When it comes to culture, there is a lot to experience in Winterswijk. It's the birthplace of famous painters Jan Toorop and Piet Mondriaan and the former poet laureate Gerrit Komrij.
In his anthology 'Alles Onecht', Komrij describes how he became a poet: ‘Bang. From one moment to the next, I knew what poetry was. Early one morning on Jachthuisweg. I saw cows. I saw a windmill. It couldn't have been more Dutch. Yet that's where it happened.’ He was just 19 years old at the time. On your way to Het Wieskamp, as you travel along Jachthuisweg, in the background you see cows and the De Bataaf windmill, which has since been restored. This is where Komrij was standing when, 'as if struck by lightning', he suddenly became a poet.
The house Mondriaan once lived in has since been converted into a museum, which is definitely worth visiting!
Winterswijk also has a lot of cultural history. Countless buildings of all sizes that have been restored, remains of old castles, history of the Second World War and the Dutch War of Independence... You will find it all here. At Reception there is a book that traces the history of Winterswijk. It also includes several cycle routes that take you past some of the best examples of cultural heritage in the area.
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