Every design for Borculo

Borculo grew up where the river Berkel met a smaller stream, the Grolse Slinge, in the Achterhoek of Gelderland. The Berkel still flows right through the centre, and the town was built around it, beside a castle known as the Hof, seat of the Lords of Borculo.

Its position, on a point where three old parish boundaries met, made Borculo a prize: a long dispute between the heirs of the counts of Bronkhorst and the Prince-Bishop of Münster ended only when the town finally passed to Guelders. For centuries flat-bottomed boats called zompen carried goods to its harbour and down the Berkel towards Zutphen, and parts of the old moat that doubled as a trade route can still be traced. Today the town belongs to Berkelland, and the King of the Netherlands still bears the title Lord of Borculo.

Then there is the storm. A whirlwind tore through the town in the summer of 1925, and Borculo has never forgotten it: the Brandweer- en Stormrampmuseum tells the story, and the Cycloonpark carries its name. Board the Berkelzomp afvaart "de Jappe" on a calm day and you see the same river that has always carried this town forward. That is a Borculo worth wearing.