It is already one of the most photographed stones in our province: the re-placed marker stone between Zwinderen and Gees along the cycle path between the two villages.
With the project Markesteen back in place the established committee Markestenen Drenthe wants the striking stones to return to the landscape as much as possible. “Step by step we are trying to add a few pages to the cultural history of Drenthe,” says Jan van der Struik of the Drentse Boermarken association.
He joined forces with Egbert Meijers, among others, to set up the project. “I call the stones the icons of Drenthe. Especially those very large boulders, they are very important for the geological history. And it is important for the next generations to pass on one of the oldest forms of culture of Drenthe.”
The marker stones marked the border between different boermarks. A boermarke has traditionally been a collective of farmers that jointly regulated the management and use of their communal land. Markestones date from the period from the early Middle Ages until the introduction of the land register in 1832.
Many of the stones disappeared during the reclamation of heathland, land consolidation and the construction of forests. Or because they were just in the way. There are still 88 active boermarken in Drenthe, who were also largely present at the symposium on the return of the marker stones. “We also heard this morning from boermark that they want to get started,” says Van der Struik. “We are pleased that there is so much interest in it, also from the historical societies.”
It is not yet known where the next stone will be. The ball should now start rolling. The committee wants to help the historical societies and Boermark with further research. It is not always a mystery where the missing stones are: “No, there are plenty of boermarks that know exactly where the stones are”, Meijers laughs.