This is a virtual walk through the city Wageningen, based on the capitulation freedom tour, as found on RouteYou, but substantially adapted.
It includes images, poetry, quotes and information about the peace and nature highlights that this city holds, brought to you by the Bertha von Suttner Peace Institute.
Walk this virtual route from the comfort of your mobile phone!
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The location of most of the universities' institutions, whose general aim is to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life.
We start at the
A small park with a rare visitor: the endangered brown hairstreak, the only endangered butterfly species in the Netherlands that is mainly found outside of larger nature areas. On a warm but not too hot day you might spot the female here.
At the edge of the campus lies
An old orchard with new additions, Pomona is a hidden oasis in the fruit-tree neighbourhood filled with edible plants, accesible to everybody.
Our next stop is
On March 26th 1943, a heavy explosion happened in the residential area called "Het Roode Dorp". Although the source is still debated, it is believed to have been a V1. The consequences were disastrous: 27 people lost their lives and many were injured.
the former laboratory of Wageningen Agricultural College, built in 1921-1923, is the first building on this route designed by Cornelis Blaauw. A striking feature of the educational buildings is their appearance, which is aimed at plasticity and decorative design in the Amsteram School Architecture Style.
Joop Kerstiëns was chairman of the Catholic Student Association. He played an active role in the resistance during WWII. In January 1943 he was arrested and imprisoned in the Amersfoort and Vught camps.
recalls the teacher P. C. Helderman and the students of the 'handelsdagschool' who died during the war. Helderman was involved in the illegal 'Parool' and he and his wife also gave shelter to various people in hiding.
On May 5th 1945 German commander general Blaskowitz met with Canadian general Foulkes in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen. There they negotiated the surrender document for all German forces in the Netherlands, which they signed the next day. The occupation of the Netherlands had come to an end.
translated exerpt from 'in de stilte'
(c) Cobie Verheij-de Peuter
in memory of the Second World War and the capitulations in Wageningen and Japan: a standing, naked man, on a pedestal with lions as a symbol of the redemption from a great danger and the gratitude that follows.
Across the hotel stands the
Translation of the inscription on the
national liberation monument
P.S. 22:21, 22
In the Aula at the Generaal Foulkesweg there is a marble memorial stone with the names of thirty-five employees and students of the former Agricultural College who died in the war.
At the same square lies the
This monument is the repository of the liberation fire, a national Dutch symbol commemorating the end of World War II on May 5th, 1945.
In front of the aula stands the
opened in 1669 and closed in 1929, It received the status of national monument in 1967 and was restored in the 1980s. It is the oldest intact Jewish cemetery in the Dutch countryside.
Up the hill and down the stairs is the
Translated (2020) exerpt from Kodrus (1855) by Estella Hertzveld
buried on the old Jewish Cemetery
a peaceful, green enclave with an eventful history. The garden has had a variety of functions and seen areas added as well as taken away. The garden’s rich 116 year cultural history lends true added value to this living plant collection.
Back up and along the Generaal Foulkesweg lies
which extends between the Ritzema Bosweg in the north and the edge of the Wageningse Berg in the south. The Generaal Foulkesweg cuts the campus from east to west. The western boundary of the campus is Arboretumlaan, the eastern boundary Diedenweg. Depicted is the old Chemistry Building.
With this arboretum we enter the
the bombs were destined for German targets, but they hit civilian houses. No air-raid alarm was issued because the powerplant was bombed fifteen minutes before the bombs fell. Sahara is the unofficial name of the Hamelakkers area.
Anonymous, 1947
Inscription on Surprise Sahara Bombing Monument, Translated 2020
hidden in the forest on the Wageningen mountain lies this fully functioning off the grid DIY village, a sanctuary for ecological experiments.
This part ends at
All images used in this part of the Peace and Nature Highlights were made by R. Verhoeff.
All images edited with grainy film B03 in Snapseed.
All poetry included is used with permission of the author or from the pucblic domain.
Make sure to check out part 2