Five magical mazes in the Netherlands

It may seem impossible to get well and truly lost in the small and flat country of the Netherlands, but you just might take a wrong turn in one of these Dutch mazes!

Maze gardens

The Netherlands is home to quite a few maze gardens, mirror mazes and labyrinths. Most of them are pretty small and easy to traverse. Nevertheless, there are a few that prove to be more of a challenge and also have some history to them.

Magical mazes

Here are our choices for five interesting and rather magical mazes in the Netherlands!

1. Labyrint Drielandenpunt Vaalserberg

The Drielandenpunt (three country point) in Vaals is the highest point in the Netherlands, where the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. Labyrint Drielandenpunt Vaalserweg is the largest outdoor maze in Europe made with hornbeam trees. It has a total of 17.000 high hedges and was developed by British landscape architect Adrian Fisher.

A pattern of lions and eagles has been integrated into the design of the paths. On your journey to the middle you can find three bridges. On average it takes 30 to 45 minutes to find the centre, where a lookout post lets you admire the design from above and look out over all three countries at once.

Courtesy of Labyrint Drielandenpunt

2. Ruurlo

The historic maze in Ruurlo in Gelderland, dating back to 1891, is quite a sight to behold. It covers the most ground of any maze in the Netherlands with its 8.740 square metres, but it is relatively easy to find the centre as the paths are five metres wide.

The paths are 1.188 metres in length, and the site was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest maze in the world in 1996. The designer was Daniël Marot, who worked for King Willem III in 1696. He also designed Paleis Het Loo.
 

3. Victoriadoolhof

The Victoria maze in Zeeland covers a grand 8.000 square metres, and the paths have a total length of three kilometres. The hedges show an intriguing design when seen from above - they form the Zeeland coat of arms! The pathways even trace the shape of the depicted lion. Various pretty water works can be found on the way through.

The paths are asphalted, so it is easily accessible for wheelchairs. Near the main attraction you can also find a water maze, a children’s maze and more.

4. Weldam Castle

The maze in the garden of Weldam Castle is the oldest in the Netherlands. It was built around 1885. The designers worked with impressive geometric shapes and patterns. Based on the style of the maze of Hampton Court Palace in London, the construction is about 920 square metres big and consists of 1.100 thuja trees.

The Weldam Castle maze is a rectangle. When you reach the centre you’ll find a wooden lookout post with a great view of the beautiful surrounding garden, as well as the castle.

5. Amstelpark

The Amstelpark features a charming little square maze surrounded by water. It may not be as impressive as the others, but since it's located in Amsterdam it is a lot easier to reach than most.

The entrance to the island is a stone bridge with two floors. The lower level is the entrance, and the top one is the exit. The paths are lined with high yew trees. The total length of the hedges is about 330 metres.

Please note that most mazes in the Netherlands are only open during spring or summer.

Have you ever gotten lost in a Dutch maze? Let us know in the comments below!