Augustijnen Pond

Nice view of the pond...

The name Maten is related to the English "meadows". The area is part of De Wijers, a pond complex on the transition from the Kempen Plateau to the Demer Valley. On the poor sandy soils of the Kempen, fish farming was a source of extra proteins. Already in the Middle Ages, series of ponds were constructed via simple transverse dikes in the valley. The overflow from one pond simultaneously forms 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 inlets and outlets. In De Maten you will find a mix of both systems. Water management is therefore a complicated part of the management of one of the oldest nature reserves in Flanders.