Dotted throughout the Flemish Brabant are a series of vierkantshoeven, or square farms. They often date to the medieval period, but were often ‘modernised’ in the 17th or 18th centuries. Considered important national heritage sites, they bear witness to centuries of agricultural history in rural Belgium. In medieval times, mercenary soldiers or bands of outlaws roamed the countryside, square farms were fortified against attack.
Perhaps the best known of all the square farms is Hougoumont Farm, which featured prominently in the Battle of Waterloo. They are such a fixture of the Brabant landscape that the tourist authorities created a 50km cycle route known as the Square Farms Route. It takes you into attractive rolling countryside, past several ancient farms and churches, and sleepy villages. In a rare collaboration, it was created with French speaking Brabant Wallon.
I left Leuven early and my first stop was in Bierbeek, where I spotted the jaunty red and white striped doors of the Bordingenhof. The farm dates to 1389 when it was owned by the Abbey of Villers-la-Ville (of which more in a later post). I briefly paused to visit Sint-Hilariuskerk, named after 5th century Pope Hilarius (seriously). A little further on, I found myself strolling the peaceful grounds of Kasteel van Kwabeek, which dates to the 1340s.
I couldn’t help but notice that the Square Farms Route came temptingly close to one of the legendary names in Belgian beer making, Hoegaarden, but didn’t actually go to this small town on the edge of Flanders and Wallonia. Here in 1445, a group of monks made beer using coriander and dried Curaçao orange peel for the very first time. A detour from the route took me past the brewery that still makes the original Belgian wheat beer.
It was well before midday, but I’d been cycling for more than three hours so I thought I’d earned a beer. Sadly, nowhere was open – it was a Sunday. Instead, I visited the massive Sint-Gorgoniuskerk and walked through the lovely grounds of Hoegaarden Park. From here, I cycled down a road that forms the border between Flanders and Wallonia before plunging into Wallonia towards the 800 year old Ferme de Wahenge.
This whitewashed square farm is an incredible sight set amidst farmland and woodland. It’s easy to imagine how isolated it must have been in medieval times, and how sturdy against attack. There were rough tracks and hills en route to Mélin, one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie (The Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia). Its most striking feature when I arrived were two horses parked outside the local bar.
The highlight of the whole day still lay ahead though, at the Église Saint-Martin in the small hamlet of Tourinnes-la-Grosse. This pleasant 1,000 year old church sits majestically on the top of a very steep cobbled hill. Dating from the 10th century, it’s considered one of the finest Romanesque churches in Belgium, and is said to be one of the oldest. I parked my bike and found I had the church to myself.
The interior of Saint-Martin’s houses several beautifully simple ceramic sculptures of biblical scenes by Max van der Linden. Born in 1922, van der Linden was an accomplished ceramicist described by fellow Belgian artist, Julos Beaucarne, as ‘the man who made stars with mud’. The sculptures that adorn the church walls are very moving, all the more so for their almost naive style.
Feeling uplifted, I headed back to Leuven, but not before I cycled through a beautiful area of forest. As I entered the Brabant National Forest I also reentered Flanders. It was a hot day and the shade of the trees was welcome. There was just time for a beer before the train to Brussels. It wasn’t Hoegaarden, but it was refreshing.
