Top 20 Lakes around Neerijnen

A.C. van Boxtel, here freely translated: "Sientje's café" has been an attraction for sailors, fishermen, commercial travelers, or the average person who enjoys a drink, for almost two hundred years. Ships were often seen struggling against the wind or ships perishing. At least twice, a ship was seen sinking in a storm from the café. These were brought out of oblivion by the dredging work in the fifties. The café became a popular stopping point for sailors, but people also found their way there over land via the dike. From: Drielse Vertellingen

De Groote Wielen is part of Rosmalen in the municipality of 's-Hertogenbosch but with over 10,000 inhabitants it is actually a village in itself. The district is located north of Rosmalen and consists of three parts, two of which have been built on. The southern part consists of the following districts: (from west to east) Bedrijventerrein Brabantpoort, Hoven, Vlietdijk, Broekland and Watertuinen. North of the Waterplas there are also two districts: Lanen and Centrum van de Groote Wielen. The third part is the Waterplas. In the district the water is clearly present, especially in the Watertuinen, but water can be seen everywhere in the form of canals and streams and many houses have a jetty, on summer days there is a lot of sailing and swimming. The north of the district borders the Waterplas and in the south wide watercourses have been dug that function as drainage channels. There are walking paths around the lakes, separate cycle paths throughout the area and a sandy beach.

Changes in the course of the river - as here - often led to changes in the administrative affiliations of the towns and communities. Sometimes, however, the responsibilities remained the same, so that suddenly a community had territory on both banks of the Meuse or the Rhine.

The Tichelgaten, also known as “the Put of Buren,” is a unique nature reserve just outside Buren. The area offers various discoveries all year round, from resident, migratory and water birds to dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies and other insects. In addition, there are mushrooms, mosses, lichens, trees and plants to be found. The Tichelgaten were created by clay and sand extraction. The Buren map of 1890 shows the first buildings of the N.V. Waalsteenfabriek, located along the Korne, Kornedijk and Hennisdijk, where construction company Van Kessel is now located. The clay was extracted from a stream ridge along the Hennisdijk, whereby the terrain was excavated by hand to 1 meter, causing calcareous sand to come to the surface. Wet grasslands, scrub, alder forest and roughs developed in the excavated areas. The ponds were formed between 1922 and 1964 by sand suction, and the large pond, which was given the name “de Put van Buren”, was dug between 1951 and 1954. Source and more information: ivn.nl

This part of the dammed Maas has a somewhat unusual name: 't gat van Sientje'

And once again an archaeological gem appears at Over de Maas in Alphen: a horn of the giant musk ox. The discovery of the remains of a giant musk ox from prehistoric times in sand mining Over the Maas near Alphen once again confirms the special character of this archaeological treasury. It is the first time that remains of the animal have been found in the Netherlands. Source and more info: overdemaas.com

Project Over the Maas In the floodplain, sand and gravel was extracted with floating processing installations and removed by ship. In addition, new river-bound nature was developed in a large part of the area and the interventions created more room for the river during high water. The entire floodplain will eventually be opened to the public and will be sustainably managed. Recreation takes place in an extensive form by means of walking (roaming) and cycling. The project area of Project Over de Maas is located in the municipality of West Maas en Waal and has an area of approximately 277 ha. The plan area includes the northern floodplain of the Maas near the village of Lith, referred to as "Over de Maas". The Moleneindsche Waard near Alphen aan de Maas is part of the plan area. Source and more info: overdemaas.com

The Zandmeren was largely created by sand extraction and is now a recreation area. There is the 1st sand hole where ships can moor for loading and unloading sand and there are marinas for pleasure yachts. The 2nd sand hole is used for recreation, including swimming. There are restaurants, pitches for campers and a tow ferry. The 3rd sand hole has fishing piers and divers are also regularly found in the water. It is also a beautiful walking area.