Top 20 Natural Monuments around Heusden-Zolder

The Teut gives you colorful fun...

The Herkenrode Abbey site is an interesting combination of culture, history, nature and an ideal starting point for walks.

Beringen mine spoil heap is a nature reserve on the territory of Koersel (part of Beringen) and is located on Terril number 2 of the former Beringen coal mine. Between 1941 and 1949, 11,600,000 m³ of stone was dumped here. Beringen mine spoil heap is owned by the Agency for Nature and Forests. The mine was closed in 1989 and the spoil heap was cleaned up in 1995. Herbs were sown and the whole was made accessible to the public. At a height of 125 m, 100 m above the surroundings, there is a plateau from which one has a view of the surroundings. The birds include the skylark, tree pipit, meadow pipit and lapwing. The queen page and the blue-winged grasshopper are some of the rare insects that occur in the area.

The Adventure Mountain is a unique attraction that connects the foot of the small slag heap at the track park with the top, at a height of 55 m. A special play landscape, substantive heritage paths, breathtaking mountain bike paths (MTB) and views of relics of mining history together form a total concept in which experience is central. (Openbaargroen.be)

The Teut is an extensive heathland area, which probably owes its name to the Zonhoven dialect word ‘Toot’, which means a point or protruding part. This could refer to the high Teutheuvel that protrudes above the surrounding landscape. The Teut also houses a star spot. However, this is located at the foot of the hill, with a view of a beautiful natural fen. It has not always been like this: in the 1960s this pond was a water sports centre, but that did not last long. Later, people wanted to use the pond for fish farming, but the water turned out to be much too acidic for economically viable fish species. That is why the pond was allowed to evolve into a completely natural fen, which actually also belongs better in this heathland area.

On the Adventure Mountain you can clamber, climb and discover. Through a forest of 1,600 poles you reach the top of the slag heap via stairs, rope courses, climbing structures, crawl tunnels and walking paths. The path leads you from one viewpoint to the next and offers background information about the history of the coal mine. At the top you can relax on the sunken coal square and enjoy the peace and the view.

The main entrance to the abbey is located to the south of the complex. It is a late Gothic gatehouse, built in 1531 by order of Abbess Mechtildis of Lechy. There are two storeys under two intersecting slate saddle roofs with a spire with a pear-shaped crowning at the intersection, dated 1531 (coat of arms on the rear facade) and restored in 1907 (architect G. Rypens) and 1973. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Herkenrode Abbey, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/22246

The Herkenrode abbey site is located in the Demer valley, in a transitional area between the Lage Kempen and Haspengouw, south of the village centre of Stokrooi (Hasselt). It is an extensive historical domain that dates back to the former abbey complex of the Cistercian nuns. To the north of the Demer are the meadows, to the south the old abbey with its appurtenances, the farmyard, the eastern castle park and the other, higher agricultural lands. In addition to unirrigated hay and pasture land, there were also large flood meadows here until the 20th century. The latter were supplied with water via the Tuilterdemer. The abbey was founded in 1182, when Geeraard, Count of Loon, donated his estate Herkenrode to a certain brother Henricus to build a monastery for women. In 1271 the monastic community joined the order of Cîteaux. It became a flourishing enterprise that over the years acquired numerous possessions. The religious purpose came to an end with the departure of the sisters in 1796. At the beginning of the 19th century, the new abbess wing, built in 1768 to the south of the old abbess quarters, was converted into a castle. In the same period, an English garden was laid out on the east side and a front garden on the west side. The 14th-century church burned down in 1826 and was demolished together with the monastery building and the convent buildings in 1843. The buildings and the surrounding grounds formed a single differentiated whole for a long time. Over time, however, they fell into the hands of different owners. In 1972, 11 ha of the former abbey site became the property of the canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre. The property includes the actual remaining abbey buildings with the sisters' quarters, the old abbess quarters, the sacristy, the infirmary, the 18th-century abbess wing and the adjoining landscaped park. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Herkenrode Abbey Site, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/135252