County of Ben­theim

Once, hundreds of windmills and watermills stood in the German-Dutch border region around County of Bentheim. The history of mills in County of Bentheim is closely linked to the Counts of Bentheim: nearly every single mill in the country was once controlled by the nobility. In recent years, a number of these historic buildings have been carefully restored and some are again in full working condition.

On the border of County of Bentheim, the Dutch province of Drenthe and Emsland lies the International Natur Park Moor - Veenland. This unspoilt landscape, shaped by moors and bogs, has remained practically unchanged for centuries, although traces can still be found of the people who first populated the area.

The “Dynamic Audio-Geo Information System for Tourists (DAGIT)” lets you immerse yourself in the rich natural history of this landscape while you ‘explore’ it by car. Three routes with different thematic focuses guide motorists safely and easily through this formerly impassable area. The pioneer trail “Moor/Veen” leads you across 99 kilometres of former raised bogs, the Bourtanger Moor. In the mid-19th century, this was the site of the largest peat cutting industry in the Netherlands.

Discover the Dutch towns of Emmen, Coevorden and Nieuw Amsterdam.

In the sunlight it glows yellow, occasionally with red streaks. Little wonder that this stone was also known as Bentheim Gold, mainly on account of its colour, but also because the people of Bentheim earned a lot of money with their sandstone. Geologists differentiate between the lighter-coloured Gildehaus sandstone and the reddish-brown Bentheim sandstone (the colour variations are caused by the iron content of the stone).

Since the middle ages, master builders have used Bentheim sandstone to build churches and other important structures, including the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the theatre and the cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, the catholic church in Århus, the city hall in Münster and – last but not least – Bentheim Castle. The latter is the largest building made of Bentheim sandstone.

One of the oldest sandstone sculptures is the “Herrgott of Bentheim”, a 2.45m high, free-standing statue depicting Jesus on the cross. It was carved in the 11th century from a block of sandstone and today stands in the inner courtyard of Bentheim Castle. In Bad Bentheim visitors can discover a wealth of fascinating facts about Bentheim Gold in the Sandstone Museum.