トンゲレン周辺のおすすめシティハイキング＆ウォーキング

トンゲレンはベルギーで最も古い都市です。この都市の起源は、紀元前54年にユリウス・カエサルの副官であったサビヌスとコッタが設立したキャンプに遡ります。彼らの軍団はエブロネス族の指導者アンビオリクスの近くで虐殺されました。見どころには、大聖堂、ベギン会修道院、アンビオリクスの像、そして毎週日曜日に開催されるアンティークマーケットなどがあります。

釣り愛好家は、ここで3つの釣り池で楽しむことができます。これらの池のうち2つにはライセンスが必要です。

ゼープストラートにあるレンガ工場Belisiaのために粘土を採掘したことにより、トラム橋の後ろに位置するデ・キンペルの池ができました。

同名の部族にちなんで名付けられたショナアートは、1950年代に生まれました。数多くのアマチュア彫刻家が観光客に彫刻を販売して収入を得ていました。次第に芸術的なエリート層が生まれ、彼らはすぐに海外への道を見出しました。1980年代から1990年代にかけて、ジンバブエの彫刻は西ヨーロッパで特に人気を博しました。最も有名な代表者はドミニク・ベンフラです。彼は10歳の時にいとこが彫刻を磨くのを手伝い、わずか2年後には最初の作品を販売しました。ヨーロッパからアメリカなどへ渡り、そこで国内の報道機関から称賛の声を受けました。彼の彫刻の大部分は、非常に硬いスプリングストーンという種類の石から彫られています。彼の作品は、大きな遊び心と陽気さが特徴です。その美しい例の一つが、ビルゼンにある文化センター「De Kimpel」にある、鬼ごっこをしている子供たちの彫刻です。

De Kimpelへのアクセスは、'I AM EELCO'による、力強い色彩と力強い線、そして多くの装飾的要素が組み合わされた作品によって、文字通り、そして比喩的にも明るくなっています。 典型的なシュルレアリスティック・ポップアートスタイルによる、美しい壁画です。

ビルゼン中心部から徒歩圏内には、文化・スポーツセンター「De Kimpel」があります。このセンターには、文化・スポーツ活動と最近改装された市立図書館があります。プール、デ・カッテンベルクの散策エリア、自然公園、釣り堀、遊び場、マウンテンバイク・サイクリングコースがあります。

The St. Maurice Church is one of the most distinctive and historically valuable buildings in the center of Bilzen (Limburg, Belgium). The church stands directly behind the town hall on the Markt square and, together with the town hall and the surrounding buildings, forms the historic heart of the city. The church's origins date back to the early Middle Ages: archaeological research shows that the choir rests on foundations dating from the 11th century, indicating that a church building existed on this site from very early times. From the 12th century onward, a Romanesque church developed here, of which only the choir survived when it was replaced by a Gothic structure in the 15th century. In 1636, the Gothic church was severely damaged when it was set on fire by Croatian troops. The only remaining parts were the choir and a few pillars of the nave. In the decades that followed, the church was rebuilt and expanded. Under the direction of architects such as Joseph Dumont and Mathieu Christiaens, the church acquired its current form in the 19th and early 20th centuries: a neo-Gothic hall church, typical of the Romantic revival of Gothic building traditions. A hall church is a church design in which the nave and aisles are more or less the same height, creating an impressive and open interior. St. Maurice's Church is one of the few hall churches in the region built of marlstone on a robust base of rubble and bluestone. The tower, complete in 1667, features striking Baroque elements.

The Secret Army Monument near Bilzen-Hoeselt is a war memorial and resistance memorial commemorating the work and sacrifices of the Belgian resistance movement, the Secret Army, during World War II. This monument is part of the Resistance Trail, a route through the Munsterbos forest and surrounding nature reserves where resistance fighters gathered in 1944, organized themselves, and were arrested or executed by the German occupiers in the days just before liberation. The Secret Army was one of the largest resistance groups in occupied Belgium during World War II. The movement consisted of civilians who went underground to coordinate resistance actions, provide assistance to the Allies, and sabotage operations against the German occupiers. Numerous members were active in the Limburg region, including groups organized around towns such as Bilzen, Genk, and Kortessem. The actual monument is located along the Resistance Trail near Hoelbeek in the Munsterbos area. Resistance fighters used this location as a safe haven, but some of them were arrested or executed around September 1944, just before the region was liberated. The memorial consists of a small chapel built in 1947 shortly after the war and commemorates the 51 members of the Secret Army who died in battles with the occupying forces while in captivity or during skirmishes in the final days of the war. Plaques bearing the names of these fallen resistance fighters are located on the chapel. The chapel and the monument along the Resistance Path are part of the architectural heritage and are officially recognized for their cultural-historical value: they bear witness to the resistance against the occupying forces and to the tragic events of the final year of the war. Every year, usually on the second Sunday of September, commemorations are held in memory of these resistance fighters, with family members, historians, and local visitors gathering to pay their respects. The monument isn't located in the heart of a city, but rather in the natural area around Hoelbeek and Munsterbos, so a visit is often combined with a walk along the Resistance Trail. The trail itself takes you along wooded paths, quiet lanes, and other war memorials, making it a historically and scenically significant route.