Herisem Paper Mill

About halfway through the Herisem walk of Beersel, you find the Herisem paper mill, lending its name to the walk. This tiny yet significant grouping of buildings has been occupied at least since the 8th century, at which time a Franconian farm stood at the location. The name Herisem can be traced back to Harja-heim, settling place of Harja.

Since the 14th century, a water mill was installed, and production of paper began in 1536. The site is the main remnant of the Alsemberg paper industry which once had 15 paper mills producing along the Molenbeek (“Mill Brook”). The mill developed in the following centuries. In 1763, Gillis Winderickx married the daughter of the owner and took over the mill. He set the site on a successful path to growth. During the 19th century, production of paper was no longer possible due to pollution of the brook, and the mill switched to cardboard.
In 1848, crisis struck but ten years later, the mill recovered to a last golden age, which was interrupted by WW-I. During WW-II, the machines were mothballed with the aim of restarting production after the war, but this never happened. The combined effects of 2 world wars and a world crisis in-between meant the end of 4 centuries of industrial activity.

The site remained dormant until it was classified as a historic monument in 1979, upon which it began a new life as a museum, conference centre, celebration room, tavern and hostel.

Today, the mill can be visited. The machine par from the 19th century is still operational, though it no longer produces. It’s pretty remarkable to find this site during the Herisem walk, and learn that it actually has over a 1,000 years of history.

According its the website, Herisem is 15 minutes drive from the centre of Brussels. Except on a quiet Sunday morning, you’d probably need a bit more time. But this quiet place, in the deep Belgian country side, remains just 15 km outside Brussels.

Map of Belgian tourist attractions

Why this map? In Belgium, distances are small, but still it can take you up to 2 hours to reach Belgium’s extremities from Brussels. It would be a pity, having travelled the distance, to miss a nearby attraction. Therefore this map, to be used as a planning tool.

You’d think that this service would already be available from tourist offices, and to some extent it is. Sometimes, local tourist information is detailed but fragmented. And information at national level is limited as tourism is a regional matter in Belgium. With a soft curtain between Flanders and Wallonia, it’s also harder to spot tourist attractions across the language border.

Therefore this map, to puzzle it all together in high resolution. In the current version, the map includes about 600 tourist attractions.

How many tourist attractions does Belgium have? We have 365 attractions listed in the very incomplete guide 365.be. Lannoo does a bit better with 1000 must-see places in Belgium. Allegedly, we have over 3,000 castles - through most will not be tourist attractions. OKV’s museum guide lists 400 museums just for Flanders & Brussels. And Wikipedia lists over 70 abbeys. The links to these benchmarks can be found in a diigo list. If we include abbeys, battlefields, castles, industrial archaeology, monuments, museums, parks and walks, we’ll easily end up with 1,000s of sites, and this map is - at best - only 20% complete.

Frietmuseum

The Frietmuseum (Museum of French fries) in Bruges is unique in the world. At first, its name seems to reveal one of these artificial places often created at tourist hotspots. The ground floor is actually about the history of the potato. Only on the second floor will you learn the origin of frying them. I guess there are weirder museums in the world. As for authenticity, Belgium probably needs this museum, and Bruges is as good a place as any to locate it.

The visit starts with the history of the potato, from its origins in Latin America 13,000 years ago. The crop was domesticated 8,000 years ago, and has since evolved into 4,000 varieties with a global annual production of 330 million tonnes in 2009. When taking into account that about one third of production is used as cattle food, 33 kg of potatoes are produced annually per world citizen.

The potato came to Europe via Spain in the 16th century, but was not an immediate success. At first, it was used as cattle food, until Antoine Parmentier had the French potato fields guarded in order to increase the perceived value of the crop. The high yield (16 tons per hectare) led to massive replacement of wheat by potato production, and to population booms in France and Ireland. Potatoes proved to be a mixed blessing though, when in the 18th century, overdependence and massive failure of the potato harvest led to the Great Irish Famine.
Moving to the first floor, the storyline changes from potatoes to fries. We learn that fries may, or may not be of Belgian origin. There is no scientific proof either way. Fries may have originated from the Mosane region of Belgium in the mid 18th century, where people had a habit to fry small fish. When the river froze in winter, they used potatoes instead. But French fries might as well be of Spanish rather than Belgian origin.

Incidentally, why are Belgian fries called French? Because American soldiers during the first world-war, when offered fries from French-speaking Belgian soldiers, mistook them for being French.

The visit goes on how to make fries. Fries are produced around the world, but for Belgian fries, frites of 10-13 mm are required to be fried twice, first 6 minutes at 130-140 degrees, then 1.5-3 minutes at 165-170 degrees.

Are fries healthy? According to the museum staff, what makes fries unhealthy is the sauces, beers and various croquettes we eat together with them. Potatoes are 80% water. Large fries will be healthier than thin fries. If you go easy on the sauce, and eat a salad rather than a cheese croquette on the side, fries can be indulged in without feelings of guilt.

If you agree, go to the cellar of the museum, where you can enjoy some real Belgian fries.

Other attractions near the Frietmuseum:

Grotere kaart weergeven

Comic Strip Walls in Antwerp

After Brussels, Antwerp also has its project to develop a trajectory of comic strip walls in its city. The project is a bit more modest for the moment. As in Brussels, comic strips are used as one of the tools for urban renewal. Unlike Brussels, Antwerp does not limit itself to comic strips, but includes cartoonists and illustrators.

Mekanik, the comic strip shop in Antwerp and the force behind the initiative produced a compelling video.

The comic strip walls can be easily visited through a short walk in the city center.

Comic Strip Culture in Belgium weergeven op een grotere kaart

Villers Abbey

Founded by 12 monks in 1146, Villers Abbey developed into a major site towards the end of the 13th century. At its peak, over 100 monks and 300 lay brothers lived on the site, which controlled a territory of more than a hundred square km spread out between Namur and Antwerp.

The site is currently in ruins, but the ruins are well preserved. Some timid attempts of restoration are undertaken, the end of which is currently not in sight. This however does not preclude a visitor imagining monastic life at the Villers site.
This is a visit rich in impressions without long explanations. It starts with the warming room, the only heated room in the 13th century complex. Later, as more chimneys were added, its function changed to winter refectory. There are thirty more rooms to explore.

Yves Plateau, collaborator of Jacques Martin (Alex) has made an a series of drawings of what once was. His reconstruction of the site, as it existed in the 13th century, can be viewed in the various rooms of the abbey. Casterman has published the drawings in an album on Villers Abbey.

Practical
Villers Abbey is about fourty minutes drive from Brussels. The visit takes minimum 1.5 hours. It is correctly priced. There is a small shop with literature on the site and on religious life. The ruin in a park setting is a grateful subject for photographers.