The best city hikes and walks in Bos Van Ranst

Those who had to go through it knew they were going to stay...

Sheep without bleating...

The inner Eeckelpoort or Eikelpoort was built around 1375 and was part of Lier's former city walls. This building was connected to the outer gate by a bridge. In the 16th century, the city prison was housed here, hence the name "Prisoners' Gate." Above the original pointed arch stands a statue of St. Margaret. The 18th-century renovation in a classicizing Baroque style gave the monument its current appearance. In 1980, the gate was designated a protected monument. In 2008-2009, the gate was completely restored. During the restoration, several remnants of the old city wall were also discovered. A glass floor has been installed inside so that these remains remain visible to the public.

City gate built around 1375 and part of the former city walls. Formerly connected by a bridge across the moat to the outer gate on the other side of the walls. From the second half of the 16th century onwards, it was used as a prison, hence the name "Prisoner's Gate." Significantly dilapidated at the beginning of the 18th century; largely demolished and rebuilt with Balegem sandstone around 1727. The upper floor remained in use as a prison until 1930. Originally Gothic city gate, later adapted with Classical features. Two-story construction on a rectangular plan under a projecting slate hipped roof with simple dormers and natural stone chimneys at the corners, crowned with wrought ironwork and a weathervane on the left. On the city side, three bays are marked by a central projection, ending in a triangular pediment with an oculus; Round-arched gate (modified in 1727?) crowned by a classicist alcove with a wooden polychrome statue of St. Roch with child (possibly an angel), flanked by iron lantern arms. The statue was recently restored by L. Verhoeven. Higher up, a rectangular barred window in a strap-shaped frame with ears, beneath a curved pediment. To its left and right are rectangular barred windows with bluestone lintels and sills. On the ground floor, flanking extensions, probably dating from the second quarter of the 18th century, each with three bays and one story on a natural stone plinth, are under adjoining slate roofs with dormers. Bluestone and natural stone are used for the wall bands. Rectangular barred cloister windows. Side facade of Zimmerplein: above left, a rectangular barred window with a bluestone lintel and sill. Extension on a rectangular plan made of brick and sandstone, beneath a bisected slate tent roof. Horizontally accentuated by a sandstone substructure and wall bands. Rectangular barred windows in a sandstone quarter-cave frame. To the left, a more recent extension. Cobblestone passageway with a pointed sandstone barrel vault on the field side and a brick and sandstone barrel vault on the city side, on a pitched plinth with preserved grooves for the draw gate on the field side. On the right, a wooden panel depicting Saint Roch and the inscription: "Reach out here your benevolent hands/ To light the image of Saint Roch/ So that in sad times you may be freed/ From plague and war." Inventory of Immovable Heritage: City Gate Inner Eeckelpoort, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/10283

relaxing

It's wonderful to put aside my worries for a while!

Where does the name "De Schapenkoppen" (Sheep's Heads) come from? According to legend, the name "Schepenkoppen" (sheep's heads) originated in the 14th century. Duke John II, Duke of Brabant and Limburg, wanted to thank the people of Lier for their contribution to the fight against the people of Mechelen. They were given a choice of two rewards for the city: a university or a cattle market. The people of Lier chose the staple rights to cattle. A choice that proved beneficial for Lier, as only one city per region was granted such a right. The cattle market, which had previously been located in Wespelaar, was promptly moved to Lier on the Duke's orders. Duke John II is said to have sighed at the occasion: "Oh, those sheep's heads!" The university, the reward Lier had neglected, eventually went to Leuven. This gave Leuven the first university in the Low Countries in 1425.

A beautiful, shady walking path that follows the medieval city walls. Description: The Lier city ramparts, officially called a "city walk" but simply "De fort(en)" (The ramparts) in the city's vernacular, are a 5-kilometer-long green corridor around Lier's city center. The name "ramparts" refers to the original ramparts, the second city wall. Together with the City Park, the ramparts form the green lung of the city center. Source: Wikipedia