The best traffic-free bike rides in Dilserbos

Connecterra is the main gateway to Hoge Kempen National Park. This unique area is located on the former mining site of Eisden, bordering Dilsen-Stokkem. A quarter of a century ago, the mine was still operating at full capacity; now it is a true nature paradise. There are big plans for this area in the making for the coming years, respecting both nature and cultural heritage. The hiking area has been developed and the routes offer some of the most beautiful panoramas in Flanders, with a breathtaking scenery of mountains and lakes. In total, five routes will lead you through the area. The hiking area connects to the 'Mechelse Heide' and 'Station As' walking paths. In the new visitor center, you will find information about the national park and can relax with a drink in the tearoom. Outside, children can have fun in the playground. The spiral tower is accessible up to the first floor and offers a glimpse of what Connecterra has to offer.

Station As is a former railway station on lines 21A (Hasselt-As) and 21B (As-Eisden). The station building now houses a restaurant and the Kolenspoorvereniging (Coal Railway Association) uses it for the operation of the tourist railway line Waterschei-As-Eisden. Station As is also one of the gateways to Hoge Kempen National Park and has an observation tower.

With its bright colors, it is visible from afar

Super view and perfect cycle path

The Time Woman“ by artist Julia Berger shows a female figure carrying a circle that even passes through her. The elongated legs are typical of this artist's work. The statue is 3.5 meters high and made of bronze. The statue was inaugurated in 2001. It was created on the occasion of the celebrations for 100 years of coal in Limburg. Coal was first found in 1901 by mining engineer and geologist André Dumont. The circle refers to the Earth, on which people believed they could forever cover their energy needs with the discovery of coal. A hundred years later, this dream seems to be over. However, the circle also refers to the sun, which may become the energy source of the future. In the circle of the image, E=MC2 indicates that time is relative.

Beautiful tin art

The headframe in the Hoge Kempen National Park is a powerful and recognizable symbol of Belgian Limburg's mining history. This steel structure, once located above a mine shaft, served to operate elevators with which miners transported materials and coal deep underground. Today, the headframe no longer serves the industry but serves as a monument and landmark in a landscape that has reinvented itself as a nature reserve. Within the National Park, including in the area around Eisden Waterschei and Zwartberg, headframes form a striking contrast with the surrounding heathland, forests, and slag heaps. Where noise, dust, and hard labor once defined the landscape, peace and tranquility now prevail. The headframe serves as a quiet reminder of the thousands of miners who descended into the earth here daily, keeping the region's economic engine running in the 20th century. Architecturally, headframes are functional structures constructed of steel and designed for maximum stability and load-bearing capacity. Their sleek lines and industrial appearance give them an almost sculptural quality today. That's precisely why several headframes have been protected as industrial heritage and consciously integrated into the experience of the National Park. They serve as landmarks along hiking and cycling routes and help visitors read the landscape; nature and industry are inextricably linked here. In educational contexts, headframes are often used to tell the story of coal mining, labor migration, and Limburg's social history. They symbolize an era of hard labor, but also of solidarity, community, and progress. By preserving them within a nature park, that past is given a new place, not as a scar, but as a layer in the landscape.

The coal mining past lives on...