A DAY-LONG WALK OF THE GRAANREPUBLIEK
Where grain once filled the horizon
This was once an area where grain was cultivated on a large scale. See the traces of the enormous wealth it brought gentleman farmers, and the friction it caused between the poor and the rich. The 18-km-walk through the Oldambt countryside brings you through an area with a turbulent past, that today is dominated by vast grain, colza and sugar beet fields.
Giant farms
The route takes in various giant farmhouses, some with façades elegant and stylish enough to almost resemble a palace. This is where wealthy gentlemen farmers lived over a century ago. The cultivation of grain brought immense wealth, leading some owners of these farms to lay out gardens with winding paths and other splendour to demonstrate their riches. The farm workers never saw much of that, however. Look around to see the signs of the battle between rich and poor and the rise of communism. One example is the Hamer en Sikkellaan – the Hammer & Sickle Avenue –, which is included in this walk.