Top 20 Natural Monuments around Nieuwerkerken

Very relaxing, beautiful well-maintained paths.

The Herkenrode Abbey site is an interesting combination of culture, history, nature and an ideal starting point for walks.

Here, at the gallows, you are at the highest point in Helshoven. The artwork 'Helsh(ea)ven' by Frits Jeuris, known to most as the 'floating chapel', invites you to enjoy that landscape and the work itself. It is made from cherry tree wood. At the end of 2016, the 50-year-old high-stemmed trees in Helshoven had to be cut down due to a viral disease, Little Cherry, which causes tasteless cherries. The gallows represents death. Dead trees. And the dead person. And then there are the trees that are given a second life in the artwork, the floating chapel. An end, a beginning, a view, between heaven and Helshoven, inviting reflection, looking and of course what the work is best known for: that strange image of a chapel that seems to float.

Those who like a bit of relief will find plenty to enjoy on this easternmost Diestian hill. The Galgenberg takes its name from the location of the gallows that were used to hang criminals. The forests are freely accessible to hikers, but are not open to cyclists or mountain bikers due to their sensitivity to erosion.

The main entrance to the abbey is located to the south of the complex. It is a late Gothic gatehouse, built in 1531 by order of Abbess Mechtildis of Lechy. There are two storeys under two intersecting slate saddle roofs with a spire with a pear-shaped crowning at the intersection, dated 1531 (coat of arms on the rear facade) and restored in 1907 (architect G. Rypens) and 1973. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Herkenrode Abbey, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/22246

The Herkenrode abbey site is located in the Demer valley, in a transitional area between the Lage Kempen and Haspengouw, south of the village centre of Stokrooi (Hasselt). It is an extensive historical domain that dates back to the former abbey complex of the Cistercian nuns. To the north of the Demer are the meadows, to the south the old abbey with its appurtenances, the farmyard, the eastern castle park and the other, higher agricultural lands. In addition to unirrigated hay and pasture land, there were also large flood meadows here until the 20th century. The latter were supplied with water via the Tuilterdemer. The abbey was founded in 1182, when Geeraard, Count of Loon, donated his estate Herkenrode to a certain brother Henricus to build a monastery for women. In 1271 the monastic community joined the order of Cîteaux. It became a flourishing enterprise that over the years acquired numerous possessions. The religious purpose came to an end with the departure of the sisters in 1796. At the beginning of the 19th century, the new abbess wing, built in 1768 to the south of the old abbess quarters, was converted into a castle. In the same period, an English garden was laid out on the east side and a front garden on the west side. The 14th-century church burned down in 1826 and was demolished together with the monastery building and the convent buildings in 1843. The buildings and the surrounding grounds formed a single differentiated whole for a long time. Over time, however, they fell into the hands of different owners. In 1972, 11 ha of the former abbey site became the property of the canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre. The property includes the actual remaining abbey buildings with the sisters' quarters, the old abbess quarters, the sacristy, the infirmary, the 18th-century abbess wing and the adjoining landscaped park. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Herkenrode Abbey Site, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/135252

At the end of June 2024, it was announced that architects Arnout Van Vaerenbergh and Pieter-Jan Gijs will resurrect the church and other disappeared buildings on the Herkenrode site. Not quite as fully-fledged buildings, but with the interplay of lines that they are known for and that many have already seen in their see-through church in Borgloon. It should bring the total experience of Herkenrode more closely into line with historical reality and should work perfectly with the buildings that are still there today, making Herkenrode already a tourist attraction. This should be ready in 2026 and you can discover more about it at https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/06/27/clausura-herkenrode/

Since 1974, the province of (Flemish) Brabant has owned the 120 hectare Vinne. In 2000 it was decided to transform the area into a lake again. Work started in 2004; the poplars were cleared and the groundwater level rose because drainage was largely stopped. The entire area is ideal for migratory birds. Immovable Heritage Inventory 2024: Het Vinne, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/300182