Visdonk

Visdonk is the name of an estate located south of Roosendaal and east of Nispen in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The area covers 300 ha.

The area consists of a variety of plots of coniferous and deciduous forests, fields and meadows, heath, a pond (Rozenven), and hedgerows. The heath is grazed by Kalmthout sheep, and there is a deer and mouflon camp.

In the 17th century, there was already a farmhouse named Visdonk. The estate is a combination of an old peat and heath reclamation. By the end of the 19th century, the Visdonk estate was a family possession of the Laurijssen family. Mr. Frans Laurijssen held a sitting day once a year in the gazebo (later the tea house Visdonk) for the tenants. In 1952, the estate was sold to the municipality of Roosendaal. It was stipulated that the area could not be used for urban expansion, meaning it had to remain agricultural and recreational land.

The management of the 110 ha of nature was transferred to the Nature Monuments Association in early 2010.

Wim Blankers