For centuries, German merchants traveled through the Achterhoek with their heavy carts via the so-called Hessenwegen: ancient trade routes that connected the region with Germany and the Dutch trading cities. One of these roads ran from Bocholt via Aalten towards Zutphen and Doesburg. The Hessenwegen were of great importance for early modern trade in this region.
The term Hessenweg has been used since the 17th century. The traditional explanation refers to the merchants who came from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel and the surrounding area. Within etymology, however, the name is explained differently: it is said to be a corruption of hers, meaning horse. These roads usually ran over high, dry sandy soils and along ridges.
Four major Hessenwegen ran through the Achterhoek. Three of them followed a northern route, from Vreden and Ammeloe via Groenlo, Rekken, and Neede, among others, to Deventer or Zutphen.
In the southern Achterhoek, a Hessenweg ran past Aalten. From Bocholt, this route crossed the current border at the Kesenbulte and continued via the Bodendijk, Dijkstraat, Landstraat, Berkenhovestraat, and the Romienendiek to De Radstake. From there, the road continued past Zutphen and Barneveld, with a branch between Halle and Zelhem towards Doesburg.
From the IJssel cities, the Hessenwegen crossed the Veluwe, converged in the Gooi, and continued to Amsterdam. The Hessenwegen had numerous branches. One of these ran near Aalten from the Romienendiek, via the Koningsweg, Hessenweg, past the Walfort, via Bredevoort and Winterswijk to Vreden.
The Hessians stayed overnight in inns along the road, such as De Radstake and the Slikkertap. In Aalten, there were lodgings such as De Leeuw, De Roskam, De Landman, and Stad Munster. In Bredevoort, De Zwaan and, just outside the town, De Leste Stuver were well-known stopping places.
Hessenkeerls
For those living along a Hessenweg in the 19th century, the arrival of the Hessenkeerls was quite an event. On the windward side of the procession walked men with heavy clubs, dressed in their characteristic blue Hessenkiel: a shirt of fine linen, closed with copper hooks in the shape of lion heads and three small bone buttons. Decorated facings were applied to the chest and shoulders.
On the road, donkeys trudged through the loose sand, with a basket of woven willow twigs full of merchandise on either side. Once they arrived in a village, the men tied their donkeys near an inn or on the village square. The animals were fed and watered, while the men refreshed themselves at the village pump.
Afterward, the baskets were opened and the Hessians went from house to house peddling. Their merchandise included light glassware and soft straw hats. These hats were in high demand: as soon as the Hessians arrived, customers were already waiting for them to buy a new summer hat. The hats were elastic and therefore almost always fit. After a few hours, the Hessians moved on.
Pottenkeerls, musicians, and hannekemaaiers
In addition to the Hessenkeerls, pottenkeerls also appeared on the Hessenwegen. They used heavy covered wagons that stood high on their wheels, the so-called Hessenkaoren, pulled by sturdy Holsteiner horses. The carts were full of Cologne pottery: gray or yellow-brown pots with blue decoration. The horses wore richly decorated harnesses, fitted and hung with copper decorations, so that their arrival could be heard from afar.
An image of a carter with his Hessenkar from around 1830, from the Popular Prints collection of Museum ‘t Oude Slot in Veldhoven, with the text:
The blue-smocked Hessian travels from the Uplands,
And guides his long team with ‘Hu’ and ‘Hot’ and ‘Haar’.
His high-laden cart brings many kinds of wares,
Which the Dutch ship carries again to North and South shores.
In the spring, groups of German musicians traveled over the Hessenwegen to the Netherlands. Some bands were very well known in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague. Although they presumably came from the same region, they were not called Hessians because they did not wear the Hessenkiel.
In addition, the hannekemaaiers came by in the summer: seasonal workers from Westphalia who helped in Holland with mowing grass and during the harvest. Women and children stayed behind at home to work on the land, while the men earned money elsewhere for the winter.
The end of the Hessenwegen
In the course of the 19th century, the significance of the Hessenwegen declined. In 1875, the last Hessians were seen near Zelhem, a meager group compared to former times. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the subsequent industrial boom in the Ruhr area provided the Germans with a livelihood closer to home. Even many young people from the Achterhoek went that way to earn good money. With that, the Hessenwegen had had their day.
Older origins
Although the term Hessenweg was used from the 17th century, archaeological finds along these roads indicate that they had been in use for much longer. For example, in Aalten, at De Hoven near the Landstraat, traces of an 8th-century settlement have been found, including remains of sunken-floor huts, refuse pits, and spindle whorls. This is a strong indication that the later Hessenwegen built upon much older traffic routes, the so-called volkerenwegen (peoples’ roads).
It is therefore logical to assume that the village of Aalten partly owes its origin to this ancient peoples’ road. De Hoven was a favorable spot, because in the middle of the wild landscape of forest, heath, and marshes, there was a hill here, high and dry, directly on a through road. Moreover, a stream flowed at the bottom of the hill, providing fresh water.
Hessentocht
The memory of the Hessians still lives on. In 2011, a Hessentocht (Hessian Trek) was organized for the second time in the vicinity of Bredevoort and Aalten. During this trek, in which a historical caravan was simulated, an impressive ox cart took part: 2.60 meters wide, six meters long, and four meters high. In addition, three wagons participated, each pulled by three horses. Jan Oberink captured the trek on film and created the atmospheric impression below.
Acknowledgements
The content of this article is largely based on the article by G.J. Klokman (Zelhem, 1864), published in 1937. There are numerous other publications about Hessenwegen that present a different picture on some points. For this article, Klokman’s description was primarily chosen because his memories and observations specifically relate to the Hessenweg near Zelhem, the same route that also ran through Aalten.
Sources
- G.J. Klokman, De Hessenwegen, in: Eigen Volk. Algemeen tijdschrift voor volkskunde (folklore) en dialect, 1937. National Library of the Netherlands
- G.J. Klokman, De Achterhoekers, in: De Nederlandse volkskarakters, 1938. DBNL
- Wikipedia, Hessenweg
- Hummelo.nl, Hessenwegen, Hanzewegen en Koningswegen (RdH004-27-2-2007). Hummelo History
- De Veluwenaar, Hessenwegen
- Old Aalten, Traces of 1100-year-old settlement in Aalten
- YouTube, Hessentocht travels through the municipality of Aalten, 2011
