Inspired by Drenthe
Borger, Exloo, Odoorn
Sheep herds, old farming settlements, dolmens and boulders; these archetypal images of Drenthe inspired various artists to create a variety of sculptures, often using the boulder as the basic material. You don't have to go to a museum for these rock-hard works of art, you just come across them along the cycle path along the way. For example, in the middle of a vast heathland field just above Orvelte looms a huge and rocky work of art. A large boulder sits atop six tall granite pillars arranged in a circle. Like the Pantheon in Rome, the capstone has a carved domed interior with a hole high in the centre through which sunlight is allowed to shine. Standing directly under it, you only notice that it is in fact an artful sun temple, in the middle of nature that could not exist without the nourishing sunlight. This 'Ode to the Sun' by sculptor Rob Schreefel is one of striking works of art around the towns of Odoorn, Exloo and especially hunebedden stronghold Borger. The area is full of boulders that were pushed by land ice from Scandinavia to the northern Netherlands during the penultimate ice age. But where the prehistoric Funnel Beaker people made dolmens with the huge boulders, modern sculptors use them as the basic material of impressive works of art: in the centre of Borger, for instance, a boulder rests high above the pavement around just one conical pillar, and along the cycle path just outside Exloo you will come across a work of art made of two smaller boulders with chiselled drawings resting - like an inverted dolmen - on top of a huge boulder. The drawings of this 'Mental Map' are reminiscent of both a map and the human brain. Many of these rocky sculptures are part of the 'Art In Stone' art project in which the boulder was chosen as a 'metaphor for an artistic exploration'. A 'ramble', - as the project itself calls it - 'full of encounters with different views.' The agricultural landscape of Drenthe naturally lends itself ideally to such a special project. Besides the ancient past, the slightly more recent ancient civilisations of Drenthe are also a source of inspiration for artists. Artist Lidy Blaauw, for instance, became completely enchanted by the rolling Drenthe horizon, which led to her artwork 'Imponderabilia' (everything that is imponderable), and self-taught sculptor Gerrit Santing made two sculptures of inseparable symbols of the agricultural history of the age-old village of Exloo and other sandy villages in Drenthe: Very recognisable are 'De Scheper' (shepherd of sheep) with his dog and the huge 'Boerhoorn'. A farmer would blow this historic 'signal instrument', made from a cow's horn, when he wanted to announce something to the rest of the community. Today, it still symbolises togetherness within the Drenthe community. Thus, the works of art you encounter on this cycle route form an artistic ribbon in several ways that simultaneously connect you with the Drenthe of then, and of now. This Premium bicycle route was compiled by our editor: Wieger Favier.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
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Start: Exloërweg 1, 7873 BW Borger-Odoorn | 38.3 KM | |
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From
38
to
6
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5191 M | 5.2 KM | |
| Head northwest on Hoofdstraat | 47 M | ||
| Turn left onto Schaapstreek | 208 M | ||
| Make a slight left to stay on Schaapstreek | 545 M | ||
| Keep right onto Schaapstreek | 2.1 KM | ||
| Turn right | 2.3 KM | ||
| You are now at section 06 | 0 M | ||
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From
6
to
24
|
2407 M | 2.4 KM | |
| Head northeast | 124 M | ||
| Continue onto Boswachter Meelkerlaan | 1.1 KM | ||
| Continue straight | 1.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 24 | 0 M | ||
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From
24
to
22
|
5937 M | 5.9 KM | |
| Head northwest | 1.2 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Exloërweg | 3.2 KM | ||
| Make a slight right onto Dorpsstraat | 622 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Borgerderstraat | 837 M | ||
| You are now at section 22 | 0 M | ||
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From
22
to
40
|
1114 M | 1.1 KM | |
| Head west | 6 M | ||
| Turn right onto Eeserstraat | 1 KM | ||
| Turn right | 104 M | ||
| You are now at section 40 | 0 M | ||
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From
40
to
41
|
1150 M | 1.2 KM | |
| Head east on Torenlaan | 15 M | ||
| Turn left onto De Gang | 93 M | ||
| Turn left onto De Gang | 158 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Brinkstraat | 29 M | ||
| Turn left onto Ambachtsstraat | 147 M | ||
| Make a slight left to stay on Ambachtsstraat | 79 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hunebedstraat | 624 M | ||
| Turn left onto Marslandenweg | 5 M | ||
| You are now at section 41 | 0 M | ||
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From
41
to
43
|
1746 M | 1.7 KM | |
| Head northeast on Westerlandsweg | 1.7 KM | ||
| You are now at section 43 | 0 M | ||
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From
43
to
47
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3458 M | 3.5 KM | |
| Head southeast | 352 M | ||
| Turn left | 147 M | ||
| Turn right | 211 M | ||
| Turn left | 627 M | ||
| Turn right | 443 M | ||
| Turn left | 17 M | ||
| Turn right onto Bronnegerstraat | 1.6 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Spoorstraat | 86 M | ||
| You are now at section 47 | 0 M | ||
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From
47
to
44
|
399 M | 0.4 KM | |
| Head southeast on Lindenlaan | 37 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Lindenlaan | 362 M | ||
| You are now at section 44 | 0 M | ||
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From
44
to
23
|
3473 M | 3.5 KM | |
| Head southwest on Exloërweg | 263 M | ||
| Turn right onto Holtakkersweg | 548 M | ||
| Turn left onto Oude Exloerweg | 477 M | ||
| Turn right onto Nijesweg | 261 M | ||
| Turn left onto Voorbosweg | 59 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 1.9 KM | ||
| You are now at section 23 | 0 M | ||
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From
23
to
26
|
2845 M | 2.8 KM | |
| Head east on Voorbosweg | 2.5 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Noordholtsweg | 12 M | ||
| Turn left onto Boslaan | 354 M | ||
| You are now at section 26 | 0 M | ||
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From
26
to
20
|
649 M | 0.6 KM | |
| Head east on Hoofdstraat | 315 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zuiderhoofdstraat | 334 M | ||
| You are now at section 20 | 0 M | ||
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From
20
to
9
|
3321 M | 3.3 KM | |
| Head southeast on Zuiderhoofdstraat | 404 M | ||
| Turn left onto Burgemeester J. van Roijenpad | 989 M | ||
| Turn left onto Dalakkersweg | 384 M | ||
| Turn right to stay on Dalakkersweg | 858 M | ||
| Turn right onto Valtherweg | 686 M | ||
| You are now at section 09 | 0 M | ||
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From
9
to
39
|
3867 M | 3.9 KM | |
| Head south on Valtherweg | 1.2 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Vlintweg | 881 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hondsrugweg | 23 M | ||
| Turn left onto Vlintweg | 23 M | ||
| Turn right onto Vlintweg | 342 M | ||
| Turn right onto Hoofdstraat | 1.4 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Schoolstraat | 57 M | ||
| You are now at section 39 | 0 M | ||
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From
39
to
38
|
2791 M | 2.8 KM | |
| Head northwest on Schoolstraat | 161 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 83 M | ||
| Turn right onto Odoornerweg | 1.7 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Langhieten | 14 M | ||
| Turn left onto Valtherweg | 572 M | ||
| Turn right onto Boshof | 73 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 103 M | ||
| Turn right | 5 M | ||
| Turn left onto Boshof | 23 M | ||
| Turn left onto Exloërweg | 46 M | ||
| You are now at section 38 | 0 M |