Name: Bike tour to Wortel colony in Belgium | Gilde De Baronie
Start: 2025-08-05T10:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-08-05T17:00:00+00:00

Playforest Bouvigne

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The border with Belgium is crossed no less than four times. 
The name of the route refers to the Colony in Belgian Wortel, where from 1822 until the nineties of the last century, the Belgian government placed vagrants. This was because vagrancy was punishable by law. The Colony once also aimed to offer impoverished people a new life on a voluntary basis as land reclaimers and market gardeners. 
Together with the nearby Colony in Merksplas, this colony has a rich, or at least a remarkable and special, history. The colonies were established during the Dutch period, when Belgium briefly formed a kingdom with the Netherlands (from 1815 to 1830, under Willem I). Similar colonies, both voluntary and involuntary, had already been set up in Northern Netherlands (Veenhuizen).

This cycling route passes through Meersel-Dreef and Meerle to the Wortel Colony, the main destination of the trip. From there, the route goes via Zondereigen and around Baarle-Nassau back to the Mastbos.

Bike tour to Wortel colony in Belgium | Gilde De Baronie

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