スコーテンの天然記念物・トップ20

ドリーボームケンスベルグ巡礼地（Drieboomkesbergとも綴られる）は、ウェストマール（マール自治体）にある歴史的な信心の場所で、一連の砂丘の最高地点に位置しています。 献身：この場所は、熱の聖母（病者の救いとしても知られる）に捧げられています。 名前の由来：この場所は、かつて丘の上に立っていた3本の大きなカラマツの木にちなんで名付けられました。 伝統：何世代にもわたり、病気の人々や信者が瞑想と癒しのためにここに集まります。5月、聖母マリアの月には、ウェストマールの聖マルティヌス教区が今でもこの場所への毎年恒例の巡礼を組織しています。 大十字架像：頂上には、1948年にティエリー・ド・ルネッセ伯爵から寄贈され、ウェストマール修道院の院長によって祝福された、大きな青石の十字架像が立っています。

Protected cycle path (gravel). Essentially a straight line from Oelegem to Sint Job in 't Goor (connecting with the Schoten Canal). Despite its straightness, it's not endless and offers plenty of variety.

A small pilgrimage round through the Molenbos on the Drieboomkesberg...

Looking for the Westmalse barley...

The name "Vrieselhof" goes back to Jan van Vriesele, a nobleman from Kontich who bought approximately 24 hectares of land in Oelegem around 1300 (approximately 32 hectares). In 1975, a year after the sale to the province of Antwerp, the domain was opened to hikers. From 1977 to 1999 the "Provincial Textile and Costume Museum" was located in the Vrieselhof. Due to a lack of resources, only a limited part of the collection could be exhibited. In 2002, the museum moved to Antwerp and was named Fashion Museum Antwerp. In 2003, the Provincial Library Center settled in the castle, together with administrative services. In 2011, a "library of Flemish classics" was opened within the Provincial Library Center. Works by classical Flemish writers are collected and loaned out here. In 2014, the Antwerp provincial council decided to restructure the culture department. The library center would be merged with the Cultural Dissemination and Arts Service into a new Libraries and Arts Service. In 2015, the Provincial Library Center moved to Antwerp, but the collection of Flemish classics remained in the Vrieselhof.

Historical interpretation: The anti-tank ditch is a 33 km long defensive ditch northeast of Antwerp, between the Scheldt and the Albert Canal. The canal was constructed between 1938 and 1940 as part of the Antwerp fortress. In the 1930s, the Belgian army reoriented the fortress into a defense for infantry (support points) and machine gun companies. The military added the anti-tank ditch and bunker lines (KW line) to the existing defense by forts and redoubts. The aim was to stop tanks. That is why the anti-tank ditch had to have a slope, depth and width that a tank of that time could not exceed: a bottom of at least six meters width a width of 18m at the water surface a depth of at least three meters a minimum water level of two meters slopes of 45° Originally, the Antitankgracht was going to be a dry canal, but because it filled up with water, it was forced to be converted into a wet canal. The route had to bridge a height difference of approximately 3 to 18.5 m (DTM). That is why it was divided into about 45 sections with locks. A slide in the lock regulated the water flow and thus maintained the level. The water came partly from seepage water or local streams and partly from the Maas, supplied via the Dessel-Schoten canal. Because control over water levels was so important, each lock was defended by a bunker. The bunkers at the Antitankgracht consist of lock bunkers with flanking daughter bunkers and flanking bunkers. The lock bunkers are elongated free-standing bunkers with a large blank wall, camouflaged by 'eggs' and were usually equipped for two machine guns.

The Peerdsbos is a nature reserve in Schoten north of Antwerp. The name Peerdsbos first appeared in 1434 as “Peertsbusch”. The name is derived from the Middle Dutch 'Pertse' which means border post. For centuries, the Laarse Beek flowing past formed the border between the Roman provinces of Belgica Secunda and Germania Inferior and the dioceses of Cambrai and Liège that later emerged from this.

The Antitankgracht was constructed just before the Second World War to stop German tanks. Fortunately, that is no longer necessary today, but it does provide us with a nice location to cycle through.