Bladel Walk 8.6 km
In old documents, the name Bladel can be found as Bladele, Pladella and Bladella, but it has been written as Bladel since 1280. As far as is known, Bladel is first mentioned in a deed dating from 922. Charlemagne the Simple, a Frankish monarch, bestowed ‘Pladella Villa’ castle, situated on the territory of present-day Bladel, upon Count Dirk I.
The route offers a pleasant mix of built-up areas, countryside, fens and woodland.
You start the route from the side of the town hall, by the clock tower. This tower has 24 bells. The clock and puppet show on the side plays every hour. The puppets act out the story of Charles the Simple, who gave Pladella Villa Castle to Count Dirk I.
Dichtbij the starting point, you’ll find…
In old documents, the name Bladel can be found as Bladele, Pladella and Bladella, but it has been written as Bladel since 1280. As far as is known, Bladel is first mentioned in a deed dating from 922. Charlemagne the Simple, a Frankish monarch, bestowed ‘Pladella Villa’ castle, situated on the territory of present-day Bladel, upon Count Dirk I.
The route offers a pleasant mix of built-up areas, countryside, fens and woodland.
You start the route from the side of the town hall, by the clock tower. This tower has 24 bells. The clock and puppet show on the side plays every hour. The puppets act out the story of Charles the Simple, who gave Pladella Villa Castle to Count Dirk I.
Dichtbij the starting point, you’ll also find the bronze statue of Mie Moors. She was born in 1872 and was known as a lively and quick-witted market trader. She ran a small business selling, amongst other things, eggs, chickens, rabbits and young goats. This meant she regularly visited the local markets. She would take the steam tram to Eindhoven. The story goes that whenever Mie still needed to go to the toilet and the steam tram had already arrived, she would relieve herself in front of the tram, so that it couldn’t drive off without her.
Walk past the town hall towards the Markt. On the corner next to the town hall, you’ll find junction 5. From here, you can continue the walk by following the junctions. Opposite the post marking junction 5, there used to be a tramstation on the tram line from Eindhoven to Reusel. The line opened on 7 June 1897. On 15 May 1935, the line was closed to passenger services and on 10 January 1937 to freight services.
At junction 25, you enter the Landgoed Ten Vorsel . This estate dates back to around 1100 and was once owned by Postel Abbey. Ten Vorsel consists of fields and meadows, as well as areas of deciduous and coniferous woodland. There used to be a watermill here too.
In the southern part of the Ten Vorsel es landgoed Ten Vorsel , stands De Heksenboom (The Witches’ Tree). The exact location is deliberately kept a little vague. The idea behind this is that it is only by wandering that you can discover new things. According to legend, the witch Zwarte Kaat is buried beneath this tree.
The Heksenboom isn’t exactly on the route, but it’s definitely worth a visit. This legendary tree was voted Tree of the Year in 2019.
You’ll also pass the Kroonven: a series of three interconnected ponds: Kroonven, Klein Kroonven and Tjop Venneke.
Between junctions 18 and 5, on the right-hand side, stands the historic air defence tower. This tower is a remnant of the Cold War. In the 1950s and 1960s, it served as a lookout post used by the Air Defence Corps to track enemy aircraft in the airspace.
Back at junction 5, you’ll see another bronze plaque dedicated to ‘ Zwarte Kaat’ on the front of the town hall. Around 400 years ago, this alleged witch led a band of robbers in de Kempen . She abducted a newborn boy from Hoeve Ten Vorsel and raised him. The child managed to escape and ensured that the gang was unmasked. Zwarte Kaat was beheaded. A beech tree was planted on her grave on the heath. This gnarled tree, known as ‘De Heksenboom’ (The Witches’ Tree), stands at Ten Vorsel, as described earlier.
Here’s what you’ll see
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Visit Bladel : A Source of Inspiration
Visit Bladel Inspiration Point (Stop 1 – End point)
You can find us at Bruis
Markt 6
5531 BA Bladel
Navigate to the destination
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