Top 20 Lakes around Haacht

Summer Gardens Don't be misled by the names of these three gardens. With a diverse selection of perennials, various ornamental shrubs, heirloom apple trees, and a collection of peonies... they're worth a visit in any season! But it's during (late) summer that the garden truly explodes with color, thanks to the abundant blooms of dahlias and cannas.

Nice view and lots of nature.

The Eglegem Pond, located between Hombeek and Zemst, is a beautiful nature reserve of over 40 hectares. Originally created as a sand extraction pit for the construction of the E19 motorway, the area has grown into a valuable quiet area with great ecological value. Today, it is managed by Natuur en Bos (Nature and Forests) and a magnet for hikers, nature lovers, and fishermen. The area is especially known as a wintering ground for waterfowl such as tufted ducks, grebes, and shelducks. Beavers have also recently taken up residence there. A 3-km walking path, recently renovated, runs around the pond. Dogs are welcome on a leash, and an off-leash area is provided. Fishing, stand-up paddleboarding, and sailing are permitted through recognized associations, but swimming and motorized water sports are prohibited. Thanks to targeted nature management and good water quality, this area remains a safe and peaceful place for both people and animals. An absolute must for those who want to unwind in nature.

The Vrijbroekpark, officially the Provincial Green Domain Vrijbroekpark, is a park in the Belgian city of Mechelen. It is located on the edge of the city and is 65 hectares in size. The province of Antwerp is the owner and it is freely accessible every day. It organizes walks, events and exhibitions, among other things.

The Vrijbroekpark, officially the Provincial Green Domain Vrijbroekpark, is a park in the Belgian city of Mechelen. It is located on the edge of the city and is 65 hectares in size. The province of Antwerp is the owner and it is freely accessible every day. Among other things, walks and exhibitions are organised there. In 2018 it is known that the park will be significantly expanded by the purchase of land by the provincial government. The park contains: a rose garden with more than 100 rose species, which received the Award of Garden Excellence in 2003 a dahlia garden a canna garden an ecotope garden, on a former city dump water features a playground a brasserie and a cafeteria with an outdoor terrace playing fields for football, basketball, cricket, tennis, petanque and hockey, and a fish pond a salicetum or willow arboretum: a living collection of different willow species and/or varieties. a ghost hotel: the foundations of a failed hotel project from the 1970s, overgrown by nature. The Vrijbroekpark is home to one of the largest European populations of creeping marsh warbler, a rare plant that benefits from keeping the grass lawns very short. In 2018, several hundred thousand specimens were counted. The park is part of the Natura 2000 area Forests of the southeast of the Zandleemstreek.

Of the actual monastery buildings that were demolished shortly after the public sale and certainly before 1813, only the abbess' residence dating from around 1779 remains, represented on Nivoy's plan from 1796 as a partly detached and rectangular wing, perpendicular to the square structure of the other monastery wings. According to the cadastral registers and sketches, this abbey wing, which had been converted into a "country estate", was first enlarged in 1845 with a low extension on the right and a detached service wing - possibly a carriage house with horse stable - at the back. Later, the extension with a kitchen perpendicular to the rear facade followed. The sales poster of 14 May 1897 of "the magnificent castle of the abbey called the castle of Cortenbergh" gives a plan of the ground floor and an overview of the layout: "two cellars with provision, vestibule with escalier, two kitchens, laundry, dining room, two salons, cabinet, escalier de service, onze chambres, three rooms for subjects on the mezzanine and two large greniers dont un avec monte charge" - a disposition that has largely been maintained to this day. Postcards from around 1900 show a white-painted and plastered volume flanked by a lower extension with a round-arched door window that has since disappeared. In the context of the transformation into a retreat house, the former abbess' residence was expanded on the south side around 1934, under the impetus of canon Misonne, with a chapel and a knight's hall, alluding to the signing of the charter of Kortenberg that took place there in 1312. With the construction of a second chapel, a connecting gallery and the construction of a terrace, the current configuration was created in the 1960s. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Abbey site of Kortenberg, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/43354

The abbey of Kortenberg was founded on the 'Curtenberch', a steep hill of approximately 75 metres high, also known as the Eikelenberg, south of the village centre where the villa 'La Chênaie' (1841) of J.P. Cluysenaer is now located. Generally, 1095, the date on which Bishop Gualcherus of Cambrai, in the presence of Godfried I, Duke of Brabant, signed the deed in which the "altar" of the church on the "Curtenberch" was transferred to the local reclusae - a group of pious women who led a hermit's existence there - is considered the date of foundation. This church was dedicated to God, the Holy Virgin and Saint Amandus and would function as a parish church until 1771. Perhaps the dilapidated buildings, the difficult accessibility and the lack of water played a role in the relocation of the religious community, in 1222 or 1229, to the valley of the Aderbeek (or Harebeek) 750 metres further north, near the current village centre. The rule of Saint Benedict was adopted and the first confirmation bull of Pope Gregory VIII of January 1233 indicates that the abbey was installed as such at that time. The further expansion in the course of the 13th century into an important religious, economic and social centre was made possible by additional donations from the Dukes of Brabant and other pious benefactors. The acquisition of noval tithes indicates the development of new areas, while there was already mention of a guesthouse for the care of the poor, the sick and travellers from 1246. Due to its strategic location near the old Leuven-Brussels road and the Waalsebaan, halfway between the ducal residences in Leuven and Brussels, the abbey of Kortenberg was given an important role in politics. On 27 September 1312, the famous Charter of Kortenberg was signed, in which Duke Jan II recognised and guaranteed the rights of the nobility and bourgeoisie. The supervisory Council of Kortenberg would meet there every three weeks until 1375. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Abbey site of Kortenberg, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/43354

The mound with the wooden, hexagonal pavilion, furnished as a chapel, to the southeast of the current building complex is possibly a relic of an ‘English garden’ from the late 18th century. The thickest tree in the park – a brown beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’) with a trunk circumference of 471 centimetres next to the mound with the cellars is the only relic of planting from the early 19th century. The silver maple (Acer saccharinum) on the other side of the ‘cellar mound’ and this one in the northeast corner of the park – are probably of a later date, despite their trunk circumference of more than 4 metres. The majority of the tree population is not older than 1900. The flora of the abbey park, especially around the pond, not only contains various species that occur in the woods along the Aderbeek and the central Brabant stream-accompanying forests in general – including the rough bellflower (Campanula trachelium) and the beetle orchid (Listera ovata) – but also at least one species whose presence could be explained by the abbey's past, namely the Italian arum (Arum italicum). Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Kortenberg Abbey Site, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/43354