Park 1813 - Lemele

Park 1813 is located on the southern flank of the Lemelerberg and was laid out to mark the centenary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Around that time, heathland was cleared to make way for a memorial park. Landscape architect Pieter Wattez combined straight avenues and a star-shaped forest with winding paths that follow the natural differences in height. You can still find monumental beech avenues, rows of American oaks and a park centre with strikingly old, distinctive trees. At the time, the park served as the backdrop for official commemorations.

In the centre of the park stands a seated lion on a column, unveiled in 1934 to replace an earlier statue that had been damaged by weather and vandalism. The avenues are named after administrators from that period, such as Van Heeckeren van Molecaten and Van Rechteren Limpurg.

After years of neglect, Landschap Overijssel has begun restoring Park 1813. Work is being done on the forest edges, about 4.5 kilometres in total. By providing more light and space, the gradual transitions that Wattez once envisioned are returning. This will ensure greater variety in plants and animals and allow the park to blend in better with the surrounding heathland.