The best city hikes and walks in Jongenbos

The Bilzermolen is a grist watermill with an undershot wheel on the Demer, at Kattebroekstraat 11, on the eastern side of Haffmans Park or Demer Park, owned by the city of Bilzen. This watermill already existed in the 13th century (first mention: 1301) and was rebuilt several times. It was one of the four Bilzen compulsory or ban mills from the Ancien Régime. It was operated by private individuals who paid an annual rent to the Princely Episcopal Audit Office. It was also mentioned in 1569 as Bouchoutmolen. After 1600, the following miller families worked here: Castermans, Maurissen, Martens and Withofs. The building was considerably damaged in 1893, but was soon repaired. The watermill remained in professional operation until around the Second World War. Above the water wheel, the facade still has a wooden cladding. The mill is equipped with a metal undershot wheel and is still capable of grinding. The mill house has been restored. The last professional miller was Gaston Goffin (°Rijkhoven 1921 - +Hasselt 2010), married to Maria Jans. In the end, he only let the mill run for visitors. After the floods of 1998, the embankments on the mill side were heavily damaged. In 2001, a bypass with a fish ladder was built around the mill. This bypass primarily serves to prevent flooding in case of blockages of the mill sluice. In this bypass, about eight pool steps between 10 and 15 cm high were built.

Anglers can indulge themselves here at 3 fishing ponds. For 2 of these ponds, you need a permit.

The Kimpel pond, located behind the tram bridge, was created by the extraction of clay for the Belisia tile factory in Zeepstraat.

Shonakunst, named after the eponymous ethnic group, emerged in the fifties. Numerous amateur sculptors earned a penny by selling sculptures to tourists. Gradually, an artistic elite emerged, which quickly found its way abroad. In the eighties and nineties, Zimbabwean sculpture became particularly popular in Western Europe. The best-known representative is Dominic Benhura. Already at the age of ten, he helped a cousin polish statues; barely two years later, he sold his first work. From Europe, it went to the United States, among other places, where he received rave reviews in the national press. A large part of his sculptures is carved from the extremely hard stone type springstone. His oeuvre is characterized by great playfulness and cheerfulness. A beautiful example of this can be found at the cultural center De Kimpel in Bilzen: a sculpture of playing children playing leapfrog.

The access to De Kimpel is literally and figuratively brightened up with this work by 'I AM EELCO', with strong color use and powerful lines, combined with many decorative elements. A beautiful mural in his typical surrealist pop-art style.

Within walking distance of the center of Bilzen lies the cultural and sports center De Kimpel. This center consists of both cultural and sports activities and a recently renovated city library. You can find the swimming pool, the Kattenberg hiking area, a nature park, fishing ponds, a playground, and a mountain bike and cycling route there.

The Borreberg lookout tower is located in Bilzen, in the Belgian province of Limburg, and forms a striking vantage point in the region's open landscape. The Borreberg is a natural feature that forms part of the rolling Limburg landscape and offers a beautiful view of the surrounding fields, forests, and villages. The lookout tower was built to provide visitors with a panoramic view of the surroundings. From the tower, a broad vista unfolds over the countryside around Bilzen, clearly highlighting the contrast between open fields, green spaces, and scattered buildings. The tower makes the landscape legible and demonstrates how nature and human use have coexisted here for centuries. The Borreberg and the lookout tower are a popular destination for hikers and cyclists exploring the region. The spot serves as a resting point and landmark within the network of recreational trails and invites visitors to pause and reflect on the scale and tranquility of the landscape.

The St. Maurice Church is one of the most distinctive and historically valuable buildings in the center of Bilzen (Limburg, Belgium). The church stands directly behind the town hall on the Markt square and, together with the town hall and the surrounding buildings, forms the historic heart of the city. The church's origins date back to the early Middle Ages: archaeological research shows that the choir rests on foundations dating from the 11th century, indicating that a church building existed on this site from very early times. From the 12th century onward, a Romanesque church developed here, of which only the choir survived when it was replaced by a Gothic structure in the 15th century. In 1636, the Gothic church was severely damaged when it was set on fire by Croatian troops. The only remaining parts were the choir and a few pillars of the nave. In the decades that followed, the church was rebuilt and expanded. Under the direction of architects such as Joseph Dumont and Mathieu Christiaens, the church acquired its current form in the 19th and early 20th centuries: a neo-Gothic hall church, typical of the Romantic revival of Gothic building traditions. A hall church is a church design in which the nave and aisles are more or less the same height, creating an impressive and open interior. St. Maurice's Church is one of the few hall churches in the region built of marlstone on a robust base of rubble and bluestone. The tower, complete in 1667, features striking Baroque elements.