Let yourself be carried away to the Voerstreek

The Belgian Voerstreek borders the South Limburg Mergelland and has the same characteristics. A hilly landscape with beautiful stream valleys, steep slopes and a rich soil consisting of fertile loess, flint and limestone.

On the steep, southern slopes, original oak-birch forests have been replaced by plantations of beech, larch and spruce, which have encouraged the presence of bracken and honeysuckle. Typical for this type of forest are the medlar and the elderberry, which you will see in abundance here. Lower down on the slope, oak-hornbeam forests thrive, in which clematis and ivy also thrive. In sunny places, marjoram and elderberry grow, typical 'southerners' that attract the vineyard snail, the famous 'escargot de Bourgogne'. The solitary buzzard or kestrel that hangs motionless 'praying' is easier to spot than the shy deer, foxes or badgers that have their habitat here. However, an observant nature lover can also find tracks and trails of these animals in the forest.

The lovely rolling countryside makes you feel like you are in paradise. In the romantic village centres, the church still stands in the middle. The hawthorn hedges, paternosters of chapels and field crosses, old farms, typical half-timbered houses, castles with associated estates, orchards, and the unforgettable panoramas, have an irresistible attraction in every season.

The two sights of the tour are just as beautiful. The first stop is the Commanderie. This was the commandery of Alden Bielden, where the commander stayed. The complex consists of a main building, a farm, stables and a gatehouse. The oldest part of the fortress is the L-shaped wing, which is topped by a tower. A number of ponds were added to the original moats around the castle in 1885. Trout, sturgeon and eel were, and still are, bred here.

You make your way through the hilly landscape until you see Groenendael Castle. This beautiful castle was mainly used for agricultural purposes. Only foundations of the original building from 1775 remain, because the building was demolished in 1921. Originally it was not really a castle but more of a fortified, moated house. It therefore did not have knightly status. Part of the wall remains of the old building have been incorporated into the masonry of the new house.