13. Gelderswoudse Kerkpad - Gelderswoude

Via the Gelderswoudse Kerkpad (Church path) you cycle straight through the Oostbroekpolder. You are now riding on a path that has been in use since the Eighty Years’ War (1568–1648). After the Revolt, practising the Catholic faith in public was forbidden in the Dutch Republic. This meant that Catholic masses were mostly held in secret (for example in hidden churches). But not every village had a Catholic church, so people had to travel to other villages. Sometimes believers had to walk for kilometres to attend a service.

Because people took the shortest route to church, the path led them straight through polders, ditches and fields. These paths were called church paths. The Gelderswoudse Kerkpad also came into being for this reason. It brought the believers from Gelderswoude to Weipoort, where they continued their journey via the Korte Kerkpad to the Catholic church in Zuidbuurt.