The best walks and hikes around Hannut

The "Castle Farm" is so named because it belonged to the Lefranc family, who held the Lordship of Petit-Hallet in the 18th century. It is a quadrangle of brick, limestone, tufa, and flint, built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The entrance gate, made of painted stone like the neighboring walls, features a semicircular arch; it is believed to date from the first half of the 18th century. The porch is surmounted by a brick dovecote tower. The farm consists of a brick main building with stone surrounds and several outbuildings. The new owner transformed it into a prestigious venue for high-level professional riders: the "Petit-Hallet Stud Farm."

The Maria Gilles street, named after a resident who died in her garden here due to a German bomb in 1940, offers a beautiful view of the church it leads to. Moreover, you will find a nice resting place here with, in addition to a bench, a water source with steps (non-drinkable), all kinds of birds in the adjacent garden and one of the places that is part of the project 'Petit Hallet: village du jeu'. As the welcome sign indicates, every last Sunday of the month, between April and October, large games are offered here at various locations in the village. Everything starts on the small but cozy village square (where you will find more information and a giant checkerboard).

Petit-Hallet was owned for a long time by the chapter of Saint-Lambert de Liège. A church was already mentioned on this site in 1139. The current church was rebuilt in 1757/1758 in limestone bricks and flint. It is - almost naturally - dedicated to Saint Lambert. The church was restored in 1829, after a violent earthquake that had damaged it the year before. In 1865, numerous anchors were placed to strengthen the tower. The church is accessible via a portal with a chronogram (1757). There are several gravestones incorporated in the wall around the church, which is located on a rather overgrown height. When I visited, the various grasses sometimes reached above my waist. I also noticed that there are still quite a few pieces of gravestones, many broken or in part. Unfortunately, there were also some plants and grasses among other plants that in my opinion deserve some maintenance, even though the church and its surroundings are not in the best condition. Even though it dates from the 1930s: I would rather not see a grave of a child who was barely two years old among weeds, but that is my opinion of course. Furthermore, it is quite beautiful, situated a bit higher, and especially a nice path to it.

The church closed its doors at the end of the twentieth century. In 2022, L'Avenir wrote that due to a lack of maintenance, the condition of the building had deteriorated and that it even posed a safety hazard. After all, during maintenance on the roof, one of the walls was no longer stable. The mayor would urgently look into eliminating the dangerous situation. Today, the building is apparently still in poor condition and the chosen safety solution apparently seemed to close off the area around the building with fences, just like the adjacent rectory. At the time, it was said that they wanted to keep the church because of its heritage value, but until further notice, only the area around it is useful for a beautiful horse that comes to say hello from all sides. Article on https://www.lavenir.net/regions/brabantwallon/orp-jauche/2022/06/30/orp-jauche-on-ne-rasera-pas-leglise-notre-dame-dorp-le-petit-TZABF6D5TFEXZNOGPWS7DKDKYQ/

Statue representing a member of the "Mougneûs d’vète trëpe" brotherhood. Founded in 1981, its aim is to promote the local specialty: green pudding with kale. Since the Middle Ages, each cottage had its own pig, and when it reached "maturity," family, neighbors, and friends were invited to feast. This tradition continued until the 1940 war. Green pudding is colored with the greens of cabbages harvested from the garden. Later, the kale gives a creamier flavor to the dish. In Orp, after tasting the first piece, people say "C'ènn'è!" meaning "this is it," meaning "this is real green pudding, and it's good!" For connoisseurs, this dish can be enjoyed hot or cold, accompanied by a good beer or white wine. Source: https://fredrando.be/index.php?etape=gr579050

The Château Rose was built by order of Albert-Pierre Stier (1745-1816). In 1776, he bought the seigniory of Orp, as it had been known since the end of the 17th century, when the land of Orp-le-Grand was merged with that of Orp-le-Petit. The pillory of Orp-le-Petit at the front is one of about fifty in Belgium that are listed by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage. When our country was invaded by France in 1794, the French revolutionaries rushed to abolish the symbols of the Ancien Régime and the pillory was demolished. A few years later, around 1826, Baron Jean-François de Vinck de deux Orp (1774-1827), nephew of the builder of the castle, had the restored elements of the pillory rebuilt on his estate, more specifically in the central part of the meadow below the castle. Source: https://www.orp-jauche.be/wp-content/uploads/Brochure_PetitPatrimoinePopulaire_ORP.pdf

This path, which you reach after a short, steep climb from the stream, leads you along an inaccessible nature reserve, where you literally walk above an old quarry and caves for a part. At a certain point you literally walk above the entrance to that underground quarry that you can also see below. Part of the path runs between the edge of the valley and fields and on another part you have the nature reserve instead of the fields that was given the name 'Réserve naturelle Natagora des Caves Paheau'. Natagora is the counterpart of Natuurpunt and the quarry and caves are therefore called the 'caves Paheau'.

Built in the immediate vicinity of the Place d’Orp-le-Petit, on the edge of the Ry Henri Fontaine, a tributary of the Petite Gette, the Grande Ferme was once, and has been since the 12th century, the residence of the Lords of Orp-le-Petit. A majestic quadrangle whose buildings surround a square courtyard at the end of which stands the main building with pretty mullioned windows and a baroque door surmounted by an ornate oval oculus bearing the date 1712. Source: https://www.orp-jauche.be/wp-content/uploads/Brochure_PetitPatrimoinePopulaire_ORP.pdf