Nivelles Attractions
Nivelles (Flemish Nijvel) lies in the middle of an extensive fertile landscape south of Brussels.
Although during the heavy bombing in the Second World War a great part of the town and buildings fell in rubble and ashes, including historical treasures of incalculable worth, the town very quickly recovered. Developed from a former agricultural center to a modern industrial town the most important branches of industry, in addition to metal processing (railroad equipment works, machine tools), is the production of paper.
The origins of the present town go right back to the early Christian centuries. Pippin the Elder, the chamberlain of the Merovingian king Dagobert I, owned considerable estates in this area.
After his death his widow Itta and her daughter Gertrude moved here and founded a Benedictine convent around 650, the first convent on what is now Belgian territory. The first abbess was Gertrude, patroness of numerous medieval hospitals. She died in 659 and her grave soon became the object of pilgrimages around which the town developed. In the 11th C. the town had reached the height of its prosperity and this manifested itself in the building of the collegiate church. In the 12th C. Nivelles was surrounded by a wall 12km/7.5miles in length; at the beginning of the 16th C. it developed into a prosperous town with 20,000 inhabitants and eight guilds. Decline set in by 1789 with the dissolution of the convent with which the history of the town had always been connected. In 1815 Nivelles was besieged by Dutch troops. During the First World War the town was spared, but a German bombing attack in May 1940 destroyed 50 per cent of the old town and 20 per cent of all the buildings.
There are boat excursions to the lock.
Although during the heavy bombing in the Second World War a great part of the town and buildings fell in rubble and ashes, including historical treasures of incalculable worth, the town very quickly recovered. Developed from a former agricultural center to a modern industrial town the most important branches of industry, in addition to metal processing (railroad equipment works, machine tools), is the production of paper.
The origins of the present town go right back to the early Christian centuries. Pippin the Elder, the chamberlain of the Merovingian king Dagobert I, owned considerable estates in this area.
After his death his widow Itta and her daughter Gertrude moved here and founded a Benedictine convent around 650, the first convent on what is now Belgian territory. The first abbess was Gertrude, patroness of numerous medieval hospitals. She died in 659 and her grave soon became the object of pilgrimages around which the town developed. In the 11th C. the town had reached the height of its prosperity and this manifested itself in the building of the collegiate church. In the 12th C. Nivelles was surrounded by a wall 12km/7.5miles in length; at the beginning of the 16th C. it developed into a prosperous town with 20,000 inhabitants and eight guilds. Decline set in by 1789 with the dissolution of the convent with which the history of the town had always been connected. In 1815 Nivelles was besieged by Dutch troops. During the First World War the town was spared, but a German bombing attack in May 1940 destroyed 50 per cent of the old town and 20 per cent of all the buildings.
There are boat excursions to the lock.
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Collégiale Sainte-Gertrude
The Collégiale Sainte-Gertrude is considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in the country.
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Villers-la-Ville - Abbey Ruins
Near Villers-la-Ville are ruins of a former Cistercian abbey, first founded in the 12th C.
Ecaussinnes, Belgium
(Near Nivelles)
The twin parish of Ecaussinnes, about 45km/28miles south of Brussels, consists of both towns of Ecaussinnes-Lalaing and Ecaussinnes-d'Enghien. The names originate from the noble lines to which the town belonged in the Middle Ages.
There are boat excursions to the lock.
There are boat excursions to the lock.
Ecaussinnes-Lalaing - Chateau d'en Haut
The tour of the rooms takes in the weapons hall, kitchen, sick room, state room and dungeon; some rooms have exhibitions of glass, sculpture, ceramics and porcelain.
(Nivelles)
The first building of Château d'en Haut on a rocky promontory not far from the Grand-Place originates from the 12th C. In the 14th C. a new, larger construction followed which has remained almost unchanged to the present day and is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Belgium. The gate tower of 1372 was altered in the 17th C., other alterations have not made such an impression on the overall picture such as the extension of the castle chapel around 1600. Under the French (around 1800) and in the 19th C. when the building was being used among other things as a factory, it collapsed. Restoration work began at the beginning of this century; since 1928 the château has been under the ownership of the Counts van der Burch, who inherited it in the 17th C.The tour of the rooms takes in the weapons hall, kitchen, sick room, state room and dungeon; some rooms have exhibitions of glass, sculpture, ceramics and porcelain.
Hours
April 1 to May 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 12:00 | 12:00 | |||||
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | |||||
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 |
June 1 to June 30
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 12:00 | 12:00 | |||||
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | |||||
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 |
July 1 to August 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 10:00 | Closed | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | ||
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | 14:00 | ||
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 |
September 1 to October 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 12:00 | 12:00 | |||||
| Open | 14:00 | 14:00 | |||||
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 |
Guides
Guided tour available as optional extra.
Sloping Lock of Ronquieres
The difference in height between the Sambre Valley at Charleroi and the Senne south of Brussels was for a long time an insuperable obstacle to linking the canal network between north and south Belgium. The first canal project completed in 1832 involved 55 locks over a distance of 60km/37mi. This canal soon proved to be too small and following further enlargements in the 19th century it was decided to modernize the waterway in 1937. The work lasted from 1947 to 1968 and reduced the number of locks to 10. The centerpiece of the canal is the sloping lock of Ronquières.
Barges up to a total of 1,350 tons enter one of two tanks up to 91m/298ft long and 12m/39ft wide (water depth 3.7m/12ft; max. weight 5,700 tons), which are pulled or lowered on rails on 59 axles with 236 rollers by 8 steel cables (55mm diameter). The basins are moved independently of each other as they are counterbalanced by 5,200 ton weights. The height difference of 68m/223ft is resolved over a distance of 1,432m/1,566yds in about 90 minutes. The entire complex is dominated by a 154m/505ft-high control tower with a viewing platform at 139m/456ft.
There are boat excursions to the lock.
(Nivelles)
Just 4km/2.5miles north-east of Ecaussinnes is the technical spectacle of the sloping lock of Ronquières (Plan incliné de Ronquières), a gigantic barge lift on the canal from Charleroi to Brussels.The difference in height between the Sambre Valley at Charleroi and the Senne south of Brussels was for a long time an insuperable obstacle to linking the canal network between north and south Belgium. The first canal project completed in 1832 involved 55 locks over a distance of 60km/37mi. This canal soon proved to be too small and following further enlargements in the 19th century it was decided to modernize the waterway in 1937. The work lasted from 1947 to 1968 and reduced the number of locks to 10. The centerpiece of the canal is the sloping lock of Ronquières.
Barges up to a total of 1,350 tons enter one of two tanks up to 91m/298ft long and 12m/39ft wide (water depth 3.7m/12ft; max. weight 5,700 tons), which are pulled or lowered on rails on 59 axles with 236 rollers by 8 steel cables (55mm diameter). The basins are moved independently of each other as they are counterbalanced by 5,200 ton weights. The height difference of 68m/223ft is resolved over a distance of 1,432m/1,566yds in about 90 minutes. The entire complex is dominated by a 154m/505ft-high control tower with a viewing platform at 139m/456ft.
There are boat excursions to the lock.
Ecaussinnes - D'Enghien
The castle of the Enghiens, the Château de la Folie, dates back to a 13th C. building, which was demolished in 1506. The new building of 1528 was enlarged by a late-Gothic chapel. This was again converted in the 18th C. to the country house which the visitor can see today (visits only by arrangement). Some of the chapel windows are the work of Bernard van Orley who is buried together with his wife in the church of Saint-Remy.
Ecaussinnes-Lalaing - Marriage Market
On Easter Monday every year it is the scene of a marriage market where those wanting to marry are fed in the Grand-Place.
Museum of Archaeology, Art and History
The Museum of Archaeology, Art and History (Musée d'Archéologie, d'Art et d'Histoire) is housed in the vine-clad former refuge of the Trinity Brothers of Orval dating from 1763.
In 10 rooms on two floors are art treasures saved from the Church of St Gertrude, including remains of the saints reliquary, Brussels wall-hangings, tombstones, sculptures, paintings, furniture and instruments of the 18th C., as well as finds from Gallo-Roman times.
In 10 rooms on two floors are art treasures saved from the Church of St Gertrude, including remains of the saints reliquary, Brussels wall-hangings, tombstones, sculptures, paintings, furniture and instruments of the 18th C., as well as finds from Gallo-Roman times.
Nivelles Procession
Every year on the Sunday after St Michael's day a large procession attended by crowds of people takes place in honor of St Gertrude. The faithful, dressed in historical costumes, accompany the processional chariot which dates from the 15th C. and which is drawn by six horses carrying the reliquary of St Gertrude. During the 14km/9mile tour around the town two meal breaks are taken. In addition to the faithful the giants Argayon and Argayonne accompany the procession, as well as their son Lolo and his horse Godet.
Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, Belgium
(Near Nivelles)
Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, 6km/4miles north of Brussels, has a charming group of monastic buildings dating from the 14th-16th C. In the monastery church, which has an altar sculpture by Laurent Delvaux, can be seen a reliquary of 1555 containing a piece of linen said to be stained with the blood of Christ. The other monastery buildings, including the cloister of 1613 and the imposing monastery farm, are also well worth seeing. Opposite the abbey the lords of Ittre built a prestigious castle in Louis XVI style.
Orp-Jauche - Folx les Caves
Limestone cave that covers many acres. Demonstrations on geology, archaeology, art and mycology.
Hours
February 1 to December 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 |
Seneffe - Castle and Silver Museum
The summer residence of Count Julien depestre built between 1763 and 1768. It was designed by architect Benoit Dewez. The castle is surrounded by a group of outbuilding and gardens on a 22 hectare plot of land. Part of the castle is home to the Silver Museum of the French Community.
Standing 9km/5.5miles south of Nivelles is the three-winged castle of Seneffe in the style of Louis XVI and surrounded by a very fine park.
Standing 9km/5.5miles south of Nivelles is the three-winged castle of Seneffe in the style of Louis XVI and surrounded by a very fine park.
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