Limburg – Leudal
Enjoyed nature this weekend in North Limburg. Some spots on the eye, but I didn’t get around to it in the end. But it does surprise you that there is always an impact somewhere of what happened in World War II. Also in the Leudal, a deserted but beautiful place, there are various visible places with a story.
Located along the road from Rogel to Haelen (near Roermond) is a water mill near a bridge over the Leubeek.
In 1944 the resistance had ammunition stored in the watermill. Eventually this was betrayed to the Germans and the watermill was blown up. At the end of 1944, the Germans withdrew from the southern Netherlands. They were tasked with blowing up what could be of use to the Allies such as bridges, windmills and church towers. This also applies to the bridge at the watermill over the Leubeek. On November 15, 1944, the bridge and with it the water mill were blown up with a heavy load. A ruin remained.
On November 21, 2014, there was a renovation in which the watermill became a small hydroelectric power station.
Near the watermill and the Leudal Museum is the Monument of Tolerance. The monument is so called because it is the first monument in the Netherlands where both Allies and former enemies are commemorated together.
The monument commemorates the battle that took place during the Second World War in and above the Leudal area, the area between Noordervaart, Neers Canal, the Maas and the Wessem-Nederweert canal.
At the top of the three-meter-high statue, gulls fly to symbolize freedom. Maas boulders lie around the monument, representing the 687 soldiers who died there. Eleven rays pass through it, symbolizing the eleven nationalities of those who lost their lives. The fallen came from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Austria, the Czech Republic, the United States and the United Kingdom. (Wikipedia)
