Westerbroek combines a distinctive fenland landscape with local history encompassing a church and historic estates. The natural area lies in the Hunze valley and is one of the last fenland areas in the province of Groningen. This gives you two clear themes to focus on when planning your trip: wetland landscapes and nature watching on the one hand, and architectural history featuring different types of buildings on the other. This way, you can shape your stay around the theme that interests you most, rather than reducing Westerbroek to a single aspect.

Wetland landscape in the Hunze valley

The Hesselinklaan runs alongside the alder carr, with impressive old oak trees lining the road. In summer, around 28 species of dragonfly can be found in the natural area, including the endangered white-faced darter. The dragonflies give the landscape a distinct seasonal character; however, the area’s importance extends beyond individual species. It is an important link in a wetland habitat corridor between the Zuidlaardermeer area and natural areas near Slochteren. This allows you to appreciate Westerbroek’s nature at both a local and regional level. A short walk around the village takes you through a varied natural landscape. It focuses on the landscape, adding a nature theme to the local history found at the church and estates.

Church and historic architectural styles

The present-day Hervormde Kerk in Westerbroek was built from 1889 onwards. Inside the church is an 18th-century pulpit. The one-manual organ was made by the organ builders Van Oeckelen, acquired in 1904, and restored in 1977. One-manual means that the instrument has one manual, or keyboard. In chronological order, an older pulpit, the start of construction of the present-day church, and the organ’s later history can thus be considered side by side.

Huize Vaartwijk is an understated peat-borg estate that Willem Jacobs Hesselink had built in 1797 in a small park. Langwijk, by contrast, is a manor farm complex with an access road on a plot surrounded by a ditch, resembling the grounds of a borg. The differences lie in the building type and the layout of the grounds: one is a peat-borg estate in a park, the other a farm complex on borg-like grounds. These examples complement the ecclesiastical architectural history of the Hervormde Kerk with other forms of historic architecture.

Near Westerbroek stands the American-style windmill De Putter, close to the Foxholstermeer. Dating from 1918, it is used to drain the Westerbroekstermadepolder. This adds a technological relationship with water to the nature perspective: the mill serves to drain the land, while the natural area is part of a wetland habitat corridor. Ecological connectivity and the technical regulation of water thus offer two different perspectives.

The time periods involved also differ: the variety of dragonflies is a summer feature, while the architectural history spans from the 18th century to the organ’s restoration in 1977. Westerbroek therefore offers a seasonal connection with nature alongside historical timelines.

Discover more destinations: Hoogezand, Foxhol.

For the broader travel overview: Hoogezand-Sappemeer.