Heritage Society hosts open monument day on Sept. 7 with bike and walking tours
Erfgoedvereniging Son en Breugel, together with neighborhood association 'De Kanaalstraat Son' and with support from the municipality of Son en Breugel, is organizing a major cycling and walking event on Saturday, September 7. Two walking routes and a cycling route will take you past national and municipal monuments and numerous other places of interest in and around Son en Breugel with descriptions for each monument via QR codes, as well as in a printed leaflet for those for whom an app with QR codes is difficult. On the page monuments you can read the descriptions of monuments and places of interest.
3 different routes
Although the national Open Monuments Days are on September 14 and 15, on those dates the 80th commemoration of the liberation will be celebrated in Son, with the Church Square and the Raadhuisplein closed to vehicles.
Therefore, Heritage Association Son en Breugel and neighborhood association 'De Kanaalstraat Son' are organizing this event a week earlier and with three different routes. A short walking route of 2 kilometers has been mapped out for the disabled, which is easily accessible by wheelchair, walker and mobility scooter. The long walking route is 8 kilometers; the cycling route is 18 kilometers.
Program and consumption vouchers
The starting point on that day is the hall of the town hall, Raadhuisplein 1 in Son. In the order of registration at this starting point from 11:00 to 12:00 at the latest, the first 125 cyclists will receive consumption vouchers with the route description. These vouchers can be exchanged at various stops along the route for a free drink, ice cream and pancake (while stocks last). So be there on time at the town hall.
For the walkers: in order of registration at this starting point from 12:00 to 13:00 at the latest, the first 100 walkers for the long route will receive consumption vouchers with the route description. These vouchers can also be redeemed at various stops along the route (subject to availability).
For the short walking route: in order of registration at this starting point from 12:00 noon until no later than 1:00 p.m., the first 50 walkers for the short route will be given a consumption voucher upon provision of that route description, which can be exchanged for a free drink at the end of the route in the Dommel House.
All this is made financially possible by the municipality of Son and Breugel.
Cycling and hiking routes
Among other things, the bicycle route takes you past the "Paulushoef" on Sonniuswijk. This farm served as a landmark for the 101st Airborne Division on September 17, 1944, for the pilots who dropped 6,500 paratroopers in that area on that day and where hundreds of planes landed for the supply of army equipment in those days, all as part of Operation Market Garden. The owners of this farm have set up a small museum on site with materials left behind from that airborne operation. All this can be viewed on this Open Monument Day.
At the buffalo farm "De Stoerderij" in Breugel, cyclists will receive explanations about the breeding of water buffaloes and the manufacture of various milk products.
At the church in Breugel, participants will receive an explanation of the church interior. The first 100 visitors in this Breugel church will also receive a free history booklet about this church, as a gift from the Heritage Society.
At the "Vrieshuisje" along the Kanaalstraat in Son, the neighborhood association "De Kanaalstraat Son" is organizing a pancake-baking contest this afternoon for event participants ages 11 to 16. Participation in this contest is limited. Therefore, contest participants should register in advance with contact person Jos Wientjens, tel. 06-51587340. The local middle class will make nice prizes available for this purpose.
The long walking route also passes the Breugel church and the Vries house. The short walking route only goes through Son.
Church tower
All three routes end at the old church tower at Kerkplein in Son.
The ground floor of the church tower will be open to the public (not just participants) for this occasion from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm. At 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30 the Son en Breugel Heritage Society will present a story about the history of the burnt down late-medieval church, of which only the tower remains. In this space, you will see the interior of the old Gothic church on a mega-large photo canvas, absorbed by tuneful music ranging from serene singing to roaring organ playing. All this for the optimal experience of the vanished church.
In the same tower room, history books and photo books about Son and Breugel are available at very reasonable prices, as well as postcards of the vanished church. The Heritage Society also provides information here about its activities and membership with associated member benefits. Those interested in the comprehensive history description of Son and Breugel can read it on the Internet at: heritage-association-sonenbreugel.nl/dorpsgeschiedenis
Safety
Safety for everyone and adherence to the traffic rules on the routes of this event is a high priority for the organizers. Therefore, fatbikes, mopeds, scooters, hoverboards and electric scooters are excluded from use by participants. This will be thoroughly checked and enforced at the starting point, as well as along the routes and at the stops and the finishing point. Also, for practical reasons dogs are not allowed at the starting point, the stops (partly private property), in the church tower and the Dommel House.
Participants are responsible for their own safety, mobility and traceability in case of calamities. Therefore, participants are strongly advised to carry their own Health safety equipment, water, safety vests, helmets, sunscreen, hats/hats/cap, tire repair materials, bicycle pump, charged cell phones and possibly rain gear/umbrella, as these are not provided by the organization.