The best walks and hikes in Natuurreservaat Zwarte Beek - Laren

Sportcomplex Vijfsprong is a versatile sports complex in Lummen with a wide range of activities for all ages. The complex features an indoor swimming pool, various sports fields for volleyball, basketball, and badminton, a large sports hall, divisible into three sections, and a multipurpose room suitable for dance and martial arts. The tennis and padel club, as well as Lummen's football fields, are also located on the grounds, and there is a playground for children. The location is easily accessible and has ample parking, all amidst a wooded area ideal for outdoor activities.

O.C. Sint-Ferdinand was founded in 1895 by the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity. After the first brothers arrived in Lummen on November 11, 1895, they opened a home for boys with behavioral problems on October 24, 1896. The children were trained as tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and ‘the men of the farm’. In 1902, 50 children from the court were also admitted from the ‘Hospital’ in Sint-Truiden. The vocational department subsequently expanded to include, among others, typesetting and operating printing presses, bookbinding, baking, laundry, brewing, and butchery. In 1924, Sint-Ferdinand was transformed into a medical-pedagogical institute for ‘educable’ mentally handicapped children, the first in our country. A detailed history of the institute can be found on this website: https://sintferdinand.be/organisatie-sint-ferdinand/historiek/.

Trees with an accompanying cross or chapel were erected as thanks for a healing, a favor granted, a reminder of a special event, or to protect the local community from misfortune.

The domain of the Thousand-Year Oak contains some old oak trees. Besides the Thousand-Year Oak, whose age is debated, there are 2 other impressive old oaks on the domain. These were given the appropriate names 'son of the Thousand-Year Oak' and 'grandson of the Thousand-Year Oak'. Around the 3 trees, the root flare, provided with a mulch layer, is bordered by wooden stakes. The area is colloquially known as 'Het Verbrand' (The Burned), a reference to the pyres on which condemned people met their end. The site near the oak of Lummen is said to have been an execution site until the end of the 17th century. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Son and grandson of the Thousand-Year Oak, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/130819

The first oak tree you encounter is not yet the Thousand-Year Oak but is called the son of the Thousand-Year Oak. Its estimated age is approx. 400 years.

On August 18, 1914 - the Germans had only just invaded Belgium - Lummen was hit by a terrible fire. The cause was said to be a shooting at a group of German scouts. The event at the beginning of WWI immediately left its mark on Lummen and would continue to affect the municipality for many years, even after the war. No fewer than 63 houses were completely reduced to ashes in the devastation. The destruction was so great that only one house from that period remains today in the Gemeenteplein of Lummen. People massively sought refuge in the direction of the castles de Burg, Loye and Het Hamel. The surroundings of Lummen-centrum also fell victim to the destruction by the occupier. Houses and farms were set on fire. Four Lummen residents lost their lives during that fire. @https://www.hln.be/lummen/de-groote-brand-van-lummen-van-1914-herdacht-met-vuurwerkspektakel~a2f02d06/

Mayor Henry Briers unveiled the war memorial on the Gemeenteplein on September 17, 1922. It is the only known memorial monument by the Vilvoorde architect Alfred Minner. The limestone memorial features a gilded bronze Belgian soldier's helmet resting on the Limburg coat of arms and a laurel wreath. Below it, stylized flames on the four sides refer to the 63 houses that were razed by the Germans in 1914. Below that is a small cross. After WWII, the years 1914, 1918, 1940, 1945 were added. At the bottom, we read "Eternally free and happy in peace". On the west side, 14 names of Lummen soldiers who did not survive World War I are carved. On the east side, the names of 4 Lummen civilian victims are carved. On the back, we read 'Henry Briers mayor of Lummen on September 17, 1922'. @https://www.tracesofwar.nl/sights/145587/Monument-Eerste-Wereldoorlog-Lummen.htm

Lummen has a lot of hidden beauty. With this map, you can walk, via five signposted loops, to the domain of the Thousand-Year Oak, the Kleen Meulen, and the Willekensberg, among other places. In the meantime, you will get to know the rich past of Lummen through the various castles, mills, and the Kapel van de Beukeboom. @https://www.lummen.be/sites/default/files/public/Lummense%20parels%20-%20folder%202015%20-%20samengevoegd.pdf