Five mayors at the opening Walk of Wisdom
No fewer than five mayors will attend and reinforce the opening of the Walk of Wisdom : Mayor Hubert Bruls of Nijmegen, Mayor Carol van Eert of Beuningen, Mayor Hans Verheijen of Wijchen, Mayor Lex Roolvink of Grave and Mayor Peter de Koning of Gennep. A fantastic boost to our 136-kilometre-long pilgrimage route that people can walk from 21 June.
At the end of the ceremony, the five mayors will present the now 60 pilgrims of the Walk of Walk of Wisdom with the icon of the route: Pilgrim, designed by the artists Huub and Adelheid Kortekaas. They are helped by mosque board member and Pax bridge builder Said Bouharrou, Daantje and Meijne Snoek (7 and 5 years old) and a pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela. The opening is at 12.30 pm in the Stevenskerk. Prior to this is a lunch in Heaven (11.00 am). Admission is free, but registration is necessary. That’s possible via this link.
Carol van Eert, Beuningen
Lex Roolvink, Grave
Hans Verheijen, Wijchen
Peter de Koning, Gennep
About the municipalities
Beuningen is the last of the eleven municipalities on the route and is characterized by miles of Waal beaches where you can stroll along the river. Lately, the city has been profiling itself with ‘thinking outside the dikes’ in the floodplains under the leadership of the Dijkmagazijn Beuningen.
Wijchen is a 90-kilometre walk away and has the centuries-old cultural landscapes of Leur and Hernen and the Kapelberg in Bergharen. There is an old castle that has never had the traces of war over it.
Grave is a beautiful old fortified town on the Meuse just past the halfway point of the route. In the neighboring village of Velp is the oldest monastery of the Capuchins. This order is inspired by Francis, a medieval mendicant who when Europe was at war with the Muslims, made a pilgrimage to the sultan with a message of reconciliation: “peace and all good.”
In Gennep lies the Mookerheide where two princes of Orange once died and where a treasure is said to still be buried. It is home to one of the most beautiful forests in the Netherlands: the Sint Jansberg.
Nijmegen is the start and end point of the route. From the monumental Stevenskerk you dive almost directly into nature via the Ooijpoort. Pilgrims enter the city again via the new bridge the Oversteek.
