A tour through the history around Tongeren

Explore a picturesque part of Belgium and cycle through the area around Tongeren. Tongeren started out as a Gallo-Roman settlement in 15 BC. In the centuries that followed, the city began to play an increasingly important role in the history of the Low Countries. Tongeren obtained market rights in the second century and a seat of the first bishopric in the third century. Since the second half of the twentieth century, Tongeren has developed as a tourist attraction and the city also occupies a prominent place in the region as a trading centre.

Chateau de Hex

You cycle north to Chateau de Hex. The adjacent park is particularly special, one of the first designed gardens on the continent. The park is still almost in its original state and has exactly the same appearance as it did 300 years ago. At the castle is a romantic rose garden with the most diverse species.

The Trappistine Abbey Marienhof

The Trappistine Abbey Marienhof was originally a Crusader monastery, but in the last two centuries it functioned as a monastery for the Cistercian order. The abbey was founded at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Part of the abbey is still in use by the Cistercians. The baroque chapel and sacristy can be visited under supervision. In the stables you will find a museum about the fruit region of Haspengouw. Some of the service buildings are privately inhabited.

The Ruttermolen

About ten kilometres further you will come to the waterwheel mill, also called Ruttermolen. The mill and its surroundings have been officially protected as a monument and village view since 1984. The waterwheel mill was built around 1360. It is an undershot watermill that was used for grinding corn. The current mill complex was rebuilt in the nineteenth century. The mill is currently used as a home and guest house.