The best city hikes and walks around Blauwe Meer

In 1945, the initiative was taken to raise money to erect a monument for the 73 war victims from the municipality of Beilen. The commission was awarded to the Arnhem sculptor Fri Heil, it was her second war monument. She made a bronze male figure, which is placed against a boulder. In 1948, she showed her design at an exhibition for Gelderland art in Arnhem. The large stone was found during excavation work near the Linthorst Homankanaal.[2] On 31 August 1950, the unveiling took place at the cemetery on the Torenlaan. The chairman of the founding committee, former mayor Henk Wytema, described the male figure in his speech as an ordinary Drenthe boy, with his hands pointing backwards, because he knows he is supported by a granite faith. The wife of Queen's Commissioner R.H. de Vos of Steenwijk unveiled the monument.[3] In August 2013, the statue's right arm was broken off by vandals.[4] The arm was later found and the monument could be restored. During the National Remembrance Day, a wreath-laying ceremony takes place every year.

History The first church was founded on this site as a Catholic church in the tenth century and was dedicated to Willibrord, the first bishop of Utrecht. The current church is a single-nave Gothic building that took on its present form around 1400. At the time, it was one of the six mother churches of Drenthe and, as a "dingspilkerk" (church), also served as the seat of justice. Dingspilkerk The Stefanuskerk (St. Stephen's Church) is one of the six "dingspil" churches in Drenthe, the oldest ecclesiastical foundations in the province. The church is centrally located along the then existing north-south and east-west corridors and likely originated as a chapel for passing travelers. On behalf of the Bishop of Utrecht, lord of Drenthe since the mid-11th century, justice was administered three times a year in the "dingspil" churches. Once every four years, the bishop himself also came to Drenthe for this purpose and sat in the "seendstoel" (seed chair) to deliver judgment. The church of Beilen was owned by the bishop, and he gave his income from that church, the "Valkengeld," as a kind of subsidy to other churches under construction. These churches were also allowed to determine who would become the village pastor. Eventually, the monastery in Ruinen, later Dikninge Abbey in De Wijk, received this income through the church of Steenwijk (1206/1207). After that, services in Beilen were led by priest-monks from the monastery. Around 1415, the monastery also acquired a farmstead in Beilen, as accommodation for visiting priests. This "costeryen-huys" (costery house) had been built by villagers and was therefore sometimes used as a village inn, which in turn led to conflicts. After the great village fire of August 8, 1820, Beilen no longer has an old parsonage with archives, but fortunately the church was preserved. This is a reminder of the old village, which has completely disappeared, and its ties with Dikninge Abbey.

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The current Stephen's Church as it now stands in front of you was built around 1400. However, before that, in the 10th century, a first church had already been founded here.

Relaxing with a cup of tea.

Axes have nothing to do with Beilen.

The first church was founded on this site in the tenth century as a Catholic church and was dedicated to Willibrord, the first bishop of Utrecht. The current church is a single-aisled Gothic building that took its current shape around 1400. At the time, it was one of the six mother churches of Drenthe and, as a central church, it also served as the seat of the judiciary. Source: https://www.stefanuskerkbeilen.nl/stefanuskerk/

The pedestal symbolizes the former municipality of Beilen. The eighteen beams between the three legs of the pedestal represent the eighteen villages in the municipality. Source: https://statbeeld.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?record=DR09ak