오이스터베이크 최고의 라이딩 경로

Indeed, a beautiful area, and it's good that this WWII memorial exists. It's a shame the name is misspelled; the decoy airfield is called d'n Kiek. A Kriek is a cherry.

It's just along the Wilhelmona Canal. There's really not much to it in itself; you're better off cycling into Orischot, which is much more fun.

Lovely road surface between the trees, enjoy

A pleasant, relaxing cycling route. At the Stönner-Meijwaard Bridge in Oirschot, there's a sound column where you can listen to relive the events of World War II.

Almost immediately after the start of World War II, the German occupying forces established the Kamerun Airfield (SF37), better known locally as "De Kiek." It housed anti-aircraft guns, several searchlights, a bunker, and hangars. There was even a railway line on which an illuminated wooden dummy aircraft was propelled by a cable. By setting up decoy airfields, the Germans wanted to lure enemy pilots into dropping their bombs there, instead of on the actual target. The idea was for Allied pilots to mistake De Kiek for the real Gilze-Rijen airfield. Decoy airfields also served as dropping sites for undropped bombs, as landing with bombs was too dangerous. Sometimes they also served as training grounds. The German troops used lighting to lure British aircraft at night. As soon as the British were in the vicinity, the runway lights were turned on to attract attention. Flares were also fired. The British quickly learned about the decoy airfields and their intended purpose. Yet, despite improved navigation techniques, some British crews were still misled. Living near an airfield during wartime is dangerous. Even near a decoy airfield, it was anything but safe. The Allies were indeed misled and attempted to bomb the airfield. Three residents of Brakel were killed in a bombing raid on October 20, 1943. The Friends of the Kiek Foundation has brought the decoy airfield back to life. Visit the bunker and discover the aircraft in the middle of the woods.

day day

The Rendierhoeve’, a somewhat strange name for a monastery complex on a spacious piece of land (approx. 3 ha) where French Trappistine sisters of the Cistercian order found refuge from 1903 to 1913.

Special and beautiful spot along a long gravel road. Here the Germans tried to mislead the Allies in WWII with a fake airfield!