New Van Gogh Walking Route Etten-Leur

Tuesday, July 5, two new Van Gogh hiking trails opened in Van Gogh National Park. Hikers follow in the footsteps of Van Gogh with the new trails in Zundert (8 km) and Etten-Leur (14 km) and discover the landscape that inspired him. The opening of both routes took place this morning at one of the attractions along the Van Gogh walking route in Etten-Leur: The Black Barn in nature reserve De Pannenhoef.

Aldermen Ralph Bogers and Jean-Pierre Schouw of Zundert and Etten-Leur municipalities respectively opened the routes together with Frank van den Eijnden, Operational Director Van Gogh National Park by symbolically driving the route pole into the ground. Site manager Bart Pörtzgen of Brabants Landschap gave an introduction to De Pannenhoef. The routes are numbers two and three in a series of five walks that VisitBrabant Routebureau is developing on behalf of Van Gogh National Park. In February 2022, the first walking route was opened in Nuenen. Two more Van Gogh walks will follow later this year in Helvoirt and Tilburg.

Etten-Leur: the landscape that touched and inspired Van Gogh
In Etten-Leur, Van Gogh started his artistic career in 1881. For Van Gogh nature and art were inseparable. Vincent took hours of walks here and was charmed by the moorlands, countryside and farm life. The long-distance walk (14 km) is 98% unpaved. You walk through farmland, across wild fields with characteristic pollard willows, through forests and past pools, streams and picturesque fens. The walk combines well with the five Van Gogh Monuments in Etten-Leur, including the Van Gogh Kerk, the Kosterswoning and the Lambertuskerk. The latter shines on the horizon in his drawings "Field at rising thunderstorm" and "Away with the Pollard Willows.

Check out the Van Gogh Walking Route Etten-Leur here.

Bart Pörtzgen, manager Brabants Landschap: "We have been managing nature reserve De Pannenhoef for 50 years. In that time it has become much more varied and its natural value has increased. Thanks to the appreciation of visitors and the intensive cooperation with the partners within Van Gogh National Park, we ensure a healthy future of nature and landscape in this region."

Frank van den Eijnden, Operations Director of Van Gogh National Park: "Thanks to the 60 organizations working together in the Van Gogh National Park, visitors now and in the future will be able to increasingly enjoy the landscape that Vincent loved."

Practical information
The walking routes are set out over the walking junction system in Brabant. You can recognize the routes by the little shields with the inscription 'Van Gogh National Park', affixed to the well-known junction posts You can download the routes via www.routesinbrabant.nl.

Physical walking maps will be available from the end of this week at the Tourist Information Point in Etten-Leur (Markt 4) and the Van GoghHuis in Zundert (Markt 26), among others, and can be ordered via webshop.visitbrabant.com.

Learn more about the trails and the ambition of Van Gogh National Park here.