The best city hikes and walks in Oude Durme

"Documentation and study centre for local history and genealogy" can be read above the door of this building. The Hamse Heemkring "Osschaert" has always been housed here in what used to be the home of the spiritual director of the civil hospital. The house was built in 1902 (see memorial stone on the side wall) based on a design by architect Pierre De Brouwer – Van Haver (Hamme) and paid for by the family of Doorslaer de ten Ryen. Source: Inventory of Immovable Heritage

Opposite the park on the corner of August Nobelsstraat is the bronze statue ‘Tijl Uilenspiegel’, a work by the sculptor Mark Macken (1913-1977), who was born in Diest but was mainly active at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. The playful hero from an old folk tale makes jokes and plays pranks. His name is a combination of ‘owl’ and ‘mirror’. The owl, which is not visible here, symbolises stupidity (as in ‘uilskuiken’ and ‘'t is maar een uil’). The mirror functions as an object in which people can look at themselves. The mischievous Tijl shows people as they are, without any hesitation. In this way he ridicules the respectable and the powerful. Later, in the work of Charles de Coster (1867), he is portrayed as a freedom fighter against the Spanish rulers and the inquisition of the Catholic Church. Most people know Tijl mainly as the rogue, the jester, who confronts his audience with their mistakes and shortcomings. The fool's cap and the frame of the mirror he holds up to us refer to this. In order to proclaim his idea in this form, the artist does not shy away from challenges. The stylized figure in a tailor's seat is technically difficult to execute. This also applies to casting it in bronze. The result is a smooth and mischievous whole. Source: https://www.kunstindestad.be/

An elegant wooden arched bridge over the pond in De Vidts Park.

In 1859, the city council of Sint-Niklaas concluded a contract with the art foundry of August Van Aerschot from Herentals for the delivery of a cast iron kiosk based on the model of the one in Mechelen. During the months of April and May 1860, the kiosk was assembled on site on a substructure of Hainaut bluestone... however, not here, but in a walking park, called De Warande, on the Grote Markt. After the kiosk was dismantled in 1966, it took until 1984 for it to start a new life here. Source: Inventory of Immovable Heritage

In 1550, knight Willem van Waelwijck united the existing lordships of Van der Moeren and Willemaers into a fief, the "Hof van Walburg", named after his wife Walburgh. He had a new building constructed there, a typical moated castle in traditional sand and brick style. In addition to the castle, the domain consisted of an orchard, a garden with two avenues. It included an upper and lower court. For many years, the title "Lord of Walburg" was transferred by inheritance or sale. The successive owners gave the castle domain various purposes, including a brewery, a pharmacy and a residence. In 1789, the French Republic abolished the title Lord of Walburg. In 1846, the castle came into the hands of the Van Naemen family. Jozef Felix Van Naemen renovated the castle according to the then current taste and lifestyle. The domain acquired a purely residential character. The last residents were the unmarried sisters Alix, Gabriélla and Elisabeth Van Naemen. The grounds of the domain were expropriated in 1949. In the same year, the Sint-Niklaas municipal council decided to purchase the "castle with dependencies and lands". In 1950, part of the domain was lost for the construction of the Parklaan. In 1952, the castle domain, redesigned by landscape architect Braeckman, was officially opened as a city park. In 1975, the castle was protected as a monument and the surroundings as a landscape. In 1983, the city council had a restoration file drawn up for the castle. In the same year, the bandstand, which stood on the Grote Markt until 1966, was rebuilt in the vicinity of the castle. In 1987, the city park was given its current name, the "Romain De Vidtspark" named after the mayor of Sint-Niklaas who was the driving force behind the purchase of the castle. In 1994, the restored and redesigned Walburg castle was reopened to the public. The caretaker's house was protected as a monument in 1999. Source: information board on site

It is of course no coincidence that a bust of Mercator was placed here, in the garden of Huis Janssens. After all, the Mercator collection is in the house, at least for a while, because from 3 April until the end of 2025 the Mercator Museum will close its doors. During that time it will move to the nearby SteM (Stedelijk Museum). The importance of Mercator can hardly be overestimated. "If Gerard Mercator had not been there, we would not have GPS devices today." is what can be read on the museum's website. Mercator was the one who introduced the atlas as a 'coherent collection of maps'. Even today, every seagoing vessel uses maps based on his projections. The maps used in GPS trackers are also derived from Mercator's 16th-century projection of the world. Source: https://www.museasintniklaas.be/

Born and raised in Sint-Niklaas, Dr. Jan-Hubert Van Raemdonck (1817-1899) was one of the founders of the Royal Archaeological Circle of the Land van Waas in 1861. He was the first curator of the city museum and the founder of the Mercator collection. He was also a doctor for the poor.

‘La Tordue’ refers to an earlier sculpture by George Grard, namely ‘The Sea’, or ‘Reclining Nude’ in Ostend. This sculpture (1952-1955), popularly known as ‘Dikke Matille’, symbolises the opulence and sensuality of the sea in a woman’s body. ‘Dikke Matille’ was regularly attacked by groups with moralistic or political messages in the early years. Since 2005, it has been on the list of protected sculptures in Ostend. Just as the officials of Monuments and Landscapes in Ostend would have preferred to see the sculpture closer to the sea, Kunst in de Stad preferred a location on the water surface, especially because the sculpture is more beautiful in the reflection of the water. It now adorns a natural stone and is at its most beautiful when it has rained. ‘La Tordue’ invites you to touch it. However, it should be said that it is remarkable how spectators are more inclined to touch abstract works than figurative works. Source: https://www.kunstindestad.be/portfolio-view/georges-grard-la-tordue/