A walk through the centuries-old sewer in Breda’s city center is extremely popular. All 29 walks through the Oude Vestriool are fully booked in the coming weeks. The municipality has plans to possibly make it a permanent tourist attraction. Sewer guide Jan van Groesen has worked in the sewer all his life and knows the corridor system like the back of his hand.
The Oude Vestsewer is an unknown world full of rats, poop, stench and destruction. That may not sound appealing to many people to descend into. Yet the interest in this unknown world underground is enormous.
“You won’t find this anywhere else in the Netherlands.”
Over the past four years, the centuries-old sewer of more than a kilometer in length has been completely restored. With the guided tours, the municipality wants to provide information about the history and operation of the sewer. The future of water management in the city is also discussed. With the stench it turns out to be very bad downstairs. The water flows quickly through the sewer.
Sewer guide Jan has an explanation for the enormous interest in a walk through the sewer. “Very few people know that this beautiful sewer runs under the city center. You will not find this anywhere else in the Netherlands. It is unknown, exciting and adventurous.”
Jan: “This is really my thing. I grew up in the sewer, so to speak. As a boy of twenty I started inspecting the sewer. Now I have cameras for that, but thirty years ago you really had to go down.”
“People pay a lot of money for the sewage system.”
Because the interest in taking a look at the sewer is enormous, the municipality of Breda is considering making it a permanent attraction. But according to Jan there is still a lot to consider. The tour must be safe and the sewage level must not be too high.
So far it has always gone well. “We once had a very large man get stuck when he had to get out. But that also ended well,” says Breda’s sewer guide.
Peter Bakker was officially allowed to open access to the ancient restored sewer on Wednesday as ‘alderman of sewerage’. He did this in the information center on the Houtmarkpassage. “People pay a lot of money for the sewage system, so they can also see what they get in return.”
