Culture
Venray Remembers
Routes and stories along the wartime past
Venray Remembers at a glance
10 minby car
10.5 kmdistance
- Location
- Venray and surroundings
- Routes
- walking, cycling and driving, with a free app
- Walking route starts
- Grote Kerk, Monseigneur Goumansplein, Venray
- Cost
- routes, stories and app free
- Route map
- PDF and GPX on venrayremembers.nl
Benches with a story
Venray Remembers shows the wartime past of Venray and its surroundings from a different angle: with personal stories, sights and walking, cycling and driving routes. The project of the Toeristisch-recreatief Platform Venray is supported by the municipality of Venray, the province of Limburg and the Rabobank.
Along the routes stand benches by artist Juul Baltussen, the experience points of the concept Aan de andere kant (On the other side). With the free Venray Remembers app you watch augmented reality videos there; at the Grote Kerk it is the story of the German soldier Roland Johler and the Venray boy Leo Jansen.
About the project on venrayremembers.nl (opens in a new tab)
From the Grote Kerk
The Aan de andere kant walking route is 10.7 kilometres and starts at the bench by the Sint Petrus’ Bandenkerk, the Grote Kerk (great church) of Venray. Its tower was blown up by German troops in 1944 and restored in 1947 and 1948. Along the way you pass the Venray War Cemetery.
By bike you follow the 59-kilometre Aan de andere kant route, four to five hours, between the German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn and the Overloon War Museum, where you ride for free over the cycle bridge straight through the museum. Shorter is the 30-kilometre Venray–Overloon cycle route. Every route is on the website as a PDF and GPX.
Aan de andere kant walking route on venrayremembers.nl (opens in a new tab)
Ysselsteyn and the war cemeteries
More than 31,000 people lie buried at the German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn, mainly Germans. The initiative came from Captain Timmermans, who worked there for 28 years on reconciliation.
At the Venray War Cemetery on the Hoenderstraat, unveiled on 30 December 1946, rest 692 soldiers who fell between October 1944 and March 1945, most of them British. Near Overloon lies a British war cemetery with 280 graves. And along the A73 by the Loobeek, known locally as the Bloedbeek, a landmark has stood since April 2025: a casemate with a German tank inside, sawn in two.
Tip from reception
Install the free Venray Remembers app on your phone before you set off and download the route in advance. Start with the 10.7-kilometre walking route from the Grote Kerk: it is a ten-minute drive from the hotel. You can pick up a printed route map at the VVV tourist office in Venray.
Reception team, Parkhotel Horst
Good to know
FreeRoutes, stories, images and the app are free. Only museums and food and drink along the way cost money.
The appVenray Remembers for iPhone and Android, with augmented reality videos at the experience points. Download the route in advance.
Route mapsAs PDF and GPX on the website; printed at the VVV tourist office in Venray, in Ysselsteyn and at the Overloon War Museum.
Food along the wayThe website lists 34 places along the routes to eat and drink.
Photos: FakirNL (CC BY-SA 4.0, entrance Ysselsteyn); Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0, Grote Markt); via Wikimedia Commons. Photo phone: Norbert Buduczki via Unsplash; photo route map: Jean-Frederic Fortier via Unsplash.
Make a day of it
From the breakfast buffet out on the route, and back to your own wellness.
-
Start the day at the breakfast buffet of Parkhotel Horst.
-
A ten-minute drive to the Grote Kerk of Venray, the start of the 10.7-kilometre walking route past the Venray War Cemetery.
-
Back in Horst, the indoor pool, saunas and wellness lounge are waiting, free for hotel guests.
-
End the day with dinner at restaurant BØFF.
Your room, wellness included
Six rooms, from the Comfort room to the Apartment. With every room you use the pool, saunas, steam room and lounge free of charge.
1/6
1/6
Getting there
From the hotel it takes about:
Venray Remembers, Venray and surroundings
Frequently asked questions
Any other questions? Call reception: +31 77 397 6000What is Venray Remembers?
A network of walking, cycling and driving routes along the wartime past of Venray and its surroundings, with personal stories, sights and a free app with augmented reality videos. It comes from the Toeristisch-recreatief Platform Venray, supported by the municipality, the province of Limburg and the Rabobank.
Does Venray Remembers cost anything?
No. The routes, stories, images and the app are free. You only pay for a museum visit and food and drink along the way.
Which routes are there?
Among others the Aan de andere kant walking route (10.7 km) from the Grote Kerk in Venray, the Aan de andere kant cycle route (59 km, four to five hours) between Ysselsteyn and the Overloon War Museum, the Venray–Overloon cycle route (30 km) and a driving route of about 50 km.
How does the Venray Remembers app work?
Download the free Venray Remembers app for iPhone or Android, and the route, in advance. At the benches and listening points along the route, the app plays augmented reality videos with the stories of that spot.
Which war cemeteries lie along the routes?
The German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn, with more than 31,000 dead; the Venray War Cemetery on the Hoenderstraat, with 692 fallen soldiers; and the British war cemetery near Overloon, with 280 graves.
Can you climb the tower of the Grote Kerk in Venray?
According to Venray Remembers, the tower is open from April to October every Saturday and every last Sunday of the month from 14:00 to 16:30; at other times by appointment.
More in Culture
See all days out in Culture
Photos of the cards: B. Hulshoff (CC BY-SA 4.0); via Wikimedia Commons.
Photos: FakirNL (CC BY-SA 4.0); MichielverbeekNL (CC BY-SA 3.0 nl); Wammes Waggel (CC BY-SA 3.0); via Wikimedia Commons.
After Venray Remembers: pool, wellness and dinner at BØFF
Ten minutes from Venray, you sleep surrounded by greenery, with your own wellness under the same roof.
