The best running trails around Landen

The church was built around 1200 in tuff stone, a type of yellow sandstone from nearby Lincent. The design of the church is somewhat unusual, a two-aisled nave with a square choir, while the tower stands on the south side of the main nave. The block altar in tuff stone which, apart from the rosettes, shows great similarity to that of the sister church in Wezeren, is covered with a tabletop in Gobertange stone. The colourful stained glass windows are a true feast for the eyes.

Probably already in the Middle Ages and certainly from the 17th century onwards, the wet valley of the Dormaalbeek and the Zeyp was used by the villagers of Attenhoven and Rumsdorp as hay meadows, hence the name 'Beemden'. After WWII, land use changed. The wet areas became unprofitable for agriculture and were abandoned. The hay meadows were drained and used as pasture for cattle or sheep. Certain parts were planted with poplars. Here and there you can still find remnants of former hay meadows, but from the 1960s onwards, the appearance of the Beemden changed drastically, and currently there are about seven distinct biotopes. This rich variety ensures a great diversity of wild species. Organisms from both wet and dry soils, from running and stagnant water, from forest and hay meadow feel at home there.

Walshoutem (French: Houtain-l'Évêque) is a village in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant and a sub-municipality of Landen. The oldest mentions of the place refer to Holtheim (1118) and Houthem (1262). In 1548, Wals-Houtem is mentioned for the first time. The name etymologically comes from the Germanic compound of hulta ("tall forest") and haima ("home"). The name is comparable to numerous other Houtems, such as Sint-Margriet-Houtem near Tienen. Houtem near Landen was expanded with Wals. The village was likely predominantly French-speaking in the 16th century, hence the addition of 'Wals' (Walloon). Around 1650, Dutch became the dominant language again. The village was donated to the Bishop of Liège in 1036. Hence the French name Houtain-l'Evêque ("Bishop's Houtem"), with old forms such as: Houthem episcopi Leodiensis (1269), Houtaing le Vesque (1349) and Bisschops houthem (1731).Walshoutem (French: Houtain-l'Évêque) is a village in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant and a sub-municipality of Landen. The oldest mentions of the place refer to Holtheim (1118) and Houthem (1262). In 1548, Wals-Houtem is mentioned for the first time. The name etymologically comes from the Germanic compound of hulta ("tall forest") and haima ("home"). The name is comparable to numerous other Houtems, such as Sint-Margriet-Houtem near Tienen. Houtem near Landen was expanded with Wals. The village was likely predominantly French-speaking in the 16th century, hence the addition of 'Wals' (Walloon). Around 1650, Dutch became the dominant language again. The village was donated to the Bishop of Liège in 1036. Hence the French name Houtain-l'Evêque ("Bishop's Houtem"), with old forms such as: Houthem episcopi Leodiensis (1269), Houtaing le Vesque (1349) and Bisschops houthem (1731). Source: https://www.whtm.be/walshoutem

Basilica-style building on a trapezoidal plan; four bays on the east side culminating in a square choir and crowned on the south side by a massive tower. Interesting tower volume in transitional style (mid-13th century). Quartzite plinth and tuff facing. Three stories: the ground floor currently features a pointed arch arcade; the bell storey has four paired sound holes with a Romanesque column surmounted by a cube capital. The spire dates from the 17th century. Gothic naves covered with mullioned beams or a flat ceiling; north entrance. The choir, also built of tuff, dates from the third quarter of the 13th century; the apse features an oculus and a three-light window with a three-lobed archivolt. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/43465

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Landen has had a large number of corona victims. Together with the artists Sarah Dhont, Kobe Lecompte and Wilfried Roosen, the city set up a place of comfort in 2022. Sarah Dhont provided the wooden columns, Kobe Lecomte the text on the panel along the monument and IronArt Wilfried Roosen forged words by Kobe in metal, attached to a number of columns: healing, processing, believing, talking, listening. Source: https://www.hln.be/landen/troostplek-met-kunstwerk-ingehuldigd-in-de-beemden~a4c5a7f7/

The Sint-Pietersbandenkerk is a beautiful example of a rural church that has evolved over the centuries, consisting of a 16th-century Gothic choir in Lincent tuff stone, a sacristy in Maasland style from 1723, a neo-Gothic nave, transept and west tower from 1890 designed by the Sint-Truiden architect E. Serrure and as a final addition two neo-Gothic side chapels from 1896. The church is still surrounded by the walled cemetery with mortuary, with an artistic wrought and cast iron fence by the Van Aerschot company from Herentals from 1873 that was reused around 1890 with the addition of two new wing gates between bluestone pillars, and with a number of striking and locally historically valuable 17th-century grave crosses, late 19th-early 20th-century gravestones with column and wrought iron crosses. Inventory of Immovable Heritage: Parish Church of St. Peter's Bands, https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/302507

In the midst of the large-scale cultural landscape, this area is one of the last refuges for wild animals and plants in Landen. Small willow groves spontaneously developed between the ponds, where woodpeckers and golden orioles, among others, make their nests. The relatively pure groundwater in the ponds makes a very varied aquatic life possible, ranging from the large yellow-edged water beetle to dragonflies, fish and kingfishers. The pussy willows around the ponds are particularly striking. They grow quickly, but their branches break off easily. Because they do not contain any hard heartwood, birds such as the green and the great spotted woodpecker use them to carve out their nests. The branches that hang close to the water offer ideal resting or viewing places for wild ducks and blue herons. They are especially vital for the kingfisher. Sitting on a lookout post, it hunts for rudd, sticklebacks and other aquatic animals in the water. In early summer, white foam drops sometimes fall from the pussy willows: cuckoo spit. It comes from the larvae of the foam cicada, which produce foam and hide in it. Many other insects live on the pussy willows. They are eagerly eaten by insectivorous birds such as the chiffchaff, the willow warbler and the spotted flycatcher. The bankside vegetation with bulrush, hairy willowherb and marsh sedge offers nesting opportunities for the moorhen and the coot. In summer, many dragonflies and damselflies float above and around the ponds, the most striking of which is the large emperor dragonfly. Swallows hunt for mosquitoes above the ponds. This is therefore the ideal place for a hobby to catch both a swallow and a large dragonfly. In addition to the various types of grass, you will find plants here that feel at home in a dry, calcareous environment. Striking features include the box pod, the cinquefoil and the wild marjoram. Here you can observe numerous species of butterflies in the summer. From the piled-up area you have a good view of the reed field, the breeding area of the reed warbler, the sedge warbler, the reed bunting and many other marsh birds. Wood edges screen the hayfield and the berry or nut-bearing shrubs offer shelter and food to birds such as the garden warbler, chiffchaff and jay. On the darkest parts you can sometimes find glowworms in the evening. Source: https://www.natuurpunt.be/natuurgebieden/beemden-landen