The best traffic-free bike rides around Kortessem

This place used to be the location of the Motmolen, the nature reserve is named after it: https://youtu.be/dvlbNrtk4W0?feature=shared

The artwork #inconcreto is both a tourist attraction and a viewpoint. #inconcreto is a concrete head over four meters high and slightly less wide. This landscape artwork by Frits Jeuris is about the contrast between abstract and concrete. A place that inspires reflection and fresh ideas. From the top of the giant concrete head, you overlook the surroundings.

Together with building number 40, this site forms a beautiful, enclosed unit. Number 40 probably served as the former residence of farm number 39, better known as the Kasteelhoeve. The whole dates back to the 18th century and still breathes the atmosphere of a classic, enclosed farm, although it has been adapted and rebuilt over time.

On the site where a lordly manor stood in the Middle Ages, the castle of Hardelingen was built in the 19th century. The site had continuous habitation from an early date and was closely linked for centuries to agricultural exploitation in the fertile valley of the Werm. As a lordly manor, the domain functioned not only as a residence but also as an economic center that managed and structured the surrounding land within the traditional Haspengouw agricultural landscape. Today, the castle of Hardelingen, located in the quiet village of Werm, represents a valuable example of the transformation of a medieval lordly manor into a stately 19th-century country residence. The castle and its surrounding park landscape strikingly illustrate the neoclassical ideals of order, harmony, and scenic beauty, thus occupying a special place within the heritage of Haspengouw. Want to know more about the past? Click through to https://www.burchten-kastelen.be/provincies/limburg/042%20Kasteel%20van%20Hardelingen/Kasteel%20van%20Hardelingen.html

As early as the 7th century, a wood-and-clay church is said to have stood here. The following saints are said to be buried there: Lambertus, Landoaldus, Amantius, Vinciana, and Landrada. These were followers of Saint Amandus, who is also supposedly buried there. In the second half of the 8th century, the relics of these saints were supposedly elevated to the altar. The saints are known as the Saints of Wintershoven. Around 1200, a single-nave Romanesque church was built of natural stone (coal sandstone, iron sandstone, flint, blue limestone, and the like). Fragments of Roman roof tiles were also incorporated into the church. Many of these building materials likely came from a nearby Roman villa. The building had a single nave, comprised four bays, and had an integrated west tower. The west facade, the two side walls, and the foundations of the choir of this building have been preserved. At the front of the south facade stood a small round-arched doorway, now bricked up, the Paradise Gate, which, in addition to the churchyard, also provided access to the presbytery. Excavations were carried out in the church from 1967 to 1968. Several graves, burial vaults, and three postholes from the original wooden church were uncovered, but no trace of the Saints of Wintershoven was found.

The lock system was built during the canal construction in the 1930s and includes three locks and a road bridge.

Just outside the village center of Widooie, on Kasteelweg, lies the beautifully preserved Widooie Castle: a secluded castle farm with deep historical roots. Four wings surrounding a rectangular courtyard form a harmonious whole, with marlstone bands, ornate wall anchors, and a stately gate dating from 1662 where the coat of arms of Richard Vaes still proudly stands. The corner tower, the classically renovated residential wing, and the 17th-century barns together tell the story of a place where generations have come and gone for centuries.

The fall of water, small and large, still has a great attraction. Here you can enjoy it. Take your time and sit down at the water's edge.