Replace bridge over ancient canal at Dickninge Estate: ‘Not familiar’

In a more concise version of the history, Van den Berg explains that there was already a farm belonging to the monastery in Ruinen in the twelfth century. “In 1325 the board decided to bring the monastery here, it was a double monastery with nuns and monks. During the Reformation the monastery was closed and the area came into the property of Landscape Drenthe, say the province of Drenthe. sold in 1800 to the De Vos van Steenwijk family and its heirs still own this estate.” The noble family redesigned the area. The buildings, or what was left of them, made way for the current Huize Dickninge.

When the monastery was established, the moat was immediately dug around the estate. “It was important that the monastery was in a protected environment,” says Van den Berg. “No strangers were allowed to enter, the nuns were not even allowed to leave the monastery grounds in the first centuries. There was a strict policy to keep people out and in and you need a moat for that. These were troubled times and there were still more to come. once upon a time armies that did not have it very good for the monastery.”

Dickninge is therefore an estate with centuries of history. “The bridge connects one side of the estate where the monastery once stood with the other side, where there is a kind of park that still belongs to the estate,” says Van den Berg.

In order to be able to walk where the nuns already did 700 years ago, maintenance is important, according to the Historical Association. “Dickninge belongs to the Wijk, it is historically connected,” says chairman Ten Wolde. “We are also proud of it. Special plants grow here such as the hollow root, a stinzen plant, which people come to see. In the spring it is very busy here when the hollow root blooms. We are here on the Reest, so it is a very beautiful nature reserve and a very nice recreation area. That is why we think it is very important that the bridge is repaired quickly.”

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