The best walks and hikes around Kuurne

Sente is a parish of Kuurne. "Sente" in the local dialect means "sint," which refers to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the parish's patron saint. The process of Sente becoming an independent parish was quite a challenge, as the local information sign explains: In 1876, the municipalities of Kuurne, Heule, and Lendelede promised to build a church, establish a cemetery, and fill in the pond in the village center. The following year, none of this had materialized. In response, the West Flanders Provincial Council declared it would issue a favorable recommendation for the separation of St. Catherine if the surrounding municipalities did not begin carrying out the promised work. Even under this "threat," the surrounding municipalities protested seriously. Ultimately, a new cemetery was built, and plans for a church also took shape. Mr. De Quinnemaere from Heule designed the Neo-Romanesque church. On September 7, 1879, it was inaugurated by Ferdinand Vandeputte, then dean of Kortrijk. Since then, the first Sunday of September has been celebrated as Fair Sunday.

Seven years after his death, Nesten will have a permanent place in the centre of Kuurne: after the former municipal school (later Jeugdhuis Den Tap) is demolished (autumn 2025), a green square will be created there, which will be called "Nestenplein".

The miller's house, along with the three adjacent houses, forms a unique ensemble: they are situated on a side path perpendicular to Kouterstraat. This also means you can easily walk right past them without noticing them.

Nesten, the man depicted, is the artist name of Rik Delneste René (Zwevegem, December 20, 1946 – Kortrijk, October 13, 2018), a cartoonist specializing in drawing caricatures of cyclists and other famous people. He founded a "laugh museum," where his work is exhibited. Besides postcards, he also painted shop windows and walls. Nesten's paintings are a familiar sight on café windows, especially in this region, the south of West Flanders. Source: Wikipedia

Just like the Stubborn Donkey statue on the square in front of the town hall, this work by David Duits also refers to the nickname of the Kuur residents: the donkeys. Duits (born 1989) is also a "donkey" himself, by the way.

At the back of the church is a memorial stone for Brigand's Sunday, a bloody day in the uprising against the French occupiers. The slogan under which the uprising was waged, "Voor Outer en Heerd" (For Outer and Hearth), is written above the names of five Kuur residents who fell on October 28, 1798. At the front right of the church, you can see foundations excavated in 1985 and possibly dating back to the 12th century.

The painter Evariste Carpentier, born in Kuurne in 1845, can be considered—along with the better-known Emile Claus—one of the early representatives of Luminism. From 1897, Evariste Carpentier taught at the Royal Academy of Liège, the city where he died in 1922. His native village honors him here with a statue by fellow villager Rik Vermeersch (born in Kortrijk in 1949).

The statue refers to the nickname of the people of Kuurne: they are called donkeys. A derisive name the people of Kortrijk gave them scornfully when they used to go to the morning market in Kortrijk before dawn with a donkey and cart, laden with vegetables. Another legend goes like this: long ago, on Ash Wednesday, the priest had to attend a funeral. He had the sacristan replace him in the Ash Wednesday service. The sacristan couldn't remember the Latin words "Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris." Finally, the priest said to him: "You were born a donkey, you will die a donkey." "Ha," said the sacristan, "I'll remember that!" and with these words, he gave the people of Kuurne their ashes. Source: Wikipedia