CENTRAL AND EASTERN FLANDERS 163The striking red-and-white St-Sulpitiuskerk, in the heart of Diest
THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS
St Norbert (1080–1134) was a
German noble who underwent a
sudden conversion at the age of
35 and abandoned his wealth to
devote his life to religion. In 1120,
he established a community at
Prémontré, in north eastern France.
Although members of the order
wore white habits, they were not
monks cloistered in monas teries.
Instead, they were canons – priests
who live in a community but
actively engage with the world
outside. St Norbert’s approach to
religious devotion proved influen-
tial in the Low Countries and
Germany. The order was suppressed by the French
occupation of the 1790s, but dramatically revived in 19th-
century Belgium. Today, the abbeys of Averbode, Tongerlo,
Parc, Grimbergen and Postel are active houses of the order.Zoutleeuw e
29 km (18 miles) E of Leuven.
Road Map D2. * 8,000. @
n Halle, Grote Markt; (011)
Before falling on leaner times,
Zoutleeuw was a prosperous
cloth town in the Middle Ages.
This explains its 16th-century
Stadhuis, the 14th-century
cloth hall in the Grote Markt
and above all, the scale and
splendour of the medieval
St-Leonarduskerk, the Church
of St Leonard. The exterior of
the structure has an unusual
lopsided pair of towers and a
bulbous spire, but the interior
of the church is magnificent,
since it escaped vandalization
both by Protestants in the
16th century and by French
Revolutionaries in the 1790s.
Today, it is richly decorated
with paintings and sculpture.
Suspend ed in the nave is an
unusual Marianum, a painted
wrought-iron image of the
Virgin Mary surrounded by
Its Church of St Catherine, or
St-Catharinakerk, was built
during the 14th century and
has a charm ing interior of
white and red sand stone, with
a fine Baroque wooden
screen and pulpit.
E Stadsmuseum de Hofstadt
Stadhuis, Grote Markt. Tel (013)
10am–noon,1–5pm
daily. ¢ Oct–Apr: Mon. &
R St-Sulpitiuskerk
Grote Markt. Tel (013) 353271.
Jul–Aug: 2–5pm daily; mid-
May–mid-Sep: 2–5pm Sat, Sun and
public holidays. & treasury. =
Tienen r
20 km (12 miles) SE of Leuven.
Road Map D2. * 32,000. £ @
n Grote Markt 6; (016) 805738.
http://www.tienen.beSugar beet is a key crop for
Tienen (Tirlemont in French),
the largest town in the largely
agri cultural Hageland region.
It has been refining sugar
since the 19th century, anangels, dating to 1533.
In the north transept, the
Sacramentstoren (Tower of
the Sacraments) is deco rated
with dozens of stat ues by
Cornelis Floris, the designer
of Antwerp’s town hallR St-Leonarduskerk
Grote Markt. # Apr–Sep: 2–5pm
Tue–Sun. &occupation that has given it
the nickname Sugar Town. In
celebra tion of this industry,
the town has an interactive
Suikermuseum, or Sugar
Museum, which occupies a
former courthouse in the vast
Grote Markt, the second-
largest market square in
Belgium. A stone star in the
square marks the place of
execution and pillory which
was in use until the 1840s. To
the rear of the Sugar Museum
is the Stedelijk Museum Het
Toreke, housed in a 19th-
century build ing that once
served as the town’s prison.
Its archaeo logical collection
explores Tienen’s Gallo-
Roman past and more recent
history, focussing on special
themes such as death rituals.
Tienen’s Brabant Gothic
Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ten-
Poelkerk was built beside a
poel (pool) and sacred spring
between the 13th and 15th
centuries. It has a strangely
truncated look as there is no
nave. The west door, built in
1360, has an unusually deep,
arched portal that leads
straight into the transept.E Suikermuseum
Grote Markt. Tel (016) 805686.
# 10am–5pm Tue–Sun. & -
http://www.erfgoedsitetienen.be
R Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-
ten-Poelkerk
Grote Markt. # 9am–7pm Mon
and Thu, 9am–6pm Tue, Wed and
Fri, 3–6pm Sat, 9am–12:30pm Sun.St Norbert, founder of the
Premonstratensian Order