The best cycling routes around Rumes

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The Rieu de Barges is a small watercourse in the province of Hainaut, in southwestern Belgium. The name "rieu" comes from the Walloon language and simply means brook or stream, which immediately indicates that this is a modest watercourse. The stream is located near Bernissart, not far from the French border, and is part of the Scheldt River basin. Like many small watercourses in Hainaut, the Rieu de Barges primarily serves a local drainage function. It drains agricultural land and pastureland and contributes to regulating the water level in a region historically prone to wet and marshy conditions. In the past, such streams played an important role in draining low-lying areas in the Scheldt Valley. Today, it is primarily a landscape element with practical hydrological significance at the local level. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Le Rieu de Barges is a small country in the province of Hainaut, in the south of Belgium. The term « rieu » provient du Wallon et signifie simplement ruisseau, qui indique déjà qu'il s'agit d'un cours d'eau de modestes dimensions. Il se situe aux environs de Bernissart, non loin de la frontière française, et partie du basin versant de l'Escaut. Comme de nombreux petits cours d'eau du Hainaut, le Rieu de Barges remplit avant tout a local drainage function. Il drain the agricultural lands and the prairies and contribute to the regulation of the natural environment in a region with a history of the humides and mares' zones. Par le passé, ce type de ruisseau jouait a role important dans l'assechement des parties basses de la vallée de l'Escaut. Moreover, the principal structure of the structure is based on the hydrological signification of the local area.

The war memorial at the church in Froidmont commemorates the military and civilian victims of the First World War. The text on the memorial reads: "The commune of Froidmont, reconciled to its dead children for the country."

The church of Froidmont is dedicated to Saint Piatus. According to legend, Saint Piatus was active in the Christianization of the region of Tournai, in the third century. The church was built in 1854 in neo-Gothic style by architect Louis Dethuin, replacing the old 17th-century church. The church has a three-bay nave, side aisles, a tower in the facade and a choir with a semi-hexagonal apse. The building was restored between 1969 and 1973 by architect Louis Dethuin from Tournai. Source: paysdepevele.com

"Salle communale" (Communal Hall) is written above the door. It is barely legible anymore. The building now resembles a private residence. However, two memorial plaques have been set into the facade, one on either side of the door. The left one commemorates two Willemeau residents described here as "Pioneers of colonial work in Africa." The right plaque refers to a village competition of which Willemeau was a winner in 1952. The text on the stone reads: "Tant vaut le village, tant vaut le pays" (translated as "As much as the village is worth, so much is the land worth").

On a small grassy square where Place de Willemeau and Rue Saint-Anne meet, stands a beautiful Calvary chapel. Striking (at least for a Flemish person; perhaps it's not unusual in French-speaking Belgium) is the inscription "JNRJ" above the cross instead of "INRI," "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum." After all, the letter "J" didn't exist in Latin.

The Saint-Géry Church in Willemeau was built between 1859 and 1863. The bell tower, with its five spires, is said to have been inspired by the cathedral of Tournai. Saint-Géry lived in the 7th century. He was Bishop of Cambrai (now "Cambrai"). Opposite the cathedral is the Fievez farm brewery, later known as Derasse, founded by Ferdinand Fievez, who added a brewery and an inn to his farm in 1833. Source: paysdepevele.com

nice gravel paths to reach it