Gasselte church

The Protestant church in Gasselte, known as 'het witte kerkje' or the 'little white church'. The building dates from the 14th century.

With more than a hundred graves the cemetery is one of the larger ones in the region.

Wemeltje Kruit

This statue honours Wemeltje Kruit (1887-1963), a lady who was widely known because she spent her life going door-to-door selling goods that she carried on her bicycle. Whenever she travelled to another village she appeared in the local church on Sunday morning, so people knew she would be coming that following week.
Wemeltje Kruit lived in Gasselte; first in a caravan and later in a small house near a campsite. After her death the house became a holiday-home. The statue at the Kerkstraat was created by Bert Kiewiet, and pictures her alongside her bicycle as many people knew here.

The little white church

'Het witte kerkje' ('The little white church') in Gasselte dates from the 13th century. Gasselte, a village in the province of Drenthe, has always had 2 parts: the Grotenend (north-east of the church) and the Lutkenend (west of the church). In the Grotenend were the larger farms of the rich and influential families, while the rest of the villagers and craftsmen lived at the Lutkenend. The church was literally in the middle.

Natural Monument

The 'Drouwenerzand' is located between Drouwen and Gasselte in the Dutch province of Drenthe; it is a large and beautiful area with drift-sands, heather fields and forests. In 2009 it was declared a 'Aardkundig Monument' (AM) -which in English would be something like 'natural monument'- and it was given this title because the area gives insight into the history of the earth. The drift-sands that you see in the background of the photo appeared in the course of time due to overgrazing and cutting turf.

The triangular sign gives some interesting facts about the Drouwenerzand, while the lower half shows the outline of the province of Drenthe. We live really not so far from this area, but last Sunday was the first time we actually stood on this spot! So remember it's never too late to explore your own region.. ;)

Linking to signs, signs.

The smiling horse

During our hike last Sunday starting in the village of Gasselte we passed the 'Manege Gasselte' (Gasselte Stables). This horse came to greet us and then nearly mistook my husband's fingers for a tasty horse-snack..:)

O is for Once... a railway track

Als je het niet zou weten zou je het waarschijnlijk nooit vermoeden, maar dit stille zandpad -ergens tussen Gasselte en Gieten- was ooit een spoorlijn. Tussen 1905 en circa 1970 reden hier treinen van de NOLS (Noordoosterlocaalspoorweg-Maatschappij) op een enkelspoor de route Assen-Stadskanaal.

If you didn't know you probable would never have guessed, but this quiet path -somewhere between Gasselte and Gieten- once was a railway track. Between 1905 and about 1970 trains from the NOLS (North East local railway-Company) passed here on a single track on the route Assen-Stadskanaal. -please note that the link refers to a site only in Dutch.

De (nu gerestaureerde) spoorbrug vlakbij Gasselte herinnert uit die tijd.

The (now restored) railway bridge near the town of Gasselte dates from that time.

Linking to ABC Wednesday.