People with felt hats, good walking shoes and well-filled backpacks are filling the Reformed Church of Coevorden this morning. Today and tomorrow the historic route of Bommen Berend will be walked.
The walking tour was organized by Toch om de Noord to celebrate and commemorate the 350th anniversary of the relief of Groningen and Coevorden. The starting point at the church was chosen because it is the final resting place of Meindert van der Thijnen and Carl Rabenhaupt. They played an important role in the battle against Bommen Berend in 1672.
“Everyone who follows the route will receive a felt hat like Rabenhaupt wore at the time. The hat is wrapped with a ribbon from Coevorden and Groningen,” explains organizer Ronald Hellinga. “And that way our ‘walking army’ can be easily recognized along the route this weekend.”
The complete walking route from Coevorden to Groningen is 110 kilometers long and is covered in two days. “Of course the distance between Groningen and Coevorden is 70 kilometers and not 110 kilometers, but of course we are not going to walk on the highway,” laughs organizer Ronald Hellinga. “The route we are walking is the route that the army also followed at the time.”
According to the organizer, it is also the intention that the walkers experience what it was like in 1672. That is why the route leads past historical places and street theater is used so that the walkers are drawn into a different era. The event also ties in with various festivities and cultural performances this weekend in both Coevorden and Groningen.
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