Hotel Restaurant Overbosch

Reformation came swiftly

by Pavlik_NL

In The Netherlands reformations of the Roman Catholic church came swiftly and everywhere. Garderen became a centre of the turnaround that was initially brought by the great reformers like Martin Luther and Calvin (no, not Klein!). In Garderen Jan Gerritsz Verstege was known for it's work in this terrain. He brought the new religion to the Veluwe and started from Garderen. In front of the church a statue recalls his work in a remote area of The Netherlands, where - as you can see, also missionary work was done. Jan was chaplan hete from 1544 until 1549 and wrote a book about his days on the Veluwe, called "De Leeken Wechwijzer" (the roadsign for the unwise)

Halfway on the "Veluwe" (Arnhem Harderwijk)

by Pavlik_NL

"Charming village in the midst of nature"

Now, don't let the pictures fool you as I have been making then on an early morning in winter, when rain was coming down continuously. In summertime this is one of the best places to stay if you are going for a vacation on the "Veluwe". "On", because the Veluwe is a range of hills that are covered with forests. Garderen counts no more then a few hundred souls, but in summertime it is added with a few thousand tourists. The choose one of the various camp grounds around Garderen or a hotel, pension, B&B or bungalow.

"A village where farmhouses rule"

Garderen used to be a shepperds colony, which still can be seen to many of the large farmhouses that are spread from the centre of the village 'til far around. Near some of them, still a sheep's stable is to be found: a typical low construction with often a straw roof. Now-a-days the farmhouses in the centre often have a touristic role to play. Shops (not seldomly for antiques or decorative stuff) have taken the place of the farmer and his sheeps.