The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Isselburg

I really liked the Wolf in this great environment.

Like being transplanted to Switzerland. A place to feel good.

Engbergen is a beautiful recreation area. Here you can hike on well-maintained paths or stroll along narrow trails between fields and meadows. It's a wooded and heathland area with wetlands and artificially created biotopes. For example, Recreatie 't Lohr, located at Lohrpad 2 in Voorst, offers accommodation directly adjacent to the recreation area. It's designed for group outings for team building or for school groups.

A beautiful route, also suitable for hiking. Since there is only one resident on this street, it's a pleasant place for cycling or walking. The street is a dead end for cars and leads into the Landfortseweg, which loops around Haus Landfort.

The name Landfort refers to a ford (a place fordable) in the Oude IJssel river. Landfort Manor was first mentioned in 1434. Since then, the size of the estate and the exterior of the buildings have changed regularly. When the Amsterdam ophthalmologist and botanist Johann Albert Luyken (1785-1867) acquired Landfort Manor in 1823, he had ambitious renovation plans. In 1825, he commissioned the renowned landscape architect Jan David Zocher Jr. (1791-1870) to design a landscaped park. The manor house itself was also redesigned, according to a plan by the Anholt court architect Johann Theodor Übbing (1786-1864), which included curved wings. J.T. Übbing also designed the oriental-style dovecote. Landfort Manor was severely damaged in 1945. In 1970, "Stichting Geldersch Landschap & Kasteelen" acquired the external site. In 2017, "Stichting Erfgoed Landfort" took over the island and the surrounding land on a long-term leasehold basis.

The island with its small country estate is called "Het Kleine Erf" (Little Erf). When the Amsterdam ophthalmologist and botanist Johann Albert Luyken (1785-1867) acquired Landfort House in 1823, he had ambitious renovation plans. In 1825, he commissioned the renowned landscape architect Jan David Zocher Jr. (1791-1870) to design a landscape park. Jan David Zocher designed the island of "Het Kleine Erf" and the entire park. Today, several old and remarkable trees from that era still stand on the island. There are winding paths, embankments, flowerbeds, flowering shrubs, and numerous surprising vistas. Het Kleine Erf is accessible via two distinctive bridges. One is the cast-iron bridge from 1873. This bridge was built at the Isselburg Ironworks in Germany and was restored in 2019 by order of the "Stichting Erfgoed Landfort" (Landfort Heritage Foundation). The monumental bridge at the head of Het Kleine Erf dates from the early 20th century and was designed by a member of the Luyken family.

delicious coffee

The ice cellar is the foundation of a former defensive tower of the city fortifications dating back to the 16th century. The defensive tower was demolished in the 19th century, and only then was the new entrance, as we know it today, built and intended to serve as an ice cellar. It is not known that it ever stored ice. TOWN FORTIFICATION: In 1349, Dietrich II of Zuylen (Zuilen/Sulen) and of Anholt granted the inhabitants town charter. This also included the right, or rather the obligation, to surround the settlement with a wall, rampart, and ditch. For this purpose, approximately 5,000 m³ of earthwork was carried out. Around the middle of the 15th century, the old fortifications were reinforced and expanded. The rampart was raised and widened, the ditch was deepened and expanded into a moat, and the city wall was provided with turrets and loopholes. At the same time, the city gates toward Isselburg at the market (called the Kerkpoort) and Vehlingen (called the Clev'se Poort) were reinforced. A keep was built at the weakest point of the fortifications (in the north), directly next to the parish church. Below it is the "ice cellar," which served as the foundation. Some rumors claim there was a secret passage from the castle to the ice cellar/defensive tower. However, there is no evidence for this.