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Nijmegen
Four Days Marches
A history of 1ØØ years (1/2)
The Four Days Marches are a walking achievement event for four consecutive days, in which annually 42,000 walkers are participating.
On those days, people from all over the world come to Nijmegen to walk in and around the city and its beautiful wooded surroundings. Thousands of spectators are cheering on the walkers along the route every day. After four days of walking a glorious entry along the Via Gladiola awaits the walker followed by receiving their well-deserved Four Days Medal.
The 100th International Four Days Marches Nijmegen will take place from 19 July to 22 July 2016.
The first Four Days Marches took place in 1909. Participants could start from 15 different places in The Netherlands. They had to walk 140km in four days, 35km per day.
The marches were organised by the Nederlandse Bond voor Lichamelijke Opvoeding (NBvLO) [Dutch League for Physical Education], which was founded in 1908. Of the 306 male participants, ten were civilians.
International Four Days Marches Nijmegen have grown into the largest multi-day walking event in the world. More than 42,000 participants walk for four days in Nijmegen and its surroundings, where they, depending on their age and sex, walk a total of 120, 160 or 200 kilometers towards the Via Gladiola and towards the - now royally approved - Four Days Marches Cross.
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Nijmegen
Four Days Marches
A history of 1ØØ years (2/2)
Footage of the Four Days Marches in 1954.
Footage of the Four Days Marches in 1954.
Please also see the footage on the Vierdaagse Nijmegen Youtube channel. -
Nijmegen
Four Days Marches
An overview of the routes
Every day has its own itinerary: day 1, day 2, day 3 and day 4.
Click here for the streetplans 2016.
Distances
2016:
The 55 km walking distance is only available for this year´s 100th edition.
Walking around Nijmegen
The Four Days Marches have a different route each day; through the landscapes of Dutch provinces of Gelderland, Brabant and Limburg, through the city of Nijmegen and its outskirts.
Every walking day revolves around a different town in the vicinity of Nijmegen. The first day is otherwise called the day of Elst, the second day the day of Wijchen, the third the day of Groesbeek and finally the fourth day the day of Cuijk.
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Nijmegen
The Wedren
Start and finish area the Wedren
The start and finish area ´The Wedren´ is divided into three places: the Wedren, the opposite Julianaplein and adjoining Julianapark.
Participants of the 55km-route start from the Julianapark. All other individual participants start from the Wedren/Julianaplein and will report to the finish at their own registration desk (Julianapark) at the end of each marching day.
Civilian groups line up at the starting gate for groups in the Julianapark. On Friday the sign-off for civilian groups is at sports park De Kluis, this is possible until 17.00 hrs. After signing off, everyone walks the Entry on the Via Gladiola to the Wedren.
Start and finish area Heumensoord
Military detachments and individual military participants starting from Heumensoord also sign off at Heumensoord. On Friday these military participants finish at Charlemagne, the sign off is until 17.00 hrs. Afterwards, everyone walks the Entry on the Via Gladiola to the Wedren.
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Elst route
Day 1 - itinerary
The first day of the Four Days Marches
View in bigger map.
30 km walkers (real distance 32.4 km)
Nijmegen - Lent - Bemmel - Elst - Valburg - Slijk-Ewijk - Oosterhout - Lent - Nijmegen
40 km walkers (real distance 39.6 km)
Nijmegen - Lent - Bemmel - Arnhem - Elst - Valburg - Slijk-Ewijk - Oosterhout - Lent - Nijmegen
50/55 km walkers (real distance 52.0 km/55.1 km)
Nijmegen - Lent - Bemmel - Huissen - Arnhem (Elden) - Elst - Valburg - Slijk-Ewijk - Oosterhout - Lent - Nijmegen
40 km militairy (real distance 43.7 km)
Heumensoord - Nijmegen - Lent - Bemmel - Elst - Valburg - Slijk-Ewijk - Oosterhout - Lent - Nijmegen - Heumensoord
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Wijchen route
Day 2 - itinerary
The second day of the Four Days Marches
View in bigger map.
30 km walkers (real distance 33.0 km)
Nijmegen - Alverna - Wijchen - Beuningen - Weurt - Nijmegen
40 km walkers (real distance 39.2 km)
Nijmegen - Alverna - Wijchen - Beuningen - Weurt - Nijmegen
50/55 km walkers (real distance 48.3 km/56.9 km)
Nijmegen - Alverna - Wijchen - Balgoij - Niftrik - Wijchen - Beuningen - Weurt - Nijmegen
40 km militairy (real distance 37.5 km)
Heumensoord - Nijmegen - Alverna - Wijchen - Beuningen - Weurt - Nijmegen - Heumensoord
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Groesbeek route
Day 3 - itinerary
The third day of the Four Days Marches
View in a bigger map.
30 km walkers (real distance 30.4 km)
Nijmegen - Malden - Molenhoek - Mook - Groesbeek - Berg en Dal - Nijmegen
40 km walkers (real distance 39.2 km)
Nijmegen - Malden - Molenhoek - Mook - Middelaar - Plasmolen - Milsbeek - Bredeweg - Groesbeek - Berg en Dal - Nijmegen
50/55 km walkers (real distance 50.9 km/54.3 km)
Nijmegen - Malden - Molenhoek - Mook - Middelaar - Plasmolen - Milsbeek - Bredeweg - Groesbeek - Berg en Dal - Nijmegen
40 km militairy (real distance 40.2 km)
Heumensoord - Nijmegen - Malden - Molenhoek - Mook - Middelaar - Plasmolen - Milsbeek - Bredeweg - Groesbeek - Berg en Dal - Nijmegen - Heumensoord
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Cuijk route
Day 4 - itinerary
The fourth day of the Four Days Marches
View in a bigger map.
30 km walkers (real distance 30.0 km)
Nijmegen - Overasselt - Heumen - Malden - Nijmegen
40 km walkers (real distance 42.4 km)
Nijmegen - Overasselt - Heumen - Linden - Beers - Cuijk - Mook - Malden - Nijmegen
50/55 km walkers (real distance 50.2 km/56.0 km)
Nijmegen - Overasselt - Nederasselt - Grave - Gassel - Beers - Vianen - Cuijk - Mook - Malden - Nijmegen
40 km militairy (real distance 46.1 km)
Heumensoord - Nijmegen - Overasselt - Nederasselt - Grave - Gassel - Beers - Cuijk - Mook - Malden - Nijmegen -
Groesbeek
Dutch mountains
The seven hills of the Zevenheuvelenweg
Most of the participants never forget the third day that will bring them to the Dutch mountains.
The Seven Hills road [Dutch: Zevenheuvelenweg] contains seven small hills between the city of Groesbeek and Berg en Dal.
Every participant thinks differently about this part of the route. For some particpants the small hills are a difficult hurdle, but most of the particpants enjoy the beautiful Dutch scenery. Halfway many participants commemorate the fallen soldiers during WW-II at the Canadian War Cemetery & Memorial.
But most of all they will remember the thousands of people cheering and supporting the participants.
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Cuyk
Pontoon bridge
Crossing the river Maas
Very early in the morning, on the fourth day of the Four Days Marches, engineers of the Royal Netherlands Army, lay down a pontoonbridge over the river Maas which will bring ten thousands of participants safely to the other side of the river. The river is closed for many hours for the waterway transport.
The pontoonbridge connects the two provinces Noord-Brabant and Limburg and once the participants have crossed they are at the gateway of the last 10 kilometers of that years Four Days Marches. From the town of Mook they walk the Rijksweg which turns into the famous Via Gladiola in Nijmegen. This point in panorama.
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Nijmegen
Camp Heumensoord
Sheltering the military participants
As from 1962 military participants of the Four Days Marches are given shelter at the temporary Camp Heumensoord. The camp offers shelter to nearly 6.000 persons.
Camp Heumensoord is situated just south of the Nijmegen district Brakkenstein at the Beukenlaan (near Malden). See the map at the left. The municipality of Nijmegen is the owner of this terrain.
Dutch military staff passing the entrance of Camp Heumensoord, consisting of two very large boots and a helmet. -
Nijmegen
Via Gladiola
The final kilometers on Via Gladiola
On the last day of the Four Days Marches the final arrival takes place at the ´Via Gladiola´, normally called the ´Sint Annastraat´. This is a grand and festive happening.
This happening started as a tradition in 1983 when a new gladiolus was denominated as the Four Days Marches. The participants of the Four Days Marches receive gladioli from the spectators since that year during the final arrival.
From Roman times
Via Gladiola refers to the expression ´The dead or gladioli´, an expression that goes way back to Roman history. The gladiolus is also called ´sword lily´, because the leaves of the galdiolus are shaped like a sword: sharp and tapering. A Roman sword is called gladius, a smaller sword a gladiolus.
A gladiator was a sword fighter who fought to the death in a Roman arena to entertain the crowd. The winner was showered with gladioli.
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