Top 20 Natural Monuments around Boutersem

Blissful bike route in warm weather

Nearby is the spring where apparently very healthy water can be tapped.

Beautiful beech forest as the start and end point of our walk.

The first botanical garden of Leuven (a "pharmaceutical plant garden") was built from 1738 onwards under the impetus of Professor Hendrik Rega (1690-1754) on a site between the Dijle and the Voer rivers, where municipal school for girls number 3 was later built. The only thing you can still see of it (Minderbroedersstraat number 50): the gate. The second botanical garden—and the current one—was created by the Leuven landscape architect Guillaume Rosseels (1769-1832), under the direction of the German botanist Professor J.F. Adelman. Based on a design by Charles Vander Straeten (1771-1834), court architect to the Prince of Orange. From 1821 to 1823, the gatehouse with the gardener's cottage, the orangery with greenhouses, and a surrounding wall were built in a strict classical style. In 1835, the state university ceded the botanical garden to the city of Leuven, which has since been called the "Municipal Botanical Garden." The garden's layout was already modified in 1838 to allow for greater plant diversity; the symmetry of the flowerbeds at the foot of the orangery partially disappeared. The orangery itself was also repeatedly renovated. In In 1984, the tropical greenhouse (1880) east of the orangery was replaced by a larger one, allowing it to better accommodate the garden's evolving function: from a scientific herb garden to a recreational botanical garden. In the same vein, the botanical garden was recently expanded to include an area behind the former Marollen Monastery (Kapuchijnenvoer 32), where an orchard and a sunken garden with a Victorian greenhouse were created. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Urban botanical garden, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/42252

The core of Horst Castle probably dates back to the 13th century and is characterised by a square keep. The keep probably belonged to the oldest core that was further expanded into a fortified castle in the 15th century. During the troubles under Maximilian of Austria in 1489, the castle of Horst was taken by the people of Leuven and set on fire. According to literary sources, only the keep, part of the entrance gate and a defensive wall remained standing. The residential and east wing were renovated and expanded in the 16th century. The round tower also dates from this period. The outer wall was provided with a rectangular bay window. The castle lost its military character and became more of a pleasant residential area with a view of the moat, the ponds and the inner courtyard. Brick construction with sandstone layers characterise these buildings. In 1587, however, the castle was set on fire again during the raids of the Geuzen. It was not until the beginning of the 17th century that restoration work began. It is difficult to deduce from the available sources to what extent this involved restoration or an embellishing conversion of the castle complex. Presumably nothing changed in the internal structure, but only after the structurally necessary repairs were the interiors completely refinished. Maria-Anna Van den Tympel had a new chapel built against the keep in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the complex must have been damaged by plundering and neglect, and it is possible that it also suffered from plundering during the Brabant Revolution of 1830. Around 1850, the castle must have been habitable again, but the castle buildings only served as a farm. In the land registry, the site around the castle is called "De Notelaren Boomgaerd". Around that time, the most dilapidated part must have been demolished, namely the southern part and the superstructure of the gate. The rest of the complex was probably restored with reused demolition material and in traditional style. The castle was divided in 1880, with one part being registered as a school house. In 1897, a further division followed, with two plots being designated as houses. Several restoration campaigns followed in the 20th century. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Horst Castle, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/43619

Since December, there has been a spire on the castle again after the unstable spire was removed more than four years ago and could be viewed on a wooden platform in the pond. Now it is back. And the other works are also progressing quickly. More about the replaced spire on https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/12/10/torenspits-staat-weer-op-kasteel-van-horst-holsbeek/

In 1652, in the middle of the Meerdaalwoud, Lord van Steenbergen had a chapel built on the site where there had previously been a miraculous statue of Mary who cured people suffering from marsh fever.

The Chartreuzenbos is a forest in the Belgian municipality of Holsbeek and is part of one of the most important nature reserves in Hageland. The forest is approximately 70 hectares in size. The Chartreuzenbos is protected in Europe as part of the Natura 2000 area 'Valleien van de Winge en de Motte met valleihellingen' (BE2400012). The name refers to the former owners, the monastery of the Carthusians of Leuven.