Texel Off the Beaten Path Tips by vtveen

At the Georgian Cemetery of Texel (or officially Loladze Cemetery, named after the Georgian Commander) lie 476 Georgian soldiers buried, who were casualties of the so called Georgian Uprising in the last weeks of World War II. They were still fighting after the liberation of the Netherlands and the surrender of Germany on May 8th 1945.

These soldiers were captured in Georgia and forced to fight in the German army. On the night of April 4th - 5th they thought that the Allies would land soon and took over the island and killed 400 German soldiers. But after a few weeks of very tough fighting the Germans took control of the island again. This battle caused a lot of casualties: 117 people of Texel, 565 Georgian soldiers and more than 800 Germans.

The cemetery is located in the middle of the flat scenery of Texel, close to the ‘hills’ of the island called ‘Hoge Berg’. It is a simple, but impressive memorial of this uprising and its casualties. The cemetery has a lot of rose bushes - must be a nice when these are flowering - and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are just 476 of these bushes; one for each fallen Georgian.

For more information about the Georgian Uprising see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_Uprising_of_Texel

Directions
Take exit #5 on the road between 't Horntje and Den Burg and follow the sign "Begraafplaats der Georgiërs"; after about 500 metres you will see the cemetery on your left hand side.

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Even before the time of the Dutch VOC (the well known 17th and 18th century sea trading company) Texel was a major route for ships to/from the Zuider Sea area. William of Orange took the initiative to build Fortress ‘De Schans’ to protect this route.
‘De Schans’ was built around 1574. Admiral Tromp used to hold court martials in De Schans on a regular basis. Executions were carried out right on the spot. Napoleon visited the fortress in 1811 and subsequently ordered that the fortress be expanded and reinforced by two neighbouring fortresses (Lunette and Redoute).

Driving through the flat polders of Texel we suddenly approached the impressive green walls of Fortress ‘De Schans’ surrounded by moats. We decided to take a look at this site, restored and owned by Natuurmonumenten - a kind of National Trust in the Netherlands - and walked around along the walls, over drawbridges and through gates in the wall. From the top of the wall we had a view of the star-shaped fortress, the impressive dike along the Waddensea and the ‘hills’ of Texel (De Hoge Berg).

Information
Fortress ‘De Schans’ is accessible free of charge. In the summer there are guided tours by the Maitiem & Jutters Museum in Oudeschild (www.www.texelsmaritiem.nl).

Fortress ‘De Schans’ is located 1 km south of Oudeschild, just beneath the Waddensea dike (Schansweg).

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The island of Texel has a couple of so called ‘polders’, especially in the eastern part of the island. After the inpoldering of the polder ‘Het Noorden’ a new huge mill was built in the year of 1878 to drain this and a couple of other polders. But in 1913 a pumping-engine was built to drain the polders; the mill became more or less a ‘spare engine’ till 1923, when the mill was not used any longer.
In 1970 the mill was transferred to the association ‘De Hollandsche Molen’ (the Dutch Mill). Nowadays volunteers maintain the mill and the buildings and some times it is still in function. On these days it is possible to visit the (inside of the) mill.

I have seen a lot of Dutch mills, but this one is beautifully situated; just beneath an impressive dike, surrounded by water and at the edge of flat polder scenery and nature reserve ‘de Bol’ with a lot of water birds.
During our visit we were very lucky with a blue sky, which reflected in the surrounding ‘lakes’. We had great views from the dike of the mill and the surrounding scenery. It is also possible to approach the mill itself and to walk around the building. .

Information
Address: Stuifweg 4, 1794 HB Oosterend
Directions: 2 km's north of the village of Oosterend, along the dike of the Waddensea. On the dike is a car park.

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It is also called Lighthouse Eierland, named after the island of Eierland, on of the two former islands, which were emerged to present Texel. The lighthouse is surrounded by a vast dune area, called ‘Eierlandse Duinen’ and is located on the most northern point of Texel.

The lighthouse has been built in 1864 after some civilians of Texel attended on the dangers of the waters between Texel and the island of Vlieland (72 ships had wrecked between 1848 and 1860). The tower itself is 37 metres high.
During the uprising of the Georgians - they barricaded themselves in the tower - the lighthouse was heavily damaged and had to be ‘rebuilt’. In 1950 it was lighted again.

As said the tower is surrounded by a scenic dune area on the mainland side and a very wide beach (especially at low tide). It is a very pleasant walking clockwise ‘around’ the tower from the car park at the end of the ‘Vuurtorenweg’. After finishing your walk have a drink or snack in ‘Restaurant De Toren’ with great views of the beach and ‘of course’ the bright red coloured lighthouse.

Till yet (early 2008) is it not possible to get close to the tower or to visit, but there are plans to open the tower for visitors. Just check during your Texel-visit.

Directions
The lighthouse is situated on the most northern point of Texel, a couple of km’s north of the village of De Cocksdorp.

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Website: http://www.vuurtorens.net

The Slufter came into being after some breaches of the (man made) dunes between the two former islands of Texel in 1851. Others were repaired, but this one ‘the kleine Slufter’ still exists and now is an important nature area on Texel. Seawater still floods twice a day parts of the Slufter and after a heavy storm the water reaches till the second row of dunes.

The Slufter offers a marsh and creek system surrounded by dunes with salt water vegetation and plants that like salt water. The winding creeks do attract lots of birds.

We entered the area from the end of the Slufterweg by climbing the huge dunes (as a matter of fact this is a man made dike of sand). From the top - also accessible by wheelchairs - we had a fantastic view of this nature reserve.

We tried to reach the beach, but we were getting entangled in the crisscross of creeks and mud.
Perhaps it would have been better to follow the signs (‘Strand’) to the beach. Be aware of the mud in the reserve and wear steady footwear or even better boots.

Direction
The Slufter is located just behind the dunes at the western part of Texel, southeast of the village of De Cocksdorp. It is accessible from the end of the Slufterweg and from the carpark at the end of the Krimweg (from De Cocksdorp).

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Website: www.texel.net

Between the villages of Den Burg, Den Hoorn and Oudeschild lies a more or less hilly landscape (at least it is hilly for a flat island as Texel is) with the highest hill ‘Hoge Berg’ at ‘more than’ 15 metres above sea level.

The pastures in this part of the island are separated by so called ‘Tuunwallen” and do have a lot of typical Texel sheep-shed and drinking pools for the sheep. ‘Tuunwallen’ are man made walls of about 1 metre high and are made of piled turfs. They separate meadows and fields in this part of the island and are unique for the Netherlands.
‘Tuunwallen’ date back to the year of 1562 and nowadays there is about 80 km’s of these hedges meandering through the scenery. Since a couple of years they are renovated and new built.

It is nice hiking around between these walls and watching the sheep and lambs (in spring). Just walk around on your own or ask a self guided walk at the Information Office in Den Burg.

The website (in Dutch) has some more info/pics: http://www.zeeinzicht.nl/vleet/content/ned/index.php?use_template=ecomare.html&item=zee&pageid=NED1243.HTM

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