Opijnen: Memorials, Buildings and Routes

Opijnen can be explored through two clearly defined focal points: memorials and historic buildings on the one hand, and routes through the surrounding area on the other. Local attractions range from the memorial stone and the Hervormde Kerk to Landgoed Uytterwaerde. There is also a walking route with an explicitly temporary alignment, as well as events that take place every year. When planning your trip, you can decide whether architectural history, remembrance, the landscape or an event date is the deciding factor.

Memorials and church architecture

The “Monument voor Amerikaanse Militairen” is made of polished Balmoral granite and stands next to the N.H. kerk on Stoepstraat in Opijnen. It commemorates eight crew members of the 91st Bomb Group who lost their lives in Opijnen on 30 July 1943. The precise location, number of people and date give the memorial a concrete connection to local history. The memorial stone thus commemorates a precisely identified historical event.

The Hervormde Kerk at Stoepstraat 2 is a Rijksmonument, listed as number 30337. A distinctive feature of its interior is the two-manual organ built by H. Knipscheer in 1859. Two-manual means that the instrument has two manuals, or two rows of keys played by the hands. The church can therefore be understood both through its protected status and through a precisely dated feature.

Landgoed Uytterwaerde and its building history

The present-day Huize Uytterwaerde was built in 1911 on the basement of an earlier building dating from 1849. The two dates point to successive building phases: the present-day building was constructed on the basement of its predecessor. The estate stands prominently near the village centre, between the Waaldijk and Repensestraat. The property includes a network of paths with gates and landscaped grounds; terracotta fragments came from the Opijnensche Steenfabriek.

The garden wall also displays terracotta decoration: it has nine figures and seven figure fragments. Most of the figures are thought to have been based on designs by the sculptor H.A. van den Eijnde. This probable attribution is part of the description, along with the number of figures and fragments.

The FRUITSCHUUR adds a dimension of use to the building history. It was originally built as a flood barn and later, when used as a fruit barn, was fitted with an elaborate cooling and ventilation system. The estate therefore brings together several different aspects: the building phases of Huize Uytterwaerde, the design of the grounds and the barn’s technical equipment.

Routes and annual events

The Ynenpad is a walking route through the area around Neerijnen and Opijnen. Its temporarily rerouted alignment, associated with dike reinforcement works, runs past old clay pits, former river channels, small beaches, floodplain woodland and marshland in the Heesseltsche uiterwaarden. This alignment is explicitly temporary; route details may change. Check the current route before setting out.

The “Dijk van een route” offers a different geographical orientation: after crossing the Waal via the Bommelse brug, it continues through Opijnen and Ophemert to Tiel. Check the route details in the tourism portal before setting out. While the Ynenpad connects different landscape types around Neerijnen and Opijnen, this route links a series of places all the way to Tiel.

Opijnen’s annual village festival includes a fair and a Zeskamp. A commemoration for those who died in 1943 is also held every year. Thus, a village festival and remembrance of a historical event are separate occasions in the annual calendar. If you would like to plan your trip around an event, check the dates for your travel period.

Discover more destinations: Tuil, Varik, Neerijnen, Ophemert

Return to the main travel overview: Neerijnen.