Rijen, Gilze, Riel

The Liberation Routes Brabant are eight cycle routes, spread throughout the province, that take you past the stories of World War II and liberation. In this war, air combat was one of the main ways of fighting.

Gilze-Rijen already had an airfield before the invasion in May 1940, then called Molenheide airfield. The Germans must have had plans to expand this airfield well before the invasion of the Netherlands, because immediately they built Molenheide into 'Fliegerhorst Gilze-Rijen', one of the largest airfields in Europe at the time.

This obviously had major consequences for local residents. Houses and land were requisitioned and residents were put to work on aircraft repairs. Moreover, the Allies tried to destroy the airfield by numerous bombing raids, on both the real Gilze-Rijen airfield and the mock De Kiek airfield, which had been created to deceive the Allies. There were civilian casualties.

On 28 October 1944, Polish armies liberated Rijen first, followed by the British.

Cycle through the forests around Gilze-Rijen, visit the airfield and immerse yourself in the war stories you encounter along the way. In a number of places, you will come across special story pillars that tell a personal story of wta local residents experienced in World War II.

Photo: ©E. Voskens-Van Nunen, via VisitBrabant Routebureau