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Scherpenheuvel-Zichem

Testelt village center and watermill

Scherpenheuvel-Zichem

Testelt village center and watermill

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Testelt village center and watermill

Recommended by 124 hikers out of 128

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Location: Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Flanders, Belgium

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Best Hikes to Testelt village center and watermill

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1. Demerbroeken Nature Reserve – Great Watermill of Zichem loop from Zichem

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4.7

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2. Maagdentoren Zichem – Demerbroeken Nature Reserve loop from Testelt

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3. Averbode Bos & Heide – Footbridge Over Weefbergven loop from Averbode

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Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

Tips

Jeff S

August 7, 2021

Nostalgia is not far away here...

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Jan

January 12, 2021

Free parking spaces near the church. Numerous cycling and walking opportunities in the area. The information board on the church square, for example, already offers a number of options. Drinks nearby.

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Katrien

April 12, 2021

The village center of Testelt is protected as a village face.

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Jan

January 12, 2021

Testelt was first mentioned in 1134 when the Norbertine abbey of Averbode was founded. It is striking that the oldest spelling corresponds to the current one.

Main sights:

* Voortberg
The Voortberg is a Hageland witness hill of approximately 50 metres high on the banks of the Demer. On old maps, the hill is almost always referred to as "Wijngaardberg". An appropriate name when you consider that the southern flank was covered with vines.
Today, the Voortberg is marked in the landscape by a high transmission mast for TV distribution.

* St. Peter's Church
Like many other churches in the Demer Valley, the St. Peter's Church is built from brown iron sandstone, which was quarried and processed locally. The choir dates from the fifteenth century, the tower is probably a century younger. The church once consisted of three naves, but the side aisles disappeared when the central section was transformed into a single nave in the late eighteenth century. The St. Peter's Church forms a beautiful whole with the cemetery wall, together they form a streetscape that is protected.

* Watermill
The beautiful watermill bears two dates. On the side wall a mason's mark gives 1608 as the year of construction, but above the door we find the year 1678. The number above the door belongs to the coat of arms of Servaas Vaes, an abbot of Averbode who was very keen to make his mark. Silent witnesses of his ambition are the many monuments that he had built or renovated. His motto is therefore "Ne quid nimis" (Latin: "In nothing too much").
The mill was owned by the abbey of Averbode, just like the disappeared percussion mill that has made way for villa "Ter Wolf". In the past, four mill wheels turned here to the rhythm of the Demer. The mill was lovingly restored by the current owner.

* Villa "Ter Wolf"
A beautiful villa from the beginning of the twentieth century, which shows the typical natural forms of Art Nouveau. The curls and flowing curves tried to imitate nature and refer to leaves, tendrils and fruits.
Art Nouveau is often seen as an urban style, but the villa shows that there is also a setting for it outside the city. Do you perhaps think that this art style comes into its own better here?
(information source: scherpenheuvel-zichem.be)

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Anne&Nera

May 14, 2022

Interesting place to start the walk in the parking lot near the church. Numerous hiking opportunities and interesting places to visit

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February 22, 2025

The village centre of Testelt is defined by a number of monuments together with a typical relatively untouched, well-integrated development from the 19th century. The Demer determines the character of the village in combination with the village development. This development consists of the former town hall, three town houses, a village house, a chapel, the former oil warehouse and steam factory and the new rectory from the second half of the 19th century, and there is also the monastery of the sisters of Philippus Neri, built in 1900. They are all houses in brick or plastered with a saddle roof parallel to the street. The centre is further characterised by front gardens, public green spaces and parts of open space.

The protected Gothic St. Peter's Church with its high spire is dominant in the centre, the watermill and the adjacent eclectic villa Terwolf from 1908 dominate the view of the Demer. On the other side of the Demer is the old parsonage from the 15th-16th century and a little further a villa in cottage style from the interbellum. The structure of Dijk en Dorp with the bridge over the Demer is recognizable on the Ferraris map, the Stationsstraat and Schuurweg are of a later date.

Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Village center Testelt, id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/306599

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Jan

January 15, 2021

Street Art! (near the church)

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Viviane

June 26, 2022

Beautiful village to discover. You can take beautiful walks in nature here.

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Dirk Couck

June 5, 2022

You can take a short walk from the center to the ridge behind the village. You get a beautiful view of the village.

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Informations

Elevation 70 m

Weather

Today

Saturday 15 November

14°C

9°C

100 %

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Max wind speed: 5.0 km/h

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Location: Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Flanders, Belgium

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Testelt village center and watermill

1. Demerbroeken Nature Reserve – Great Watermill of Zichem loop from Zichem

2. Maagdentoren Zichem – Demerbroeken Nature Reserve loop from Testelt

3. Averbode Bos & Heide – Footbridge Over Weefbergven loop from Averbode

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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