Labyrint Drielandenpunt – Vaals, Netherlands - Atlas Obscura

Labyrint Drielandenpunt

A beautiful maze marks where three countries meet. 

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The Drielanden Labyrinth (or Three Country Labyrinth) is Europe’s largest outdoor shrub maze. It was built by British landscape artist Adrian Fisher who used 17,000 hornbeam shrubs to constitute the maze. Not only is the maze the most southeasterly place in the Netherlands, but it is also the highest.

The most exciting aspect of the Drielandaen Labyrinth, however, is, as its namesake suggests, that it is located where the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany all meet. In the middle of the maze, which is said to take up to an hour to complete, is a platform allowing visitors to look off into any of the three countries as well as at their fellow maze travelers as they struggle in the network of hornbeams below.

In addition to the unique entrance building with a roof in the shape of a gigantic butterfly, a water playground has been created with dozens of fountains. 

Surrounding the labyrinth are a handful of other recreational activities for visitors to enjoy. There is a playground for the younger crowd and clay shooting and archery for the older crowd. Fittingly enough, there are also smuggling games for visitors to play, where they reenact the once frequent passage of smugglers looking to save their money by jumping borders. And finally, the Border Stone Tavern is located conveniently across the boardwalk from an inn, for those travelers who are looking to spend the night.

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