The Colonies of Wortel and Merksplas

Just across the Belgian border are two areas with a special story. Those who don't know any better, imagine themselves on a luxury estate. On this walk, however, you walk across the land where vagabonds and vagrants were once home.

Orderly landscape

In the colonies you walk through a painting by Mondrian. A landscape with straight lines, a geometric mosaic. The dead straight lanes are softened by the green of mighty oaks. The trees frame a grid of fields, rough grassland and poppy fields. There is a deep peace, you only hear the chirping of the birds.

Colonies of Benevolence

The beautiful green landscape is due to the Colonies of Benevolence, founded in the nineteenth century. Until 1993, the law on vagrancy was used in Belgium to combat poverty. Anyone who took to the streets with insufficient money for a loaf of bread could be sent to Merksplas or Wortel. At times, six thousand paupers were housed in these impressive buildings. Their main occupation was farming. In addition, furniture and pieces of cloth were made in the workhouses and charcoal was burned. Warden houses and detached villas of higher echelons are spread over the site, all designed in the same austere style.

World Heritage

Despite the high expectations, few people successfully returned to'ordinary\\' society. In 2018, exactly two hundred years after the foundation of the first Colony, the seven Dutch and Belgian Colonies with their typical cultural landscape will probably become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Merksplas you will find the prison museum, visitor center and a brasserie. Download the Colony App for your walk.

Copyright photos: Mie De Backer and Raf Ketelslagers (Kempens Landscape)