162 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp266–7 and pp292–4

Baroque ornament on the façade

of Averbode’s abbey church

Onze-Lieve-

Vrouw van

Scherpenheuvel 0

Isabellaplein, Scherpenheuvel; 10 km

(6 miles) E of Aarschot. Road

Map D2. Tel (013) 355641. @

n Basilieklaan 16; (013) 772081.

# May–Sep: 7:30am–7:30pm daily;

Oct–Apr: 10am–5pm Mon–Fri. 7

= 5 _ Kaarskensprocessie (Nov).

Once the site of a sacred oak

tree, Scherpenheuvel (Sharp

Hill) remains a revered

pilgrim age site. In the 14th

century, a statue of Mary and

the child Jesus was placed

here and became known for

the miraculous healing pow-

ers it was reputed to have.

How ever, it was des troyed by

Protestant iconoclasts in 1580.

In 1605, the Infanta Isabella

and Archduke Albert, joint

gov ern ors of the Spanish

Netherlands, ordered the con-

struc tion of the present ele gant

Baroque Basilica of Our Lady.

Mass is held four times a day

in its richly ornate inter ior

before an elaborately dressed

copy of the original statue.

van Averbode was founded in

1134–5. Its entrance gate dates

from the 14th century, while

many buildings of the inner

court are from the 17th

cen-tury. This was built over

1664–72 with an icing-sugar-

white interior offset by

Baroque ornament a tion in

black and grey marble, all lit

by clear-glass windows. South

of the abbey, marked walking

trails lead into the Averbode

Bos en Heide, a large area of

woodland and heath.

Aarschot 9

16 km (10 miles) NE of Leuven.
Road Map D2. * 28,000. £ @
n Elisabethlaan 103; (016) 569705.
http://www.aarschot.be

The pleasant, busy town of
Aarschot on the River Demer
lies in the undulat ing, agri-
cultural region of eastern
Vlaams-Brabant known as
Hageland (Hedge Country).
The town’s most striking
building is the 14th-century
Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk built
in the Gothic style, with iron-
rich, rust-red sandstone, and
an immediately recognizable
black onion-shaped spire. The
striped interior contains an
ornate stone rood screen and
an elaborately carved wooden
pulpit and choir stalls. Among
the church’s not able collec-
tion of paint ings is The Mystic
Winepress, a work by an
unknown artist, dating from

1525. In it, a series of scenes
      show how Christ’s blood is
      treated just like wine by his
      apostles, the Church and the
      Holy Roman Emperor.
      West of the church along the
      river is the Begijnhof, with
      fetching rows of 17th-century
      houses forming a U-shape
      around a large garden. The
      tourist office, to the north of
      the river, is attached to a
      small local history museum.

R Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk

Jan van Ophemstraat 23. Tel (016)

560930. 
        

        9am–noon daily.

        
        

The distinctive bulbous spire of
Aarschot’s Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk

Diest w

10 km (6 miles) S of Averbode.

Road Map D2. * 23,000. £ @

n Grote Markt 1; (013) 353274.

http://www.toerismediest.be

As it belonged to the House

of Orange from 1499 to 1794,

and has connections with the

present royal family of the

Netherlands, Diest calls itself

the “Oranje stad”. A network

of shopping streets leads up

to the handsome, L-shaped

Grote Markt, over looked by

the 18th-century Neo-Classical

Stadhuis. The medieval crypt

of the Stadhuis contains the

Stadsmuseum de Hofstadt,

which has an admirable coll-

ection of pain tings, sculpture,

armour, furniture and silver-

ware. Next to it stands the

Gothic St-Sulpitiuskerk, the

church of St Sulpice who was

a 7th-century saint. Much of

the exterior of the splendid

church is built of red, iron-

rich sandstone. Its dainty little

spire over the crossing, where

the transept meets the nave,

is known affection ate ly as the

“mustardpot” and has a

carillon of 32 bells. The soar-

ing and richly decorated

interior includes a treasury

museum, with precious reli-

quaries and chalices, as well

as an exceptional collec tion

of religious sculptures. Some

of these masterpieces of

artistry in painted wood date

from the 15th century.

Prefaced by an elaborate

Baroque entrance, Diest’s vast

Begijnhof is one of the most

beautiful in Belgium. Its grid of

cobbled streets is lined with

whitewashed or brick houses,

mainly from the 16th century.

Abdij van

Averbode q

Abdijstraat 1B, Averbode, 11 km

(7 miles) NE of Scherpenheuvel.

Road Map D2. Tel (013) 780440.

@ # 7:30–11:30am (until 10:30am

Sun) and 1:30–5:45pm daily. =

http://www.abdijaverbode.be

A large and active abbey of the

Premonstratensian Order, Abdij