Between Genk and Hasselt lies the De Maten nature reserve that will play the leading role in this walk today. First you walk through the Diepenbeker forest and then via the Stiemerbeek to the Slag mill. From here it continues along a swampy nature trail that has beautiful views of the ponds of the nature reserve. Just past two bunkers that were part of the line of defense during the Second World War, we stop briefly at a bird watching wall that offers a beautiful panorama of the Augustinian ponds.
Distance: 12 km.
Time: 3h00.
Grade: Easy.
Type: Circular.
Gps Track: Yes.
Route description: Yes.
Wheelchair: Not suitable.
Dog: Not allowed.
Height gain: 84 meters.
Trail: Paved and unpaved.
Marking: Red triangle with an extension of 2 km - see route description PDF.
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Weijers.
Between Genk and Hasselt lies the De Maten nature reserve that will play the leading role in this walk today. We leave at the spacious parking (Havenlaan) along the Albert Canal. We descend the dike and cross the Diepenbeker forest. Once out of the forest we walk past a water treatment plant and through some meadows we arrive in a neighborhood where the first catering moment Hut Moment is located. A little further on we follow the Stiemerbeek upstream to the Slag mill. If you want to quench your thirst here, you can go a good 300 meters to the right up to Café De Schom. We continue our route back to Slag mill and just past it we turn left, into a sometimes soggy nature trail, which gives us beautiful views of the ponds of the nature reserve. We pass an old graveyard, a memorial stone for a shot down World War II Halifax bomber. The rest of the walk we get beautiful views over the heath and the ponds. Just past two bunkers that were part of the line of defense during the Second World War, we stop briefly at a bird watching wall that offers a beautiful panorama of the Augustinian ponds.
Download PDf for route description.
Some paths can be soggy.
POI 1 - De Maten nature reserve.
The name Maten is related to the English "meadows". Just like Kiewit and the Munster forest, the area is part of De Wijers, a pond complex on the transition from the Kempen Plateau to the Demervallei. Fish farming was a source of extra protein on the poor sandy soils of the Kempen. Already in the Middle Ages, series of ponds were created via simple cross dikes in the valley. The overflow from one pond is also the supply for the next pond. The Stiemerbeek Valley was dammed several times for the ponds in De Maten. As fish farming became more intensive in the first half of the twentieth century, many ponds were given separate entrances and exits. In De Maten you will find a mix of both systems. Water management is therefore a complex part of the management of one of the oldest nature reserves in Flanders. In De Maten we want to restore the landscape of open heathland with drifting dunes and gale struts. In addition, the ponds with reed collars and swamp zones are given every opportunity. Trouser forests and oak-birch forests are also not forgotten. A well-considered planning of deflating and filling the ponds must meet the requirements of both water birds and waders and amphibians. In this way, we also ensure that the sludge dries out and mineralises, so that special plants from dropping pond bottoms can appear on sand. Reeds are cut cyclically to prevent willow storage. Tree felling and sodging are important activities to preserve the open heath. Fortunately we receive assistance here from grazing galloway cattle.
Natuurpunt.
www.natuurpunt.be.
POI 2 - The Slag mill.
The Slag mill in Genk is the best known and still working mill of this municipality. In 1523 the cloth craft of Hasselt built a full mill on the Stiemerbeek. Wool-based felt was produced. From 1645, flax and hemp cords and oil were produced from rapeseed. From 1843 to 1955 she served as a flour mill. Restoration ensured that the mill was in operation again since 1986.
No additional information.
POI 3 - Commemorative stone shot down Halifax.
On Tuesday 26 February 2013, the Bokrijk Workgroup Establishment of War Memorials (BeWOOG) unveiled the first of two war monuments in Bokrijk. The monument is a stone from the Kattevennen domain that was brought here by the technical service of the city at the request of BEWOOG to serve as a memorial for the crew of the Halifax bomber that crashed here on 13 May 1944, shot by a German night fighter.
No additional information.
POI 4 & POI 5 - Bunkers B1 and B2.
There are two more bunkers in the sub-area (B1 and B2). A third bunker (B3) is located on the other side of the Havenlaan. In May 1940 they were part of the defense belt for the lock of Diepenbeek together with two more bunkers, barbed wire and anti-tank barriers. The plan to build an anti-tank ditch was also conceived in Diepenbeek, but it never came about. In anticipation of this, anti-tank barriers were installed. The topography of the site that was swampy in Diepenbeek was also taken into account when constructing this defense. The bunkers along the canal are very similar to other bunkers from the period 1939-1940, including from the KW-Linie and the bunker belt bridgehead Ghent. All the bunkers of the bridge heads along the locks of the Albert Canal had common characteristics: the walls of reinforced concrete were 1.3 meters thick, there were two to four armaments rooms, there were hooks on the roof for the attachment of camouflage material, the shutters were made of galvanized steel and no longer of wood, and depending on the nature of the terrain, the bunkers were built on Franki piles. Furthermore, there are other elements present at the three bunkers in Diepenbeek that are characteristic of bunkers from this period: all bunkers have "grenade holes" to protect against the enemy who would like to throw ammunition into the bunkers. The bunkers have an iron corrugated iron ceiling as a lost formwork on which concrete has been poured. The bunkers are equipped with viewing slots, crowned on the outside with a small drip list. All bunkers have an emergency exit. The bunkers are equipped with oreons; these are side walls that were extended beyond the shooting hole so that they remained out of sight. The bunkers were also equipped with ventilation shafts and cable ducts. Bunkers B2 and B3 have three shooting sides and bunker B1 has four shooting sides. As a result, bunkers B2 and B3 are three-chamber bunkers and bunker B1 is a four-chamber bunker. Bunker B2 still has a few interior elements: for example, there are coat hangers in each room for hanging material and there is also a T-tablet for setting up a Max machine gun.
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POI 6 - Bird watching wall.
Beautiful views over the Augustinian ponds from this bird watching wall. In order to offer birds sufficient rest during the breeding season and during the winter months, a bird watching wall was built in the southeast corner of the Augustijnenweyer in the period November - December 2008. The shelter of this wall allows you to view the birds up close, without disturbing them extra - a clear added value for both walkers and nature.
No additional information.
