Veluwe Sprengen and Broeken

The Landscape

The Veluwe is known for its forests, heathlands, and sand drifts, but it also contains a unique network of streams and springs. This rare water system, uncommon even in Europe, is formed by an underground water layer that collects rainwater and channels it to lower-lying rivers and lakes. Centuries ago, people dug sprengen to regulate the water flow and power water mills, for example, for paper production. Today, this historic network of streams and springs is considered a valuable cultural heritage.

The Veluwe brooks lie in low-lying plains that used to flood regularly from streams and small rivers. It is no coincidence that the name “broek” refers to land that floods during high water. These wet areas were unsuitable for growing crops but were very important to farmers. In the summer, grass was cut for hay. In the autumn, the land was used for grazing livestock, and in the winter, the brooks were often flooded. Today, these former hayfields form a varied landscape of marshy grasslands, flower-rich meadows, and alder wetlands, all surrounded by the higher sandy grounds of the Veluwe.