The Nes

The 'lake' with tufts of trees that you see is an old Vechtbocht that was cut off in 1629 by digging a shortcut along which a new towpath was built. The big bend in the Vecht slowed down the transport too much. By cutting the corner, the travel time became a lot shorter. In 1687, a large country estate was built on the island that was created by the excavation of the bend with a beautiful park around it. Just like the island, the house was called De Nes, or Realeneiland, after the builder of the estate, Reaal. This house was demolished in 1830, after which a paper mill was built in 1837 that went bankrupt after only seven years. After this, a farm was built on the site. In 1934 De Nes was bought by the Amsterdam Ballast Company, which sucked away sand for the construction of the Krupp factory in Germany. The island slowly sank into the water. Natuurmonumenten now owns the site, which is a breeding ground for many birds. Along this bend are permanently inhabited houseboats.

ZichtopdeVechtstreek