The Rodeberg is a witness hill in the Belgian village of Westouter. It is one of the hills in the municipality of Heuvelland and the West Flemish Heuvelland. The Rodeberg is 138 meters high. On the northern and western flank is the Hellegatbos, a forest area that serves as a nature and walking area. The name of the forest refers to a deep ravine at the bottom of the Rodeberg, the "hole in hell" where "helle" in the regional language stands for hill.
Abandoned Kosmos recreational area
The Kosmos recreation center was located in this area. Until the 1980s, this was one of the province's major recreation centers, for families as well as for camps and school excursions. The outdoor swimming pool in particular was very well known. However, the center gradually fell into disrepair and in 2002 the swimming pool's permit was withdrawn.
In the wooded area on top of the Rodeberg is the Lijstermolen, which is protected together with that area. The Cordoba chairlift, the only cable car in the province, departs nearby. The cable car connects the Rodeberg with the Vidaigneberg.
The name comes from the word "red" which in the regional language means to clear or deforest and refers to the first deforestations on the mountain in the 10th and 11th centuries. Around 1900, the so-called "short-term residents" lived on the mountain, these were families in small, sparse houses. The men earned money from French farmers, the women from the sale of motifs knitted by them. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the mountain was almost entirely covered with heather, and plots were gradually planted with coniferous and deciduous trees. During the First World War the mountain was heavily shelled, leaving a barren plain that was replanted.