Delegation location 3 - Ermelo
We travel westwards from Epe, north-west from Apeldoorn and find ourselves in Ermelo. Home of international equestrian events, road cycling sprinter Robbie McEwen's leadout man Aart Vierhouten and all kinds of other people. It's a place known for having several places for people with mental health problems, since 100-150 years ago people thought the peace and calm would help them and this has sort of remained.
Much like in all of the Veluwe, there's rich history to be found here. On the open fields outside of the village, one can for example find the remnants of a two thousand year old Roman camp. Not even the first people to be there, since people from the east - up to the Balkan - already came to this area two thousand years prior. There's almost too much history to mention, but we will mention a field that has been uncovered in 1933: more than 300 Franconian graves were discovered, dated at around the year 600.
Ermelo was the center of the Veluwe's church life long before the year 1000, much to my surprise their Old Church was already mentioned - albeit in a bit smaller form than it is now - back in 1006! One might guess the name Old Church didn't come out of nowhere...Last, but not least, we'll go a bit south into the forests, for the legend of the 'Solse Gat' ('the Hole of Sols'): legend has it a monastery was there in the woods, but the monks didn't behave and it sunk into the earth. Sometimes during the night, nowadays one can still hear the monastery's bells and the Satanic singing of the monks around what is now but a hole in the ground.
A Roman dude, not a real one, guarding the location where a Roman camp was found
The Old Church and an old car
A child getting dangerously close to the Solse Gat, she might have never been heard of again apart from the legendary monk's devilish songs...
Delegations in Ermelo
Croatia
Greece
Portugal