The best walks and hikes around Beveren

The bench and information board are located at the eastern end of a four-kilometer-long low sand ridge that connects Kieldrecht with De Klinge. Due to its higher elevation, this sand ridge is less susceptible to flooding than the surrounding areas. This also made it of great military importance during the various wars of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. We therefore find several old forts and lines on the sand ridge: fort De Klinge (1595), fort Fuentes (1591, renamed fort Spinola in 1626), the Koningsdijk (1674), and fort Bedmar (1701-1702). In 1701, the Spanish army decided to build a new fort north of Kieldrecht. The fort was built on the spot where the Koningsdijk met the sand ridge of the so-called Kouter(berg). The new defensive work was named after the Fleming Prosper Georges Verboom, an important officer in the Spanish army and one of the engineers of the Bedmar line. The fort served in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714). As early as 1703, it was captured by the army of the Republic of the United Netherlands, the so-called 'Staatsen'. After the war, the fort lost its military importance and almost completely disappeared into the landscape. Fort Verboom has a triangular shape, deviating from the usual four- or five-sided fort construction. The point of the fort is directed north, and thus straight at the enemy. The southern side is equipped with two pentagonal bastions. The entrance to the fort is located between the two bastions. Fort Verboom is quite large. The distance between the two bastion points is approximately 250 meters. The size of a fort is determined by the range of the cannons. The defensive belt is formed by a glacis (a gently sloping strip), a moat, and an earthen rampart. The fort is entirely constructed of earth, as was customary for forts of this period. Earth is a cheaper building material than stone. Furthermore, an earthen fort can be built faster than a stone one and is more resistant to heavy cannonballs. Today, Fort Verboom has largely disappeared, and the site has been completely incorporated into the built environment. The fort lies right on the national border, with its point in the Netherlands and its southern side with the two bastions in Belgium. Remnants of the moats can still be seen in some backyards. ... so reads the information board.

The demarcation of the Belgian-Dutch border came about after the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843. Border post number 1 is located at the Drielandenpunt in Vaals, the last post, border post number 365, is in the Zwin west of Retranchement in Zeeland-Flandres. Here, between Kieldrecht (B) and Nieuw-Namen (NL) is number 271.

A 'weel' (also called 'wiel' or 'kolk') is a deep pool of water that originated after a dike breach. The enormous force of the water during such a breach created a deep hole behind the dike, which often remained in the landscape as a mere or pool after the dike was repaired. Such 'welen' often develop into valuable nature reserves. The Grote and Kleine Weel form an important link between the nature reserves Grote Geule and Drijdijck. The Grote Geule is an offshoot of the former, much larger Land van Saeftinghe. source: natuurpunt.be

Two facts about the Cortewalle castle (domain): * The castle was owned for centuries by the de Brouckhoven de Bergeyck family and has connections to Joos Vijd, the commissioner of the famous painting The Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers. * The domain once formed the setting for the popular series Kapitein Zeppos – a nice detail for fans of nostalgia Source: .waasland.be

The model was placed here in 2020. A with on the back of the model, so that it is also visible.

Since a thorough renovation, the white castle on Anna Piersdreef is shining like never before. Very remarkable about this building: the chapel is attached to the castle. This immediately explains the other name for this historic site: Oud Geestelijk Hof. Even today, the social factor of the orphanage is still present. Directly opposite the castle building, there are still - albeit in more recent buildings - service centers for special youth care and other care facilities. But the castle site itself is now mainly Erfgoedhuis. You can visit the Erfgoedhuis on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday afternoons, each from 2 PM to 5 PM. The showpiece of the building is the 18th-century chapel, which has been restored to its full glory, including wooden benches, a confessional, and an organ. Furthermore, here you travel through 700 years of history of Beveren and its sub-municipalities, through a monument that successively served as a knight's residence, pleasure palace, monastery, school, and orphanage. A timeline makes everything clear, and on the top floor, the 'Heemkundige Kring Het Land van Beveren' organizes temporary exhibitions on history and heritage. Interesting for art lovers: the building also houses the municipal art collection and is open for exhibitions. Associations can meet in the beautiful chapel. As early as the Middle Ages, there was a moated farm with a central courtyard on the current site of Hof ter Welle. During the Renaissance, it became a stately castle and took on its current form. The owner of the domain was the Vilain XIIII family, whom we also know from Wissekerke Castle in Bazel. But in 1723, the property was purchased by Anna Piers, who renamed it Oud Geestelijk Hof. The castle was converted into an orphanage for girls, and the chapel was also added during that period. In 1988, the last nuns left the premises. The service center Hof Ter Welle vzw took over the tasks and developed services in new buildings, but the castle stood abandoned in the meantime. In 2017, the Erfgoedhuis opened, and Hof Ter Welle began a new life. Hof Ter Welle should not be confused with Cortewalle, which can be found a bit further north in Beveren. Source: waasland.be

Beveren purchased the estate in 1982. It boasts the striking 18th-century neoclassical castle, but the farm, ice cellars, and orangery are also worth a visit. During the Middle Ages, the estate was called "Shaecx" after the oldest residents of the fiefdom, the Noethaeckx family. This is how the place got its name. It was Jean-Baptist Versmessen, chief alderman of the Land van Waas castellany, who laid out the estate in its current form in 1781. The English landscape garden appears in 19th-century illustrations. It remained in the Versmessen family until textile manufacturer Edmond Meert purchased the property. The castle was severely damaged during WWII, leaving only a ruin. Restoration took place between 2004 and 2007, and it is now hoped to restore the interior to its former grandeur.

The Great Geule