The boardwalk at the Poepenhemeltje in Deurze is being made wider and sturdier. On the section that Rolde.nl viewed on 26 October, the new supporting structure was already in place. The walking planks still had to be installed there.
Staatsbosbeheer is renewing the boardwalk to the Poepenhemeltje near Deurze. During a visit on Monday 26 October, the new supporting structure was already in place on the section viewed, but there were still no walking planks on it. A date for reopening has not yet been confirmed.
The old path was damaged by high water, current and wear. As a result, part of the route had to be closed. The new boardwalk will be about 150 meters long and wider than the previous path, so walkers can pass each other more easily.
The temporary site notice from Staatsbosbeheer states that the structure will be built first and the boardwalk planks will be attached afterwards. According to the notice, the planks will arrive later because of their delivery time. As an alternative, walkers are referred to walking junctions 98, 95 and 19.
Ranger Jolijn Meier told RTV Drenthe on 24 October that the old path was removed in March because there were unsafe spots. According to her, the new path will be half a meter wider and will have raised edges, so people can also cross it safely with a stroller or wheelchair. In that report, she expected completion before the end of this year.
Money for paths, bridges and viewpoints
The renewal is partly funded by the province of Drenthe. In June, it made a one-time amount of 567,000 euros available for maintenance and renewal of recreational facilities run by three land managers. Staatsbosbeheer receives 332,000 euros of this for several projects, including the boardwalk at Deurze. That amount is therefore for more facilities than just this boardwalk.
The project page of Staatsbosbeheer lists the duration as August 2026 to January 2027. The site notice on location mentions October for the works and warns about the later delivery of the planks. These schedules still do not provide a final date on which walkers can use the path again.
A place with different stories
The path runs through the valley of the Deurzerdiep stream to a small, square earthen earthwork with ramparts and ditches. The Poepenhemeltje is often called a schans, but there is doubt about its original function. The information boards at the site show different explanations.
On the blue sign of the Historical Cycling Route Assen, it says that the army of Bishop Bernhard von Galen, known as Bommen Berend, stayed here overnight from 18 to 19 July 1672 on the way to Groningen. The same sign describes how Drenthe continued to be affected by fighting until 1674 and how Assen suffered from quartering and destruction. This is the historical description on the sign. The sign also states that experts doubt whether there was really a schans here, it may have been a garden pavilion instead.
The name also has different explanations. The blue sign connects it to the old slur for people from Westphalia and German itinerant farm workers, who according to the sign often stayed here overnight in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The orange information board also mentions a possible reference to Roman Catholics, or papists. The explanations are presented on the boards as stories and possibilities.
The orange sign further states that volunteers from Landschapsbeheer Drenthe restored the small monument in the 1980s and that the landscape team of Vanboeijen maintains it. For those who want to explore the area further, the Poepenhemeltje is stop 13 on the Historical Cycling Route Assen, whose route board shows fifteen stops.
