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A Lourdes grotto or Marian grotto is a replica of the grotto of Massabielle near the French town of Lourdes, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to Bernadette Soubirous on February 11, 1858. Copies have been built in many countries for the veneration of Our Lady of Lourdes. These are replicas of what is said to have happened at the grotto. An altar may have been placed inside the grotto. Diagonally above the grotto (on the viewer's right) is a niche containing a white statue of the Virgin Mary with a blue sash and a rosary. In front of the grotto stands a statue of Bernadette, looking upward and kneeling in prayer.

Park Cerckel, in the Michel Theysstraat, breathes almost 800 years of history. In 1228, the order of the Friars Minor, one of the oldest monastic communities in Diest, established itself on the banks of the Demer. A large part of Diest was destroyed in 1580 by the troops of William of Orange, including the Friars Minor monastery. Soldiers robbed the tomb of Anna van Lotharingen (wife of René van Chalon). She was later reburied by the city council in the Sint-Sulpitius church. After 3 years of exile, the Friars Minor returned and started rebuilding. At the end of the 18th century, the monastery was sold publicly by the French, which meant the end for the Friars Minor in Diest. Only the infirmary and the round-arched gate were preserved. During the 19th century, the beer industry in Diest experienced strong growth. Brewery family Pieck - later Cerckel - bought about half of the monastery domain and transformed it into a beautiful pleasure garden. The vegetable gardens became a pond with a beautiful wrought iron bridge, the former monastery infirmary was converted into a garden pavilion with an orangery in its extension. When Brewery Cerckel disappeared, the beautiful city garden also fell into disrepair. In 1990, the city of Diest bought the park. With the renovation of the pond, bridge, cave and round arch gate, the park has welcomed the public again since April 2011. The infirmary and orangery are also being restored to their former glory. Source: https://www.diest.be/vrije-tijd/sport/wandelen/park-cerckel

Hail Mary...

Replica of the cave of massabielle. There are some benches.

A still very popular Lourdes grotto at the beginning of the so-called forests of the Warande in Ham, with a parking lot nearby from where you can also enter the Gerheserheide nature reserve. The history of the chapel and certainly also the perfect location and beauty of the surroundings ensured that people from all over the region soon came to pray, so that the chapel became a local place of pilgrimage. You can read that and much more at https://lourdesgrotten.com/2008/09/24/ham-oostham-24-9-8/

The park needs a bit of maintenance after the long works in the area, including the adjacent hospital. But that is coming. Some things have already been restored. And something beautiful is coming: they are busy renovating the old infirmary, conservatory and orangery. That will be beautiful.

Not really a highlight for me. But it is in the middle of the forest and in front of it there is a bench to rest on.

Park on the edge of town...