This cycle route takes you from the centre of Utrecht to two beautiful estates: Amelisweerd in Bunnik and Nieuw Wulven in Houten. Both have a noble history. The name Amelisweerd probably originated from a mention of the knight Amelis miles de Insula, which is Latin for 'Amelis from the Weerd'. Knight Amelis had a worth along the Kromme Rijn on loan from the Proosdij van Oudmunster in Utrecht. This mention was as early as 1224. When the knight died, his sons split the estate into three parts. Two parts we now know as Oud-Amelisweerd and the other part became today's Nieuw-Amelisweerd. The old part was recognised as a knight's court in 1537. When baron Taets van Amerongen took possession of the estate in the 18th century, he had a bridge built over the Kromme Rijn and expanded the estate with beautiful gardens. He built a mansion as a summer residence, which was again surrounded by beautiful parks. You can still see this today when cycling across the estate. in 1808, the estate was sold to Louis Napoleon, King of Holland, or the first king of the Netherlands. But he didn't use it for very long; after just over a year, the king sold the estate on. Meanwhile, the mansion is managed by Museum Oud-Amelisweerd and is in the Top 100 national monuments in the Netherlands. The new part was actually a knight's manor before; in 1350, with the name Groenewoude. In 1538, it was again recognised as a knight's manor by the States of Utrecht. The estate had several owners in the centuries that followed, such as Hendrik van Utenhove, who had the medieval house demolished in 1682 and built the current manor house there. Since 1964, the building has been owned by the municipality of Utrecht, after which it became uninhabited. To the displeasure of a group of young people in the 1970s. They squatted the mansion and successfully: in the 1980s, on their initiative, the house was restored and made habitable with seventeen flats. Even today, this national monument is still occupied. The forest and recreation area Nieuw Wulven is named after the former castle and knight's manor of Wulven, which was located near Houten. This castle was sold in 1827 to Baron Wijkerslooth de Weerdesteyn, who had it demolished five years later. Now, all that remains of the castle in this beautiful nature reserve is the island with its moat. A special part of the dense forest is the 'arch forest', where the trees form an arch. The other part is called the 'chamber forest', which is instead a straight forest with long sightlines. The Rhine also used to flow here. The pond on Marsdijk is a reminder of this. Several archaeological finds have been made in the area, for instance a Roman mask. A statue of this mask can be seen at the entrance to the estate. Via signposting, park furniture and other objects, attention is also paid to traces and finds from other periods of history. Get to know beautiful historical estates from a bicycle with this route, a relaxing day of cycling around Utrecht!
Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
Start: Tolsteegsingel , 3582 AM Utrecht | 25.8 KM | ||
From
38
to
31
|
1960 M | 2 KM | |
Head east | 6 M | ||
Turn left | 16 M | ||
Turn left | 10 M | ||
Make a slight right onto Tolsteegbrug | 209 M | ||
Turn right onto Nicolaasstraat | 229 M | ||
Turn left onto Lange Nieuwstraat | 836 M | ||
Turn right onto Domplein | 69 M | ||
Turn left onto Domstraat | 188 M | ||
Make a slight right onto Janskerkhof | 20 M | ||
Make a slight left | 22 M | ||
Turn left onto Lange Jansstraat | 355 M | ||
You are now at section 31 | 0 M | ||
From
31
to
28
|
356 M | 0.4 KM | |
Head north on Oudegracht | 308 M | ||
Continue straight | 30 M | ||
Continue onto Weerdbrug | 9 M | ||
Continue straight | 9 M | ||
You are now at section 28 | 0 M | ||
From
28
to
89
|
5129 M | 5.1 KM | |
Head east on Weerdsingel Oostzijde | 358 M | ||
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Weerdsingel Oostzijde | 29 M | ||
Exit the roundabout onto Weerdsingel Oostzijde | 262 M | ||
Turn left to stay on Weerdsingel Oostzijde | 193 M | ||
Turn right | 204 M | ||
Keep right at the fork | 98 M | ||
Turn left onto Blauwkapelseweg | 377 M | ||
Turn right to stay on Blauwkapelseweg | 7 M | ||
Turn right onto Eykmanplein | 48 M | ||
Continue onto Van Esveldstraat | 146 M | ||
Make a slight left onto Kardinaal de Jongweg | 701 M | ||
Turn left onto Biltse Rading | 570 M | ||
Turn left onto Biltse Rading | 269 M | ||
Continue straight | 33 M | ||
Continue onto Biltse Rading | 874 M | ||
Keep left onto Biltse Rading | 212 M | ||
Turn right onto Blauwkapelseweg | 81 M | ||
Continue onto Blauwkapelseweg | 11 M | ||
Turn left to stay on Blauwkapelseweg | 599 M | ||
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit | 57 M | ||
You are now at section 89 | 0 M | ||
From
89
to
88
|
493 M | 0.5 KM | |
Head west | 63 M | ||
Exit the roundabout onto Burgemeester De Withstraat | 416 M | ||
Turn left onto Dorpsstraat vanouds Steenstraat; Dorpsstraat vo Steenstraat | 14 M | ||
You are now at section 88 | 0 M | ||
From
88
to
87
|
2831 M | 2.8 KM | |
Head south on Kapelweg | 131 M | ||
Continue straight | 115 M | ||
Continue onto Oude Bunnikseweg | 121 M | ||
Turn left onto Oude Bunnikseweg | 196 M | ||
Continue straight | 546 M | ||
Turn left onto Bunnikseweg | 1.7 KM | ||
You are now at section 87 | 0 M | ||
From
87
to
44
|
997 M | 1 KM | |
Head south on Tolakkerlaan | 997 M | ||
You are now at section 44 | 0 M | ||
From
44
to
41
|
1868 M | 1.9 KM | |
Head northwest on Rijnsoever | 987 M | ||
Turn left onto Vagantenpad | 254 M | ||
Turn right onto Strick van Linschotenlaan | 627 M | ||
You are now at section 41 | 0 M | ||
From
41
to
40
|
840 M | 0.8 KM | |
Head southeast on Rhijnauwenselaan | 203 M | ||
Turn left to stay on Rhijnauwenselaan | 637 M | ||
You are now at section 40 | 0 M | ||
From
40
to
39
|
931 M | 0.9 KM | |
Head west on Provincialeweg | 504 M | ||
Turn left onto Koningslaan | 54 M | ||
Turn left onto Achterdijk | 115 M | ||
Turn right to stay on Achterdijk | 258 M | ||
You are now at section 39 | 0 M | ||
From
39
to
2
|
1820 M | 1.8 KM | |
Head southeast on Achterdijk | 1.8 KM | ||
You are now at section 02 | 0 M | ||
From
2
to
99
|
1059 M | 1.1 KM | |
Head south on Rijsbruggerweg | 1.1 KM | ||
You are now at section 99 | 0 M | ||
From
99
to
98
|
2665 M | 2.7 KM | |
Head northwest on Wulverbroekpad | 1.8 KM | ||
Turn right onto Fectiopad | 843 M | ||
You are now at section 98 | 0 M | ||
From
98
to
35
|
653 M | 0.7 KM | |
Head southwest on Marsdijk | 653 M | ||
You are now at section 35 | 0 M | ||
From
35
to
37
|
2932 M | 2.9 KM | |
Head northwest on Mereveldseweg | 1.8 KM | ||
Turn left onto Koningsweg | 251 M | ||
Continue straight | 240 M | ||
Continue onto Koningsweg | 650 M | ||
You are now at section 37 | 0 M | ||
From
37
to
38
|
1267 M | 1.3 KM | |
Head northwest on Koningsweg | 15 M | ||
Turn right to stay on Koningsweg | 9 M | ||
Make a slight left to stay on Koningsweg | 1.2 KM | ||
Turn right | 33 M | ||
You are now at section 38 | 0 M |