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Alden Biesen Commandery – Hollow Way in Haspengouw loop from Alden Biesen Waterburcht

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Alden Biesen Commandery – Hollow Way in Haspengouw loop from Alden Biesen Waterburcht

Easy

4.6

(90)

575

hikers

Alden Biesen Commandery – Hollow Way in Haspengouw loop from Alden Biesen Waterburcht

01:18

4.85km

50m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: June 28, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

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619 m

Alden Biesen High-Stem Orchard

Highlight • Natural

In the standard orchards of Alden Biesen, which you get a taste of here, five hundred (500!) varieties of various types of fruit are grown. Alden Biesen's first standard orchards were established approximately in the sixteenth century. The domain and its surroundings are of course also very popular in the spring with the blossoms of all those apples, pears, plums, apricots and other cherries.

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701 m

Wooden boardwalk through the orchards of Alden Biesen

Highlight • Trail

A wooden boardwalk leads through the orchards, allowing visitors to view the tall fruit trees up close. The boardwalk is designed to be easily accessible and is part of the circular route through the approximately 40-hectare orchards, which feature numerous varieties of apples and pears.

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779 m

Alden Biesen Commandery

Highlight • Castle

A Landkommande (command post) was a regional administrative and economic unit of a religious military order, primarily the Teutonic Knights.

It served as:

• an administrative center for the surrounding holdings (farms, villages, lands),

• an economic base for financing military and charitable activities,

• the residence of the Landkomtur (commander), who held regional leadership.

Chronological development:

c. 1220 --> Establishment of the settlement by the Teutonic Knights --> Beginning as a regional administrative and economic unit

13th–14th centuries --> Expansion into the central Landkommande of the Bailiwick of Biesen --> Establishment as an important administrative center in the area of what is now the southern Netherlands

15th century --> Consolidation of the Order's rule; Economic stabilization --> Securing income from agriculture and taxes

16th century --> Effects of the Reformation and religious conflicts --> Political and religious tensions, but the commandery continued to exist

17th century --> Baroque expansion into a representative castle complex --> Transformation from a fortified complex to a prestigious residence

18th century --> Golden age as the seat of the Bailiwick of Biesen --> Administrative center with cultural significance

1794–1795 --> French revolutionary troops occupy the region --> Expropriation of the Order's property, end of the Order's rule

19th century --> Private use and structural alterations --> Loss of the original administrative function

1971 --> Major fire destroys large parts of the complex --> Severe structural damage

From the 1970s onwards --> Restoration by the Belgian heritage authorities --> Re-establishment as a historical cultural monument

Today --> Cultural and event center used for exhibitions, conferences, concerts, and tourism

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2.12 km

Hollow Way in Haspengouw

Highlight • Trail

The sunken road has been eroded into the slope over the centuries and is richly overgrown with summer oaks and common ash trees, among other things. A unique biotope for many animals and plants. As you will notice yourself when you walk here, a sunken road has a different climate than an open field. Many solitary wild bees also like to use this microclimate and open sandy areas in the sunken roads to make their ground nests.
Animals find a lot of food and hiding places here. If you pay close attention, you will see entrances to holes and badger dens in the hillsides.
(Information on site)

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2.47 km

Narrow path

Highlight • Trail

Super nice narrow path next to the meadow...

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2.77 km

Path Along the Alden Biesen Estate

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

This "forest path" is a slightly sloping walking path that starts near a small car park where the end of the boardwalk, the so-called Camp and a few other paths, meet the Winterbergstraat, which is partly located in an agricultural area. A large part of the path runs parallel to the wall around Alden Biesen's domain. Behind that (high) wall is the English garden. Next to the wall you will see a closed gate and the top of a small building on the property: this is the back of the summer pavilion with ice cellar.

It is not a real forest path because the section with trees and shrubs is altogether too small to see the forest, but mainly you walk between that wall with a garden and a piece of meadow behind it on the one hand and the trees on the other. The path leads to the road that runs between the domain and the parking lot. On one of the walks you also cross here to go behind the parking lot and thus join the nature trail to Bilzen that starts near the castle. The path is accessible via a wooden gate and there is an information board (see photos). You also partly walk along the standard orchard. Dogs must be on a leash.

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4.03 km

View of Alden Biesen Castle

Highlight • Viewpoint

If the hedge isn't too high at least...

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4.19 km

Boardwalk and Pond View Near Alden Biesen

Highlight • Trail

This boardwalk is located on a pond in which naturally purified water is collected by the reed bed and which has gradually sloping banks. And that means amphibians as you clearly notice when you step over them on your way to the bench where you can relax and hear the splash of all kinds of critters. A pleasant environment to spend some time. At this time of the year, the height of the reeds means that there is not much of a view anymore of course :)

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4.85 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

1.76 km

1.36 km

811 m

536 m

390 m

Surfaces

1.26 km

1.02 km

916 m

575 m

545 m

536 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Tuesday 7 July

27°C

18°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h

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Comments

April 5, 2025,Alden Biesen

On the first weekend of the Easter holiday, I went with the family to Alden Biesen. We walked around the castle and had a picnic there. The weather was fantastic, and there were a lot of visitors. The apple and pear trees started blooming.

July 25, 2025,Alden Biesen, Startplaats Landcommanderij Alden Biesen, blauwe route

A pleasant walk in the immediate vicinity of the Grand Commandery. It passes orchards, sunken lanes, and the Alden Biesen park forest.

Starting point:
* Grand Commandery Alden Biesen, Kasteelstraat 6, 3740 Bilzen

More Haspengouw Landscape Walks: komoot.com/nl-nl/collection/2311319/-wandelen-langs-haspengouwse-landschappen

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June 9, 2024,Boucle Kasteel Alden Biesen – Landcommanderij Alden Biesen au départ de Martenslinde

Walk!

Today we left the horse at the stable and set off on foot, with snow.
Nice walk around the castle starting from Martenslinde, easy access, large parking lot, path also accessible with a stroller although the last path is quite narrow with untrimmed foliage. Mostly flat without much difficulty. We did not enter the castle gardens, although they were …

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Alden Biesen Commandery – Hollow Way in Haspengouw loop from Alden Biesen Waterburcht

Alden Biesen High-Stem Orchard

Wooden boardwalk through the orchards of Alden Biesen

Alden Biesen Commandery

Hollow Way in Haspengouw

Narrow path

Path Along the Alden Biesen Estate

View of Alden Biesen Castle

Boardwalk and Pond View Near Alden Biesen

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