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Ubbergen: community embedded in picturesque landscape

Ubbergen is situated to the east of Nijmegen, enclosed by a high hill and the low flood-meadows of the river Waal. This area is characterized by two completely contrasting landscapes with the village of Beek as its centre and the villages of Ubbergen, Ooij, Leuth, Kekerdom, Persingen and a part of Berg en Dal surrounding it. Popularly known as Het hoog en Het Laag (The High and the Low), a combination of mountain and valley, robust nature, the Ooijpolder and the forested hillslopes and its cultural history. There is a lot to be enjoyed in the ever-changing sceneries. They give you a feeling of being abroad at home, ready to be explored on foot or by bike. Very close to the city of Nijmegen it also functions as an urban facility: a green theatre which surprises the visitor again and again by its changing sceneries and splendid views. 

Mother’s finest 2007

The jury of the Entente Florale, the National Greencompetition, selected the villages of Beek and Ubbergen as the greenest community of the Netherlands. The variety of landscapes makes Ubbergen so special, so ‘undutch’. There are more hills in the Netherlands and polders too of course, but this combination is very rare. The villas, mostly from the late 19th and early 20th century lie on the hills that border on the meandering toll road from Nijmegen to the German city of Kleve. They appeal to the visitor in a completely different way than the polder with its wide horizon, interrupted here and there by a church tower or the chimney of old brickworks.

Everywhere you can see the wild river meadows like the Millingerwaard, inviting you to stroll, the forested hillslopes, the carefully restored old walkingpaths and the carefully newly planted hedge-elements merge with the agricultural culturelandscape.

The hiker, the farmer and the forester often meet in Ubbergen.

Not only nature but also the special project “Water Works” has contributed greatly to the winning of the title “greenest Dutch village 2007”. This project guarantees that less rain and natural springwater is being transported through the sewer and that there is less water inconvenience. Therefore we have brought the springwater up into the open, on to the surface. Moreover this project makes Beek’s laundry-history, which is linked to the presence of lots of natural watersprings, more widely known to the general public, by showing rinsing-wells and a system of small streams running through the village. 

National Landscape 

 In 2007 Ubbergen and a number of surrounding communities were designated as National Landscape, “De Gelderse Poort”. The highest point of the high ridges is “De Duivelsberg”(“Devil’s Mountain”), a wild and mysterious piece of nature. There are steep walkingpaths, sometimes with steps which make the hike really hard. There is a great variety of flora and fauna in this area consisting of a great variety of owls, buzzards, martens and ermines. There is a remarkable number of Chestnut trees which were introduced here by the Romans in order to “pimp up” their gastronomy. The whole area abounds in Roman traces, by the way. In Berg and Dal for instance, the traces of an extensive watersystem can be found, meant to provide the first Dutch town of Noviomagum (Nijmegen) with drinking water. In the surrounding landscape a number of claywells are found which belonged to the ancient Roman roof tile industry. 

Via the famous N70 walkingroute you can find the “Elysian Fields” on the other side of this wild countryside. A true paradise with hills and valleys which really make a stiff walk through this area worthwhile. “Het Hoog”(The High) offers a splendid view over the low lying Ooijpolder with among other things Persingen, the smallest hamlet of the Netherlands. A tiny village with a church, a few houses and two farms. The Ooijpolder is characterized by a flat landscape with winding dikes, clayholes, picturesque dike houses and farms on elevated islets in the landscape. In that agricultural landscape lie a number of villages and hamlets, originally mainly related to the old brickworks as well as the remains of the once so influential, mighty Castle Ooij, a citadel from the 11th century. 

A very elaborate system of routes has been designed especially for the walker and the cyclist to enjoy Ubbergen, the Green Theatre on the river Waal, to the full. 

More information

Our Tourist Service staff will be happy to provide you with all the information you need to explore the Ubbergen area. Telephone: 0031 246842609 or www.vvvnijmegen.nl.

We’re pleased to welcome you in Ubbergen!