Winterswijk

Winterswijk is a small city and municipality in the far east of the Achterhoek region of Gelderland, The Netherlands.

Understand
Winterswijk, which name means something along the lines of "Place where Winter lives", was founded around the year 1000 and remained an isolated part of the country until 1830, when a road from Borken to Zutphen via the city was built. Ten years later, a wave of migration hit the town. Many of its citizens moved to the United States, particularly Michigan. After 1870 the town became a producer of textiles and eight years later a railway connecting the town to Zutphen was established to benefit this textile trade. One of Winterswijk's most notable citizens has to be Piet Mondrian, who lived in Winterswijk from 1880 to 1892. During this period, Mondrian started the painting career that would make him famous.

By car
When travelling from Utrecht, use the A12 in the direction of Arnhem. After driving past Arnhem and Zevenaar, use Oud-Dijk interchange to turn onto the A18 heading for Doetinchem. Follow the A18 and turn right onto the N18 when the A18 ends. Follow the N18 until you find Lichtenvoorde, and enter the town using a right turn onto the Richterslaan. Go straight on at the two roundabouts that follow and take the second right, followed by a left turn after that. Go straight on at the roundabout that's now in front of you and follow the road that you then find yourself on, the N312. This road will take you directly to Winterswijk.

By train
From any location in the country, take a train to Arnhem or Zutphen. From these two cities you can take a train to Winterswijk. Trains from either location go to Winterswijk every 30 minutes.

Get around
Winterswijk can best be travelled by bike, though taking a car or bus, especially when visiting nearby locations outside of the city, might be recommended. When using a bus, use 9292.nl, a website created by Dutch public transport companies which will help you plan your journey.

Go next
Winterswijk is an easy link to Germany, with cities such as Bocholt, Münster and Duisburg not far out of reach. You can also stay in the Netherlands and visit nearby cities such as Arnhem, Doetinchem, Enschede or Zutphen.