Top 9 Caves in Flemish Brabant

This charming English landscape-style bridge leads you to a surprising element: a small, hidden grotto. Together they form a playful piece of garden architecture, typical of romantic 19th-century parks. The combination of water, stone, and greenery creates a mysterious and atmospheric place, as if you've discovered a secret passage.

Lourdes grotto at the foot of the Eikelberg.

The Lourdes Grotto was built by the late Jef Van Dessel, a former Aarschot police officer. He cycled from Aarschot to Lourdes several times. From the book "The Little Houses of Aarschot": This collection of grottoes and chapels is located on the property adjacent to Grotstraat and Kleine Grotstraat... This busy pilgrimage site, which dates back to 1954, can be entered through an iron gate... The plot is demarcated with gray-painted concrete slabs and a wire fence at the rear. Within this fence, trees and shrubs are scattered throughout. Pilgrims can use the numerous seating areas arranged in a theater-like fashion. At the front right of the property is the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. A Calvary, also arranged in the form of a grotto, stands centrally on the property. To the left of the Calvary is the chapel of the Brustem Sisters, and to the right is the semi-open chapel of St. Rita. This and more can be found at https://lourdesgrotten.com/2008/11/20/aarschot-grotstraat-20-11-8/

Unexpected!

Nice passage where bats have also found their habitat.

Park Cerckel, in the Michel Theysstraat, breathes almost 800 years of history. In 1228, the order of the Friars Minor, one of the oldest monastic communities in Diest, established itself on the banks of the Demer. A large part of Diest was destroyed in 1580 by the troops of William of Orange, including the Friars Minor monastery. Soldiers robbed the tomb of Anna van Lotharingen (wife of René van Chalon). She was later reburied by the city council in the Sint-Sulpitius church. After 3 years of exile, the Friars Minor returned and started rebuilding. At the end of the 18th century, the monastery was sold publicly by the French, which meant the end for the Friars Minor in Diest. Only the infirmary and the round-arched gate were preserved. During the 19th century, the beer industry in Diest experienced strong growth. Brewery family Pieck - later Cerckel - bought about half of the monastery domain and transformed it into a beautiful pleasure garden. The vegetable gardens became a pond with a beautiful wrought iron bridge, the former monastery infirmary was converted into a garden pavilion with an orangery in its extension. When Brewery Cerckel disappeared, the beautiful city garden also fell into disrepair. In 1990, the city of Diest bought the park. With the renovation of the pond, bridge, cave and round arch gate, the park has welcomed the public again since April 2011. The infirmary and orangery are also being restored to their former glory. Source: https://www.diest.be/vrije-tijd/sport/wandelen/park-cerckel

Cool spot by the pond... And dark...

The Grotto of Poelk, located at the intersection of Grotstraat and Omloopstraat in the hamlet of Poelk (Roosdaal), is a Marian grotto that is a replica of the famous grotto in Lourdes. Founded in the 19th century by local residents, the grotto was built with sandstone from a demolished castle in the area and the statue of Mary was given a prominent place thanks to a donation from the family of mayor Frans Tondeurs. Since its foundation, the grotto has been a popular place of pilgrimage, where candle processions and Eucharistic celebrations take place every year in May, especially on Ascension Day.