The best MTB trails around Denderleeuw

The Dikken van Pamel is a beacon in Pamel along the Dender river, a mammoth of a landmark.

It's said that a man once passed through Pamel who was so tall and heavy that he defied the boundaries of the ordinary. Victor De Klerck, almost two meters tall and weighing, according to some, up to three hundred kilos, early on became a figure whispered about rather than spoken. On hot summer days, he would slide into the Dender River, and anyone who saw him swore he floated as if the river itself carried him. Passing boatmen carried the story along, and with every bend in the towpath, it became a little more fantastical. On Sundays, he appeared in church, where he needed three chairs—a figure that, generations later, still whispers through the village. And yet, despite his mythical stature, he stubbornly refused every circus director who wanted to exhibit him. As if he knew that some riddles are not meant for the public. Today, his statue stands by the Dender, not as certainty but as a question mark. A quiet reminder that sometimes, only one river flows between fact and fiction.

Iconic to ride here.

Very stable. Protected by a wire mesh fence, so be careful with your pets' paws 🐾 Several benches are available

« Dikken van Pamel » VICTOR DE KLERCQ

The church's origins lie in the 12th-century Chapel of Our Lady of the Maerct. In 1515, the relic of Saint Bartholomew was brought in a solemn procession from the neighboring village of Sint-Martens-Lierde to Geraardsbergen. The late Gothic parish church henceforth bears the name of this apostle-martyr. Bartholomew is invoked against nervous and skin diseases, and is, among other things, the patron saint of tanners. The saint's relic is housed in a magnificent silver shrine (1719). In the mid-eighteenth century, the time was ripe for a modification to the French rococo style. The town hall, too, was adapted. The Geraardsbergen carpenter-sculptor Gilles de Ville and several colleagues created various ornate pieces of furniture, including the naturalistic pulpit. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Ghent architect August Van Assche drastically turned the clock back to the Middle Ages. The church regains its Gothic exterior. Inside, a magnificent neo-Gothic interior, inspired by Louis Bert de l’Arbre, now shines, with the choir as its centerpiece. The godfather of neo-Gothic architecture in Geraardsbergen is so delighted with the prestigious commission that he painted the choir and transept entirely free of charge. Uniquely, the interior has been exceptionally well preserved, from the stained-glass windows and altarpieces to the shining lights on the choir stalls. This is almost unheard of in Flanders.

The current appearance of the church, which acquired its current name after the acquisition of the relics of Saint Bartholomew in 1515, dates from the years 1880-1896. During this period, architect August Van Assche (1826-1907) began a thorough restoration to return the church to its "original" Gothic appearance, or even improve it. The chairman of the church council, Louis Bert-de l'Arbre, was the driving force behind this renovation. He and his wife are depicted in a stained-glass window in the former St. George's Chapel in the west, which has been part of the church ever since and was dedicated to Our Lady. (Open Churches)

Definitely go inside, it's beautiful.