Lake in the Park van Tervuren – Forest Path in Tervuren Park loop from Wezembeek-Oppem

Running trails & routes

Lake in the Park van Tervuren – Forest Path in Tervuren Park loop from Wezembeek-Oppem

Hard

3.0

(1)

205

runners

Lake in the Park van Tervuren – Forest Path in Tervuren Park loop from Wezembeek-Oppem

01:38

15.4km

90m

Running

Hard run. Very good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: September 23, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through a protected area

Please check local regulations for:

Nationaal Park Brabantse Wouden

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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3.50 km

Royal Museum for Central Africa

Highlight • Monument

The museum came about because of the world exhibition of 1897 in Brussels. Then Leopold II showed off objects and art from the Belgian colony of Congo in the Colonial Palace in Tervuren.
After the World's Fair, the temporary exhibition became permanent. The Colonial Palace soon proved too small and Leopold II had a new, gigantic museum built, which his successor Albert I opened in 1910. In addition to being a museum, the institution was also a scientific institution. And the park around it was and still is beautiful ! The building is also frequently used for luxurious parties .

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3.78 km

Memorial monument ‘The Congo, I presume?’

Highlight • Monument

This group of sculptures was placed in 1998 at the initiative of local history circles from Tervuren by the Buildings Agency. The sculpture group does not belong to the heritage of the AfricaMuseum. It was initially the intention to move the sculpture group elsewhere, closer to the center of Tervuren. In the end, the municipality and the Buildings Agency decided to place the sculpture group in the French garden behind the museum.

The artist did not provide the AfricaMuseum with the following text until 2018.

The title, "The Congo I Presume," parodies Henry Morton Stanley's words when meeting David Livingstone: "Dr Livingstone I presume?"
The sculpture group is set up in a water feature, the whole refers to the African village that was set up on the water during the exhibition of 1897. Seven African extras died of pneumonia.
The images in the water feature evoke this Congolese village, where both exotic animals and 'exotic' people were exhibited in a 'human zoo'.
The play of stone blocks refers to Leopold II's nickname as 'King Builder'.
The elephant and the lion symbolize the beautiful and mighty Congolese nature with its rich underground.
As a migratory bird, eight flamingos symbolize the Congolese diaspora.
In the middle of this evocation of nature: the bust of Leopold II, owner of the Congo Free State and for the Congolese: the undisputed 'father of the country'.
On the back of the bust: a peacock with gracefully spread feathers, an unmistakable reference to the man's vanity, megalomania, and pride.
The elephant looks away from the bust, symbolically distancing himself from the ivory looting with which Leopold II shamelessly enriched himself.
The lion, the so-called king of beasts, also looks ostentatiously in the other direction.
Three African warriors in splendid costume are arranged as submissive soldiers, 'on display' as three personal trophies of the king.
Striking: these tough warriors have severed feet: a clear reference to the less beautiful story of colonization.
This group of statues is the only anti-colonial statue in our country and can therefore be regarded as unique.

Tom Frantzen

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4.30 km

Mirror Pond with a view of the AfricaMuseum

Highlight • Lake

The museum's origins date back to the 1897 World's Fair, when the section dedicated to the Congo colony was established in the Palais de l'Afrique (formerly the Palais des Colonies) in Tervueren Park. Following its success, and at the instigation of King Leopold II, the temporary exhibition was converted into a permanent museum and scientific institute dedicated to the Belgian Congo, with the aim of generating interest and showcasing the country's economic potential.

The Palais de l'Afrique quickly became too small, so Leopold II commissioned Charles Girault, architect of the Petit Palais in Paris, to build a new museum and redevelop the entire site. Leopold II died before the project was completed, and the museum was inaugurated in 1910 by King Albert I.

The museum was closed for five years, from 2013 to 2018, for major restoration and renovation work.

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5.45 km

Ponds of Tervuren Park

Highlight • Lake

Cycling in this stately park is beautiful.

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6.21 km

Lake in the Park van Tervuren

Highlight • Lake

Nicer area for graveling along quiet paths

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6.73 km

Grote Sint-Gertrudisvijver

Lake

7.28 km

Canal in Nationaal Park Brabantse Wouden

Highlight (Segment) • River

10.4 km

The Spanish House

Highlight • Historical Site

The name Spaans Huis is much more recent than the name Gordaalmolen or Gordaelmolen, as this building was originally called (and is still called). Go(o)rdaal was a medieval hamlet that belonged to the lords of Rotselaar for a while (fifteenth century). It thus became a neighbour of Warande. De Warande is still a name given to the park of Tervuren.

The so-called Spaans huis was originally a watermill in Goordaal, a marshy hamlet because the name comes from goor dal where goor means marshy and we all know a valley.

According to the information board on the building (see photos), it was built in the seventeenth century and served as a ducal ban mill. In short: people had to have their grain ground there? What is Spanish about it? The period in which the brick from which it was built was often used.

Today the Goordaalmolen is located at the Goordaalvijver: komoot.com/nl-nl/highlight/1776479

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