Sint-Truiden abbey tower & crypt

St Trudo, son the the count of Haspengouw (French: Hesbaye, English: Hasbein) founded his abbey in 664. After his death in 693, and subsequent canonisation by precongregation, the place developed into a sanctuary. The abbey flourished and became one of the largest monastic complexes in the Netherlands. Since 812, the abbey follows the rule of Benedict. Around the abbey developed the city of Sint-Truiden, a town with current population around 40,000 that received a charter in the 11th century.

St Trudo’s church was destroyed in 883 by the Norsemen. The emperor Otto I placed the abbey under his protection and in 945, the abbot Adelbaro constucted a new church. This church was replaced in the 11th century by a larger construction by the abbot Adelardus II.

The current tower dates from the 11th century. The adjacent baroque gate was added in the 17th century. Behind the gate lie the foundations of 3 churches and an underground crypt, containing the remains of various abbots.

The tower was 66.7 meters high, but a fire in 1975 destroyed the spire that had been added in the 18th century, leaving the current tower of 35 meters height. It can be climbed through 208 steps, during which you can experience its 1000 years of history. The top offers a panoramic view to the city and surroundings.

Walking in Belgium's colonial past

The first reference to the name Tervueren dates back to 743 A.D. in a description of the life of Saint-Hubert, Patron Saint of hunters, who allegedly died in Tervuren in 727. Still today, mass is celebrated in Saint-Hubert’s chapel each year at the end of October.

In 1897, one of the seven times when Belgium organised a world exhibition, King Leopold II selected his Congo policy as the central theme for the exhibition. On the former hunting grounds of the Dukes of Brabant - that had been neglected for the past century - a "Colonial Palace" was built and the surroundings were transformed into a beautiful park. The Avenue de Tervueren that connects the Colonial Palace to the Cinquantenaire dates from the same period.

After the 1897 exhibition, the Colonial Palace became the permanent host to Belgium’s Congo collection. It quickly became too small, and the collection moved to a newly constructed Royal Museum for Central Africa, which remains a world-class museum in its field until today. Originally, the Museum was only a small part of a much bigger complex, which included an international school and a university campus. These plans were however never realised.

The walk starts at the church of Tervuren. Walk through the monumental gate to the park. There, you’ll find node number 4 of the walking network ‘Zuid Dijleland’. Following the arrows first to node number 41, then node 42 and back to 4 takes you through the most interesting sites of the Tervuren park. The walk is around 6 km in length. Some of the highlights:

• Church of St John Evangelist
• Chapel of St Hubert
• Colonial Palace
• Royal Museum for Central Africa
• Spanish House
• Park of Tervueren

Practical information can be obtained at the Tourist Office of Tervuren. Among other things, you can obtain the map of the walking network ‘Zuid Dijleland’ which lists total 300 km of walking paths.

Herisem walk

Belgium is an extremely developed country. In its highly cultivated landscape, there are hundreds of recreational walks in the range of 5 to 15 km which can be enjoyed all year round.

Just 15 km out of Brussels, Beersel offers a number of walks in the Pajottenland. One of these, the Herisem walk is about 7 km. Once you’re out of the centre of Beersel, the walk is largely across quiet roads, some unpaved, some sunken. This walk is nowhere near adventurous, but you’d need to put on your walking shoes.

While the walk is well sign-posted by hexagonal plates, a few signs are missing due to construction works. So you need to get a map from the tourist office. This map lists not only the Herisem walk, but 3 other walks in the area of Beersel as well as a cycling route. The tourist office is inside the Lambiek visitor centre, where you can learn about the 1,500 years unique brewing tradition of the region.
Back to the walk, it starts at the Church of Our Lady in Beersel, a mini-cathedral and sanctuary. Turn left on the Brusselsesteenweg, then turn right at the Colruyt. Follow the brook.

This brook, called Molenbeek flows into the Zenne. It is only 8 km long, with a decline of 70 m. It is so narrow that you could easily jump over it. Yet no less than 21 mills were once active along the short and narrow brook and its branches, and at least 15 of these were paper mills. Even in ancient times, the city of Brussels was in great need of paper.

In the middle of the walk, you’ll cross the Herisem paper mill, an amazing site of industrial heritage. It dates back to the 8th century and rightfully lends its name to the walk.

Continuing, you’ll have a view on the valley of the Molenbeek, pass alongside the Begijnbos forest and end in a sunken road which leads you back to the starting point.

The scenery is a mixture of the brook, forests, agriculture and a few historic buildings. If you’re lucky, you’ll see one of the famous Brabant draft horses in the meadows.

A few impressions from the walk on a beautiful autumn day:

The Beguinages of Mechelen (Malines)

Mechelen (Malines) has 2 beguinages - the small one, and the large one. The oldest one is the small beguinage which dates back from the 13th century. As it became too small, a second, larger beguinage was established outside the city walls, but older and infirm beguines remained inside the walls, which explains the existence of the two beguinages..

In past times, Mechelen harboured as many as 2,000 beguines, but they have now all gone, and their historic houses have become prized accommodation for independent professions.

Not much remains of the small beguinage, but it has been beautifully restored. Nearby, you can find the 14th century Gothic church of St Catherine - a church for the poor with rather sober decoration.
Nothing remains of the original large beguinage outside the walls which was destroyed around 1560. The beguines returned to the centre, to what is known today as the large beguinage. Much more remains of this 16th century beguinage, but unlike those from Antwerp, Louvain and Bruges, the Mechelen beguinage does not offer a site preserved in its integrity. The buildings in brick and sandstone date back from the 16th to 18th century.

The closed character of the beguinages of Mechelens, as it can be experienced in other cities, can only be sensed through the narrow streets of the quarter. The gates that once separated the large beguinage from the outside world were destroyed in the late 18th century, and increasingly, regular people started to occupy the houses in the beguinage.

Near the large beguinage, which is only a few 100 meters distance from the small one, you find another church - St Alexius and St Catharina - a baroque church from the 17th century with much richer and well preserved decoration.

Nearby you can also find the brewery Het Anker, which produces the Gouden Carolus beers, continuing a tradition of over 400 years.