The best road cycling routes around Beerse

History The chapel was erected in 1626. At that time, the region was plagued by a pest epidemic. Legend has it that about 60 inhabitants of Oostmalle fled the village with the disease to the heath at Zalfen. Adriaan Mattheeusen, an inhabitant of Zalfen, who lost some of his children to the epidemic, was obliged to bury them in the heath and erected a chapel in their memory. Soon, the chapel served for funeral services, and the dead were buried in the adjacent cemetery. The chapel soon became an attraction for pilgrims. For this reason, it was enlarged in 1726 to its current appearance (see upper part in the side gable dated by means of sintered stone). The chapel is depicted on Ferraris' cabinet map (1770-1778) on a triangular plot of heath. A loop of tall trees surrounds the chapel. On Vandermaelen's map (1846-1854), the chapel is located south of the Salphen road, amidst a triangular forest plot. Description The Sint-Antonius chapel of Salphen is located south of the Salphen road, an old avenue of predominantly tall English oaks (Quercus robur), and is surrounded by tall trees (mainly Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris). It is an oriented brick chapel with a three-sided closed west facade and a lower rectangular choir under slate gable roofs (ridge parallel to the street) with a bell tower. On the east side, there are two tuit-gables on shoulder pieces with crenellations. On the north side, there are rectangular windows and a basket-arch door and a basket-arch door. The plastered and painted interior has a wooden frame with a tie beam. The furniture includes an altar from the 19th century and a painted wooden statue of Saint Anthony Abbot (late 15th or early 16th century).

Asphalt through greener nature...

Biked all along the canal in between swarms of swallows... amazing.

Easy cycling along the canal!

Heihuyzen Castle is situated on an estate of approximately 400 hectares, of which approximately 300 hectares are forest and approximately 100 hectares are agricultural land. The estate has belonged to the same family since 1850-1865; the current resident is Godfroy Lenaerts. The Heihuyzen estate is known in Flanders and Europe for its diverse and high-quality fauna and flora. In 2014, the estate received the prestigious European Anders Wall Ward. Every spring during the Pentecost weekend and every autumn in early September, garden days are held around the castle. https://heihuyzen.be/

The St. Anthony's Chapel is a chapel in the hamlet of Zalfen, located near Salphen, which is part of the Antwerp municipality of Malle. Nearby Oostmalle was hit by a plague epidemic around 1625. Around 60 sick people reportedly fled to the heath. A certain Adriaan Mattheeusen, who lost three children to the disease, had to bury them on the heath and built a chapel for this purpose. This chapel was soon also used for funeral services, and the deceased were buried in a nearby cemetery. The chapel attracted pilgrims and was therefore expanded in 1726. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint-Antoniuskapel_(Zalfen)

Over 25 years ago, De Wanmolen found its home in a then dilapidated farmhouse, somewhere between the Kempen Hills and the Kleine Nete valley. A common thread running through the years has been a love of wood and beautiful furniture, a focus on the plants and animals around us, recycling, and fair-trade products. Here, we sell old and new furniture and decorations, but we also thoroughly sand, stain, oil, and so on. We're constantly reimagining ourselves: how to make that old piece of furniture fresh and contemporary again, what to do with that beautiful piece of wood, which furniture we want to sell, and which products we work with.

This breeding wall features 1,650 nesting holes to house a colony of swallows. Come at the right time and enjoy the playful antics of these birds. This breeding wall was created at the initiative of the Flemish Waterways Authority (Vlaamse Waterweg) and the Albert Canal.