A special path in Giethmen is the church path with a foot bridge, also called the Giethemer church bridge. The Giethemer Kerkpad path runs from the hamlet of Giethmen to Ommen. Churchgoers from Giethmen walked this distance every Sunday to visit the church in Ommen. As a rule, it was also the shortest distance to Ommen for a visit to the weekly (goods) market. The river Regge was then crossed with a self-operating boat. If that was not possible, the Nieuwebrug or Laarbrug, located further away, were used.
Footbridge over the Regge
The crossing over the Regge, intended as a footbridge, was first constructed around 1905, when the Regge was also improved as a river. The owner of the Vilsteren estate, then Mr. Pathuis Cremers, paid the construction costs of the iron footbridge in exchange for the hunting rights in Giethmen. The Giethemer footbridge with a lifting system to allow boats to pass unimpeded became the property of the municipality and also the maintenance costs. In the thirties of the last century there was regular haggling about maintenance. The municipality was of the opinion that the maintenance costs were also borne by the residents of the hamlet of Giethmen at 25 guilders for thirty years. In 1987, the municipality of Ommen completely renovated the footbridge. The lifting construction that the previous bridge was familiar with was then imitated in wood and does not work as such. The church path and footbridge are widely used by cyclists and walkers.
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