ヴィーンダムの天然記念物・トップ20

A quiet and pleasant path

The Gieselbarg, a place of death and destruction. A dark chapter in the history of Westerwolde.

I think this dolmen (D11) is one of the most beautiful in the Netherlands. This prehistoric burial monument is located at a crossroads in the middle of the forest. It was built in the Neolithic period, around 3400–2750 BC, by farmers of the Funnel Beaker Culture. The almost 10-meter-long and almost 4-meter-wide dolmen is located on the Terborgh estate. It has four capstones resting on ten sidestones and two keystones. The yellow walking route runs past the dolmen and the nearby pinetum. Don't confuse this with the yellow signs of the Hondsrug Trail, as those will take you across the entire Hondsrug into Germany.

This hiding place on the edge of the heath was a hidden underground refuge in the Evertsbos forest. It was constructed in 1943 and used during the war by people in hiding and resistance fighters seeking refuge from the German occupiers. The hiding place was cleverly camouflaged with sand, branches, and vegetation. In September 1944, the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service) discovered the hiding place. Some people managed to escape, but others were arrested and later murdered. Shortly before liberation, in April 1945, ten resistance fighters were executed at the same location. At the site of the former hiding place, standing stones commemorate the murdered.

The story of the 21 "witches" sentenced to death touched me. When I look at the suffering of civilians in Ukraine and Palestine, not everything has changed for the better in the last 400 years.

On a modest hill between Wedde and Wessinghuizen lies the Giezelbaarg, a place with a dark history. At the end of the 16th century, at least 21 alleged witches were burned at the stake here, a tragic result of fear and suspicion. Today, a memorial stone commemorates this time and the landscape invites you to contemplate. A historical place that makes you quiet and makes you think.

was on the route

The Giezelbaarg is a 2.5 meter high sand hill (from the last ice age) on which alleged witches were burned alive in the Middle Ages. A memorial plaque commemorates these people today. Furthermore, court sentences from the nearby Wedde Castle were carried out there until the beginning of the 19th century. *Source: google