보셀라르 최고의 워킹 & 하이킹 경로

Quiet view over the pond

Rest your legs every now and then...

Even now there is no stork to be seen

Where there's water, there's life. Be sure to bring binoculars.

It is beautiful and very peaceful to walk here in any season.

A beautiful stately avenue where it is very peaceful to walk

It is one of the oldest forests in the Kempen with very diverse biotopes. So give your eyes and ears a good treat during your walk or bike ride through this wonderful habitat. There are many mammals in Grotenhout (300 hectares): eight different bat species, roe deer, hare, fox and stoat. The pond is a popular spot for butterflies, dragonflies, frogs and toads. Breeding birds include the honey buzzard, the wood warbler, the middle spotted woodpecker and the black woodpecker. The plant list is also impressive with more than 360 discovered species. One of the oldest forests in the Kempen Grotenhout, also called the Gierlese forest, is located southwest of Turnhout on the border of the municipalities of Lille and Vosselaar. With its 300 hectares, it is one of the largest and oldest forests in the Kempen. The area contains approximately 100 hectares of oak forest that is more than a hundred years old, as well as beech, ash and alder forests. The alternation of a rich subsoil with poor grasslands ensures a great wealth of plants. Muskwort, wood anemone, scattered-leaved goldfinch, slender primrose, blue button and ground star are just a few examples of the more than 360 species that occur. Back in time The Grotenhout forest has a rich past that (on paper) dates back to 1320. For centuries, noble families used the forest as a hunting domain. For example, the Dukes of Brabant, Burgundy, Habsburg, Nassau and Prussia held sway in the Grotenhout. The importance of the Grotenhout is also evident from the addition of the area to the list of free forests, the most important hunting domains for the lord of the manor Philip the Good (1430). From the 18th century onwards, the managers focused on timber production, although the nobility hunted small and large game there for a long time. Natuur en Bos took over the management of the Grotenhout in 2000. We want to safeguard the landscape and the natural values through smart management. Old forest plants are given every chance again and rare animals come home. Parts of the Grotenhout are protected as a forest reserve and are not accessible to visitors.

The former Grotenhoutbos is a relic of the estate forest with an impressive avenue complex that served as a hunting ground for the Dukes of Brabant, later Lords of Turnhout. This forest domain - a large, contiguous, wooded area in a intact, open agricultural area - is the only old forest complex of that size in the Kempen that has remained present since at least the Middle Ages. Vulnerable old vegetation with rare plants associated with a forest environment can be found in the forest.