Martin tower Liberation routes

Martin tower Liberation routes

The Martinus tower in the small town of Gennep is a permanent reminder of WW2 and lets us know that peace and freedom cannot be taken for granted. It is the only tower on the Meuse River from Mook to Roermond that survived the war. When retreating behind the Meuse, the Wehrmacht blew up the church towers on the left bank of the Meuse and placed lookouts in the towers on the right bank of the Meuse. These towers were then smashed by Allied artillery. All but one: the Gennep's Martinus tower.

The tower was on the front line from September 1944 to February 1945. Had one been in the spire in September 1944, one would have seen thousands of paratroopers and hundreds of Gliders land over neighbouring Groesbeek as part of Operation Market Garden. On 8 February, the front moved again. More than 1,000 guns shelled the neighbouring Reichswald forest and one could have watched from the tower as a roller of steel and fire swept across the great forest. Operation Veritable, the last major battle on the western front, had begun.

Today, the Martinus Tower is a visitor centre with many reminders of this time. In particular, the Martinus Tower Liberation Routes, with starting and finishing points at the Martinus Tower, show the numerous traces of the tough battle in the region. The routes include the largest and second largest war museums in the Netherlands (Overloon and Groesbeek). The British Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and Kriegsgräberstätte Donsbrügen, among others, are located in and near the Reichswald. The routes pass numerous monuments and ruins and 14 audio spots/listening boulders tell the special stories at these locations.

The 8 Martinustoren Liberation Routes can be found on the Martinustoren website. On the Liberation Route website, one can find another special route: Gennep and the price of freedom.

The routes go through 4 beautiful Natura 2000 landscapes: the St Jansberg, the Reichswald, the Maasduinen and the Maasheggen.

Entry to the Martinustoren visitor centre is free.

Gennep's Martinus tower

https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/787/martinus-tower

Martin tower Liberation routes

https://martinustoren.nl/en/liberation-route

Gennep and the price of freedom

https://www.liberationroute.com/themed-routes/12/gennep-and-the-price-of-freedom