The village of Veessen is located inside the sharp meander of the river IJssel. The fact that Veessen developed into a prosperous village centuries ago is partly due to this particular bend in the river.
On the east side of the river are the floodplains called "Duursche Waarden" and the forest "Fortmonderbos". This forest in particular is a unique piece of nature. It is located on a river dune and it is a hardwood forest; something that hardly ever occurs on the floodplains. It's a so called riparian forest: a forest that arises naturally along the floodplains of a river or body of water.
Due to its location, during easterly winds, the Fortmonderbos can take the wind out of the sails of the ships that pass by.
Nowadays it is only difficult for recreational ships. But in the past, merchant ships regularly ran into problems on this important trade route. The wind was literally taken out of their sails. And that's why this bend in the river was nicknamed "Het Rak van Ongemak", which translates as "the place of discomfort".
Often the ships could not pass the bend on their own and assistance from the shore was needed. The residents of Veessen pulled the ships through the bend with the help of ropes and horses. They called this "peerden". The inhabitants found a good side income as "peerders".
It was custom to negotiate the price in advance. When the price had been negotiated, the "peerden" could begin. Early in the morning the peerders would be waiting for the ships to pull them upstream through the bend.
Half way through, the first half of the agreed amount was paid to ensure that the skippers did not drop out past the bend and would drift back downstream. The payment counter was located at what is now the boarding point of the "Cossack ferry".
It was not always possible to pull the ships through the bend and the skippers regularly had to spend the night in Veessen before they could continue their journey. That's why it's no wonder that the inns of the village also thrived at that time. Veessen's old baptismal records also contain a number of birth registrations in which the father is referred to as a passing skipper.
Campsite "De Ijsselhoeve" is located here in this famous bend. Here we are developing a small-scale holiday park on 42,000 m2 with 85 lodges, a brasserie, a kids club and a mini shop. The planned delivery is late 2023.