Zwolle: Dolmens

• details
• information
• route

• date

  7 February 2026

  start

  09:00

  finish

  22:30 (13:30)

  distance

  200km

  sign-up

  closed

  organiser

  Eva Jacobs
  zwolle@randonneurs.nl

  start location

  Mercure Zwolle
  Hertsenbergweg 1
  8041 BA Zwolle

  + Google Maps

• Dolmen – from Breton (Celtic language): dol – table, men – stone. In the Netherlands, it's known by its Germanic name – hunebed (Hüne/hune = giant, bett/grab/bed = bed or grave). Dolmens were built from the beginning of the 5th to the beginning of the 2nd century BC as ossuaries/bone houses (rather than graves). They can be found in Northern, Western, or Southern Europe, North Africa, the Near and Far East, and India. The largest dolmen in the world is Dolmen de Menga in Spain, 27.5 m long and 6 m wide. And with a capstone weighing 180 tons!
  The largest dolmen in the Netherlands is in Borger, D27, with a modest capstone (one of them) weighing 20 tons. But its dimensions of 22.6 m long and 4.1 m wide are still impressive. And D27 is the destination of this brevet. Along the way, we'll pass many more beautiful areas: a beautiful part of Weerriben-Wieden National Park, Dwingelderveld National Park, radio telescopes, the Harry Muskee refuge farm in Grolloo, the Drentsche Aa with its many dolmens, and Orvelte. Because most dolmens are often found along cobblestone roads, we won't visit them all.
  
  There are four checkpoints:
  CP1 - Bospub - café: stamp, consumption receipt, or a selfie with the location as proof of passage
  CP2 - D27 dolmen in Borger: answer the question (so no selfie!)
  CP3 - Orvelte - free checkpoint: stamp, consumption receipt, or a selfie with the location as proof of passage
  CP4 - Zuidwolde - free checkpoint: stamp, consumption receipt, or a selfie with the location as proof of passage