The best walks and hikes around Bermerain

The Jesuit Father Alfred Delp, executed by the unjust National Socialist regime, once preached about John the Baptist as follows: “The figures of John must not be missing for an hour from the image of life. These shaped people, struck by the lightning of mission and calling. Their heart is ahead of them, and therefore their eye is so clear-sighted and their judgment so incorruptible. They do not call for the sake of calling or for the voice. Or because they envied people the beautiful hours of the earth, since they themselves are excluded from the small, familiar circles of the foreground. They have the great comfort that only he knows who has walked the innermost and outermost boundaries of existence. They call for blessing and salvation. They call people to their last chance, while already sensing the ground tremble and the timbers creak and seeing the firmest mountains inwardly sway. ... Much depends on these figures for our lives. For how shall we hear, if no one calls and truly surpasses the raging of wild destruction and delusion?”

a beautiful place to rest

Beautiful walk between countryside and village. Pretty paths and alleys. To discover

Of course! The Bermerain mill and washhouse are indeed a beautiful and peaceful place, ideal for a walk in the countryside The Bermerain washhouse is an old sandstone and wood washhouse, dating from the 19th century. It is accessible by a staircase of eleven steps and is covered with a wooden frame. The rectangular basin is shallow and surrounded by a coping. The Bermerain mill is an old water mill, located on the Écaillon. It has been restored and transformed into a home. The former Bermerain convent is a 17th century building, which has been transformed into a farm. It is located near the washhouse and the mill. You can walk along the Écaillon, admire the waterfall and enjoy the calm of this place. It is particularly pleasant to go there in summer, when nature is green and the sun is shining.☀️

Many centuries ago, our ancestors discovered the possibility of harnessing the power of the elements - which on the one hand were helpful and useful, but on the other hand could also be a threat as untamed forces of nature - for different purposes and thus did without human or animal muscle power can. Such mills are a good example of the human engineering skills of earlier generations: the heavy millstones with which, for example, grain was ground into grain or oil was pressed, could be powered with the help of the wind or - as here - water.

The church in Verchain-Maugré was dedicated to the two Saints Peter and Paul (SAINTS PIERRE et PAUL), also known as the “Prince of the Apostles”. Their common feast day in the saints' calendar is June 29th. * Simon, nicknamed Peter (Rock), was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee when he - together with his brother Andrew - was called by Jesus Christ to be "fishers of men". According to Catholic understanding, he is the supreme apostle, and the two millennia-long line of popes - currently Francis - are his successors. On statues and paintings, Peter is almost always depicted with two keys in his hand; this attribute refers to the biblical saying in Matthew: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Chapter 16, verse 19). * Paul was initially an opponent of the Christian movement and was not called to the apostleship by Jesus Christ during his lifetime like the other apostles, but was only converted later with the famous "Damascus experience". His attribute is the sword with which he was executed. According to Roman law at the time, such a sentence was a “privilege” (quick death and not associated with a long, painful agony like other types of execution) that the citizens of Rome were entitled to.

magnificent view of the Ecaillon valley

Nice place in good weather. Easy access. Families, athletes... nothing bad and a small bench to take a break before going back to the countryside :-)