The origin of Goolderheide

Once upon a time Goolderheide was a swampy and wet place, full of magic and mystic. According to legend there once lived a swamp fairy, called Heide, whose dream it was to turn the swamp into a beautiful place where the Goleriens, the original inhabitants of the swamp, could live without any worries.

But one day a spell turned out wrong and Heide mysteriously disappeared. The Goleriens were left in grief. But luckily Ricfried, an experienced adventurer, cared about the Goleriens’ fate and fulfilled the swamp fairy’s wish together with Godart, the Frog, and Gozewijn, the Swamp Man. Goolderheide is now a wonderful place where there is plenty to see and do. Every now and then, you can still spot Godart, Gozewijn and Ricfried. Wherever they show up, there is always something fun going on. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find the swamp’s fairy Heide and the Goleriens! That would be wonderful!

Ricfried, our Belgian adventurer, was passing through Bocholt when he found the sad Goleriens.He felt so sorry for these inhabitants that he could not leave them behind. So he promised to help them and turn the dangerous swamp into a beautiful home.

First he scared away the hideous monsters that had made the lives of the Goleriens miserable for centuries. Once he had chased these ogres away, he started renovating the dirty, neglected area. After all, the inhabitants had hidden for years in the houses underneath the ground because of the monsters. These beasts had plundered their food storages and destroyed their belongings time after time.

So Ricfried built new houses for the Goleriens. He hammered and hammered until he had enough houses for all the inhabitants. Suddenly people from all over the world wanted to come and live in this beautiful place. Our adventurer had turned it into such a pleasant park that he never wanted to leave.

Every now and then you can spot Ricfried at the campsite. Twice a week you can meet him and ask him all kind of questions.

Godart, who was abandoned in the swampy area, was found by the adventurer Ricfried. Godart was Heide’s best friend, but when she disappeared, he was left sad and lonely. Fairy Heide had turned Godart into a talking frog. So when Ricfried found him, he was also very surprised. Together, they decided to fulfill Heide’s wish.

He went looking for the best frogs in the whole swamp area so they could built shelters for both the Goleriens as for himself. In no time they had built 3 fantastic swimming pools for the inhabitants of the swamp. And for their own enjoyment they dug a gigantic pond, better known as the lake with sandy beach. If you look very carefully, you might even see Godart’s friends jumping around.

Everybody knows him, Gozewijn, the swamp man. Long ago he lived together with the Goleriens in Bocholt.

Although he didn’t talk much, he was loved by the inhabitants. Gozewijn took care of the animals and the plants in the place. When Ricfried asked his help to turn the swamp into a beautiful park, he didn’t hesitate.

Each of them was given a special task. Gozewijn’s assignment was to turn the swamp into a beautiful woody place. He planted countless trees and made sure that everything was beautifully made.

The dirty , smelling ponds disappeared and beautiful walking paths were created for the inhabitants. And so the little Goleriens could not stumble anymore over the loose branches and stones.

Gozewijn turned the broken branches into wooden toys for the children. He also provided swings, playhouses, slides and some benches for the parents.

He also thought of the animals. They got a real paradise. Rabbits, chickens, turkeys, guinea pigs, etc.. they all lived happily together in the children’s farm. Every day, they were cuddled by the Goleriens.

And so ended his task. The swamp man went back to live in the woods.

But you might still see him during a walk in the woods of Bocholt or at the children’s farm where he appears every now and then.

Un Golerien est en fait un ancien habitant de la région marécageuse. Ce Golerien a une histoire très intéressante à raconter.

'Il y a longtemps, quand Ricfried est venu nous aider à réaliser le sortilège de Heide, je vivais sous terre dans une petite maison confortable. Je l'appelais ma maison de Hobbit. J'y étais tellement attaché que Ricfried m'a aidé à la déterrer. Quelque part à Goolderheide, vous pouvez retrouver ma maison. C'est incroyablement unique ! J'aime raconter notre histoire au plus grand nombre de personnes possible. Vous pouvez même passer quelques nuits dans cette maison de Hobbit originale.'

'Je suis tellement heureux que le sortilège de Heide ait finalement été réalisé par Ricfried, Godart et Gozewijn. Sans eux, je vivrais encore sous terre, terrifié par les monstres qui ravageaient notre village. Ce sont de vrais héros. Bien sûr, je voulais aussi faire quelque chose en retour. C'est pourquoi je viens parfois en été jouer avec les enfants. Ils peuvent alors prendre une photo amusante avec moi ou me donner un high five.'

Heide is the beautiful swamp fairy. Her only wish was to help the Goleriens. After she had recited her spell, she mysteriously disappeared. Unfortunately nobody can predict whether she will ever come back to Goolderheide.

But rumor says that she is kept as a prisoner by the banished monsters. Ricfried and Godart have been searching for her for years, but they have never been successful. So together with Gozewijn they are making a plan to free her. Hopefully we can soon see her flying around Goolderheide again.

What a surprise it will be for her that her wish came true after all!