The best walks and hikes around Keerbergen

Where war still remembers in the present...

This is a bridge with a beautiful view of the landscape and can be used on a tour along the Dijle.

The second specification for the construction of an anti-tank canal in Haacht included the construction of a dam on the Dijle and a beam lock, a bunker and a wall connecting the dam to the lock bunker complex. This lock bunker was actually used during the invasion to flood the area. But there was never any fighting here. Quote: "On the morning of May 10, 1940, the day of the German invasion, troops from the 4th Directorate of Engineering and Fortifications, assisted by about a thousand workers, began building a temporary dam made of sandbags on the Dijle. Despite the confusion caused by the German air raids, retreating soldiers and fleeing civilians, the water reached the intended inundation level (9.5 meters) five days later. However, no battle will be fought because French General Bilotte decided to withdraw the Allied troops after the German breakthrough at Sedan." Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Anti-tank canal, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/126647 You can find a sound fragment by the municipality of Haacht about the bridge (and other themes) via https://www.haacht.be/antitankgracht Direct link: https://www.haacht.be/file/download/2b2adca8-83e5-4980-8552-4e4bd0e6a1af/XXPnFQW2OITQiURsGQ8VZsureVbWKkyku7c86dDcfUs3d.mp3 Information boards on site.

The Oude Hansbrug has been a protected monument since 1988. It is a cast-iron, late 19th-century bridge over the Dijle between Keerbergen and Haacht. There has been a lot of history surrounding the Oude Hansbrug. It can already be found in the 13th century, albeit as a wooden bridge. In the 19th century, it was replaced by a cast-iron riveted bridge with a fixed section on the Keerbergen side and a drawbridge section on the Haacht side. During the First and Second World Wars, it was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. In 1958, a new concrete bridge was built 200 meters upstream, and the Oude Hansbrug was retired. It could no longer handle the traffic flow. Deterioration began, and it soon had to be closed, even to pedestrians and cyclists, because it was no longer safe. It simply rusted away. Together with the historical societies of Haacht and Keerbergen and both municipal administrations, a battle against time began. It soon became clear that this battle was being lost, and restoration was out of the question because there was simply nothing left to restore. Rebuilding the bridge by perfectly replicating it was the only alternative to save this now-classified monument. While pillars and bridgeheads were being restored, the Flemish Region began replicating the old bridge: a perfect copy in the same materials as the original bridge. In the night of June 14 to 15, 2005, this bridge was brought to the site in pieces by three semi-trailers, and the next day it was assembled by a large crane. On August 27, 2005, the bridge was officially reopened. The Oude Hansbrug has been a protected monument since March 16, 1998. Source: https://www.keerbergen.be/product/292/oude-hansbrug

Iron balance bridge over the Dijle, built to replace a worn-out swing bridge from 1822 (3 wooden spans on 2 stone pillars). A bridge was already located at this site in 1234 (deed drawn up by Knight Walter van Haacht). Earliest depiction of 'a' Hansbrug with toll house of the de Croy Family (figurative pre-cadastral plans by Adriaan van Montigny). Sometimes the bridge had to be replaced by a ferry or pontoon (including around 1820). The current bridge was damaged by the Belgian Army in 1914 and then repaired. Tolls were levied until after 1886. On December 23, 1890, the Municipalities of Keerbergen (Province of Antwerp) and Haacht (Province of Brabant) were granted permission to build a new bridge by the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Public Works, Bridges and Roads Department. After some changes to the original plans, this bridge was completed and delivered in 1893 (February 22). The total cost was 46,550 BEF paid by the Belgian State, the Province of Brabant, and the two municipalities involved. The iron parts were built by the Van Aerschot company from Herentals, also widely known as a caster of iron mill axle heads and as a constructor of riveted iron mill rods. Inventory Immovable Heritage: Hansbrug, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/200147

On the border of Haacht and Keerbergen, along the Dijle, lived knight Walter van Roost in 1233, originally from Rijmenam. He lived there in a curtis, probably not a motte but a moated site, a farm with a moat. The Roost estate, 300 meters from the restored Oude Hansbrug, was one of the three independent enclaves within Haacht. In the late Middle Ages, a fortified wall with a gate tower and surrounding moat was built on the same site. The donjon was also inhabited. During a second construction phase, a number of residential buildings were erected in the space within the ring wall. In 1489, the castle was partially destroyed during the Flemish revolt against Maximilian of Austria, and in 1622, the castle had to withstand heavy cannon attacks from the Dutch troops under the command of Hendrik van Oranje. In the first half of the 19th century, the castle was demolished, and the lower courtyard burned down in 1833. On the Vandermaelen map, the complex is still depicted with the mention 'ruin'. The moat is also the only element of which fragments have remained visible after the excavations of 1982-1983, namely the northwestern and eastern sides. The northwestern moat was also excavated and widened into an elongated, 20 m wide pond. Source: https://histories.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Bladwijzer18_roost.pdf

On the site where the former keep of the Roost estate once stood, a wooden (play) keep now rises. The Flemish Land Agency has set up the site with fun play elements. They have really done a nice job with a dining bench for those who want to sit on a throne, various playground equipment, imitation cannonballs, entrance gates, a stone map and, of course, numerous information boards.

On the other side of the anti-tank ditch, you will of course find another pole. This one is next to the bridge that separates Keerbergen and Haacht (busy road) with a bridge over the Dijle and a view of the aforementioned Oude Hansbrug. The anti-tank ditch in Haacht is part of the so-called KW-line, a defense line between Koningshooikt (province of Antwerp, near Lier) and Waver (hence KW) with an extra piece towards Namur. Anyone who has walked in the Dijle region has undoubtedly come across elements of the KW-line. The anti-tank ditch of Haacht dates from 1939. It has been transformed into a combination of heritage site, nature reserve and recreational elements. It is actually a concrete wall with a ditch in front of it. The wall is more than 3 kilometers long and about three meters high. Of course, there are other constructions such as a lock bunker. You can find out all about it during a beautiful walk - with many information boards - but you can also learn a lot online before or after a visit to the "Haachts Broek - Antitankgracht" nature reserve at https://www.haacht.be/antitankgracht The bunkers and other parts of the KW-line, including those of Haacht of course, can be discovered at https://www.regionalelandschappen.be/kw-linie