choose a holiday apartment in Drieborg.

Dike history in the village landscape

The Schanskerdijk, which is also known as the Oudedijk, was the second dike in the eastern Dollard basin to be used to polder land in 1657. Drieborg got its name because three dike bodies meet here. The building at Schanskerdijk 27 is a tangible testimony to this history: it is listed as a Dutch national monument, a Rijksmonument.

The buildings also make the village’s development visible. They include single-storey workers’ houses in traditional styles, the so-called Delfts Rood, as well as rows of houses with a full upper storey. These buildings were constructed approximately between 1950 and 1958. When the village was still called Oudedijk, it had a small school, a grain mill and even a printing works around 1900.

Drieborg was built in the land of the lost villages about a century after the flooding; Drieborg itself, however, is not a lost village. At the edge of the Kroonpolder stands the Boerderij Schanskerdijk, a farmhouse that strongly characterises the surrounding area. Places like these give a journey through the eastern Dollard basin a historical context, without requiring you to rely on a large city centre.

Hiking with different stages

The Ommetjes Drieborg circular hike offers two documented lengths: the longer version is 5.8 kilometres, while the shorter version is 4.0 kilometres. The starting point for the Ommetjes Drieborg is Noorderlicht at Oudedijk 8a in Drieborg. The two route lengths make it easier to adapt your hiking plans to the desired amount of time for the day.

Another hiking idea is the Graanrepubliek day hike. It is part of the international NorthSeaTrail 51 long-distance trail around the North Sea and passes Hoeve Stocksterhorn in Drieborg. Ten circular hiking trails have also been created in Oldambt, leading around five villages: Bad Nieuweschans, Drieborg, Beerta, Nieuw Beerta and Hongerige Wolf/Ganzendijk.

Dollard landscape on foot and by bike

The dike near Drieborg/Kostverloren offers views of the Kroonpolder and the Stadspolder. If you would rather explore the landscape along a longer route by bicycle, you can include the Oldambtroute: it passes through Drieborg and the expansive eastern Dollard basin.

The right accommodation for planning your trip

When choosing a holiday apartment or holiday home in Drieborg, the mix of activities you want is a useful starting point. Short walks, the 4.0- or 5.8-kilometre loop, the Graanrepubliek day hike and the Oldambtroute represent different ways of experiencing the village and its surroundings. If you particularly appreciate historic village landscapes, Schanskerdijk 27, the Boerderij Schanskerdijk and the buildings dating from approximately 1950 to 1958 become the main points of interest. If, on the other hand, you want to combine as many landscape impressions as possible, the dike, polder and the hiking and cycling routes provide the key themes for your planning.

Further destinations for comparing your travel options: Nieuwolda, Nieuw Scheemda, Scheemda, Reiderland, Oudezijl, Westerlee, Midwolda and Oostwold Gem Oldambt.

For the higher-level travel overview: Oldambt.