Weesp

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Weesp is a small historic town south-east of Amsterdam, on the river Vecht. It was once fortified, and several of the bastions, moats and forts still survive. In the Amsterdam region, Weesp is the nearest small town that has survived as an independent entity. It is only 3 km from the end of the Amsterdam metro, but the wide Amsterdam-Rhine Canal keeps it geographically separate. Weesp is a rail junction, and very easily accessible. The town is surrounded by open grassland, but the landscape is now threatened by the planned A6-A9 motorway.

Weesp has about 18, 000 inhabitants, and is located in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands.

	weesp Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By bicycle 2.2 By train 2.3 By metro and bus 3 See 4 Do 5 Eat 6 Drink 7 Sleep 8 Get out 8.1 Bus 8.2 By bicycle 9 External links

Understand

Until the early Middle Ages this region was uninhabited peat bog. Weesp was granted city rights in 1355, and celebrates its 650th anniversary as a city in 2005. It was probably settled several centuries earlier. Its position on the river Vecht influenced its history. From the late Middle Ages, the Vecht was a defensive line for the County of Holland, and it remained a military defensive line until the Second World War. Weesp was strongly fortified, more than its size would justify - for most of its history it had a few thousand inhabitants. The defensive lines consisted of inundation zones, which would be flooded in wartime. Behind them were fortified towns, forts, barracks, and other military structures. The most comprehensive was the Stelling van Amsterdam, a circular inundation zone around Amsterdam. See the website on its history Defence Line of Amsterdam (http://www.stelling-amsterdam.org/english/index.htm).

After the Second World War, new housing was built to the west, and an industrial zone with a harbour on the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. In the 1970?s a suburb was built on the south. Since then the town has not expanded. However, a motorway through the fields around the town is now in the planning stage, to connect the A6 and A9 motorways. It was first planned in the 1960?s, and to meet environmental objections, some of it would now be in tunnel. Everywhere in the town you will see posters against this project. On the north side of Weesp, the rail line forms a barrier: there is a small housing estate just north of the station, the rest is open fields. A large housing development is planned here, in combination with another west of Muiden, which would make the area definitively suburban.

Get in

By bicycle

You can cycle from central Amsterdam to Weesp, 15 km, in an hour. The route is well signposted: from Central Station, follow the cycle direction signs for Almere, along the Prins Hendrikkade, Oostenburgergracht, and Zeeburgerdijk. From the end of Zeeburgerdijk, Weesp is shown on the cycle signs. Cycle along the Amsterdam-Rhine canal for about 7 km, then cross the cycle path on the railway bridge. Turn right under the first underpass toward Weesp, cycle straight on along this road, then turn left along Amstellandlaan.Turn right at the traffic lights, and left after the bridge, toward 'Centrum'.

By train

Weesp station is a rail junction. The oldest line runs from Amsterdam via Weesp and Hilversum to Amersfoort. It also carries trains to Utrecht. A newer rail line runs from Schiphol airport, through the south of Amsterdam, via Weesp to Almere. Passengers change trains at Weesp, and as a result the station has an intensive service.

• from Amsterdam: four trains per hour, 12 or 15 minutes
• from Utrecht via Hilversum: two trains per hour, 34 minutes
• from Amersfoort via Hilversum: two trains per hour, 26 minutes
• from Almere: four trains per hour, 16 minutes
• from Schiphol airport: four trains per hour, 22 minutes
• from Leiden via Schiphol: two trains per hour, 44 minutes.

The town centre is 5 minutes walk from the station: go through Stationsplein, (with the bus stops and a city map), turn left into Herensingel, then right onto Stationsweg, on the bank of the Vecht river.

By metro and bus

Bus 177 connects Amsterdam metro station Gaasperplas (metro line 53) with Weesp, two buses per hour. It takes about 45 minutes to get from Amsterdam Central Station to Weesp by this route: from central Amsterdam, the train is always faster. From Hilversum, Weesp can also be reached by bus 139.

See

The small historic centre, the and the waterside streets and quays, are the main attraction of Weesp. Specific sights include:

• old Town Hall (1776), Nieuwstraat 41. It houses a small museum for porcelain, (one of the old industries in Weesp), limited opening hours.
• the circular fort at Ossenmarkt (1861), cross the Vecht by the wooden bridge. See the online images and panorama (http://www.stelling-amsterdam.org/forten/weesp-fort/info.htm#FOTO). Behind the fort are two older bastions (circa 1674), Bakkerschans and Nieuw Achtkant (with a view of the windmills).
• the two windmills, Eendragt (Unity) and Vriendschap (Friendship), near each other on the Vecht, east of the centre. They are best seen from the opposite bank, about 10 minutes walk from the centre.
• the 15th-century church, Laurenskerk, Nieuwstraat.
• former Synagogue, Nieuwstraat 5. Used from 1840 until 29th April, 1942, when the Jews of Weesp were deported.
• the moat and eastern bastions, Roozenboom and Draaierschans, built 1674, and now a small park. They are left and right at the end of Nieuwstraat.
• the expendable wooden houses across the moat from the bastions, on Utrechtseweg and Molenpad. An area near city walls and forts was kept clear of vegetation and buildings, to give a clear field of fire. Small houses were allowed, but only of wood, so that the garrison could burn them quickly if the enemy approached.

Other fortifications around Weesp, simplified from the Defence Line website (http://www.stelling-amsterdam.org/english/index.htm), are:

• Fort Uitermeer (1845), protecting the lock of the old canal to 's-Graveland, where it joins the Vecht. On the right bank of the Vecht, 4 km east of Weesp.
• bunker cluster Uitermeer (1932 and 1939), around the fort. Visible from the main road Weesp-Hilversum (N236), and from the cycle path to Bussum
• bunker cluster Hakkelaarsbrug (1931), on both sides of the A1 motorway, near the bridge carrying the rail line to Almere. Some visible from the road to Muiderberg.
• bunker cluster Muiderberg (1939), most are hidden in the woods around the village.
• Fort Hinderdam, fort island (circa 1848). On the left bank of the Vecht, about 1 km south of the N236 bridge.

You can walk across the fields south of Weesp, through the Aetsveldsche Polder, on an old road (Aetsveldseweg). Most of it is unsurfaced. It starts beside the street map, just south of the traffic lights, where the main road (N236) cross the Van Houtenlaan, south of the centre. When you reach the Vecht again, Fort Hinderdam is about 500 m to the left. The planned A6-A9 motorway will cut through this polder. Walk on past the fort, and the road will bring you back to Weesp (via Lage Klompweg and Utrechtseweg).

Do

Eat

Although Weesp is a small town, it does have a local speciality: Weesper moppen, small almond cakes. You can buy them at the bakeries:

• Huize Pels, Nieuwstad 22
• Cor Mühl, Nieuwstad 64
• Wesselman, Breedstraat 23
• Hans Klercq, Slijkstraat 45.

Drink

Sleep

Get out

Weesp is easy to reach, and easy to leave. The last train back to Amsterdam is at 00.42 (in the 2005 timetable, valid until mid-December). If you came from Amsterdam, you can combine a stop in Weesp with a trip to Naarden, which has much larger 17th-century fortifications. Take the train to Naarden-Bussum station (4 trains per hour, next stop, 7 minutes), from there it is 30 minutes walk to the bastions and old town centre. (You do not need an extra ticket to stop off at intermediate stations).

You can also walk (about 50 minutes) along the Vecht, from Weesp to Muiden and the Muiderslot castle. There is a bus (153), but services are irregular.

Bus

There is one other bus line you can use: bus 122, run by BBA (http://www.bba.nl). In the 2005 tiemtable, it ran hourly until about 18.30, through the small villages south of Weesp, to Overvecht station in the north of Utrecht. It is rural area otherwise unserved by public transport, and less developed.

By bicycle

Cycling on from Weesp allows more flexibility in destinations. If you came from Amsterdam, you can cycle on to Muiden and cycle back from there: that will add about 3 km to the trip. You can cycle to several villages, the Naardermeer Nature Reserve, and Naarden fortress.

To cycle eastward out of Weesp: pass the circular fort, and cross the bridge. Turn left to reach Muiden along the right bank of the Vecht. For Muiderberg, Naarden and and Bussum, turn right along the ?s-Gravelandseweg, the right bank of the Vecht.

• for Bussum, continue to the lock at the start of the old canal to ?s-Graveland. Go right of the lock, and follow the cycle path alongside the canal, and across the fields toward Bussum (12 km).
• otherwise, about 4 km from Weesp (after farm nr. 45), turn left into an unnamed side road. (This is before the lock). Cross the rail line, and after about 1 km, the road forks.
• the left fork, Visserijpad, leads to the Naardermeer nature reserve entrance, 6 km from Weesp. To reach Naarden continue along this almost unused road, for another 5 km, past some houses, to an apartment tower just inside Naarden. Turn left there, along Koningin Wilhelminalaan, to the fortress.
• the right fork leads past a windmill and across the motorway, go straight on at the traffic lights to Muiderberg (9 km).

For Hilversum, take the Utrechtseweg (Vecht left bank) past the two windmills, then the Lage Klomp weg, and then use the cycle path alongside the main road (Gooilandseweg, N236).

For the small village of Nigtevecht, leave by the Breedstraat, Groeneweg, van Houtenlaan, cross the N236 south of the town centre, and follow the signs. The cycle path is parallel to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, with open grassland on the east. This landscape will be cut by the planned motorway. In Nigtevecht (5 km from Weesp), go on through the housing estate to the old section of the village (one street)

• you can cross the Vecht here, by a small free ferry, toward Nederhorst den Berg, but the ferry (pont) has limited hours: 12-13.30 and 15.30-17.30 on weekdays, 12-17.30 weekends.
• for Utrecht follow the cycle sign (in the housing estate, turn right), and then cross the lock which connects the Vecht to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. Turn next left into Vreelandseweg, to follow the bank of the Vecht to Utrecht - about 30 km further. (At the village of Vreeland, you should switch to the opposite bank, the road is quieter). The main cycle path from Nigtevecht (24 km) runs alongside the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal.

Several signposted cycle routes pass Weesp. Most are circular routes signposted in one direction, taking several hours. You can start the Plassen Route (lakes route) and the Boerenland Route (farmland route) from the station. (Follow the hexagonal route signs from the corner of Stationsplein and Herensingel). The Plassen Route and the Muiden Route pass the circular fort. One much longer route passes just behind it: the Forten Route, 187 km long, along all the forts of the Stelling van Amsterdam.

External links

Weesp municipal website (http://www.weesp.nl), English content is not yet available

650 years of Weesp (http://www.weesper.nl/650/intro.html) (in Dutch, with some old paintings and etchings).

Tourist Office (http://www.weesper.nl/vvw/), in Dutch.

UNESCO World Heritage List: Stelling van Amsterdam (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/759/)

Defence Line of Amsterdam (http://www.stelling-amsterdam.org/english/index.htm)

Naardermeer nature reserve (http://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden.jsp?n=35841), in Dutch.

BirdLife IBA Factsheet Naardermeer (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=1252&m=0)

Description of the Naardermeer reserve (http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/news/natura/nat14_en.pdf), in Natura 2000 Newsletter, European Commission, April 2001.

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