Hoge Kempen National Park (Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen)

Hoge Kempen National Park 

Location: Flemish Region  Map

Area: 60 km2

Official site

Phone: +32 (0)78 15 04 27

 

Description of Hoge Kempen National Park

Hoge Kempen National Park is one of the few protected areas in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It was opened on March 26, 2006. Hoge Kempen National Park covers 60 square kilometers in the Flanders. Despite its modest size it is the largest protected area in the region. It consists of patches of pine forest and heathland. The landscape of this protected area were largely formed by glaciers. After they retreated it left deep carved valleys with sand blown from the direction of the sea. Hoge Kempen National Park has 40 round trip hikes that range from 3 to 14 km in length. In total there is a network of 200 km of footpaths within boundaries of the national park. Besides you can rent a mountain bike or get around on a horseback. The area is fairly safe with number of rangers patrolling the grounds of the national park. For more information or park maps you can contact them by phone or go to their official website of Hoge Kempen National Park. The main entrance to the protected area is situated between municipalities of Maasmechelen and Dilsen- Stokkem.

 

Location

The park is located in the province of Limburg on the territory of ten municipalities: As, Bilzen, Bree, Dilsen-Stokkem, Genk, Lanaken, Maaseik, Maasmechelen, Oudsbergen and Zutendaal.

The Hoge Kempen, or the Kempens Plateau, is actually a large rubble cone formed by boulders and stones from the Ardennes, deposited by the Meuse during the Ice Age in the southeast of the Limburg Kempen, later covered with sand by sea winds. Subsequently, a new, relatively deeply worn valley was created where the Grensmaas found its way through its own rubble. The transition to the Kempens Plateau, west of the Meuse valley, is very steep and forms a staircase of 45 meters on average. This steep edge runs from Opoeteren near Maaseik in the north to Gellik near Lanaken in the south. It forms an unbroken line more than 20 kilometers long, one of the most spectacular geological phenomena in the rather flat Flanders. About half of this escarpment is located in the National Park. The height of the park varies between 45 and 155 m above sea level, with the northern slag heap of Waterschei, built up with waste from coal production, as the highest point.

Ice floes can be seen in many places in the Hoge Kempen National Park.

 

History

The Hoge Kempen National Park was festively opened on Sunday 26 March 2006. This first national park in Flanders took shape within the Regional Landscape "Kempen en Maasland" (RLKM), established in 1990 within the framework of an offensive nature policy. It was one of the initiatives to create work in Limburg after the mine closures by reorienting economic development in a tourist direction, among other things.

The original Hoge Kempen National Park was approximately 6700 hectares in size, located in the municipalities of Dilsen-Stokkem, Maasmechelen, Lanaken, As (Belgium), Genk and Zutendaal. 3741 hectares of this area are European protected as Natura 2000 area (Habitats Directive area BE2200035 and overlapping Birds Directive area BE2200727 'Mechelse heath and valley of the Ziepbeek').

In 2018, the park expanded by ten square kilometers by adding the Klaverberg and the adjacent slag heap of the coal mine of Waterschei, which closed in 1987, the Heiderbos, the Moorsberg and Opglabbekerzavel in Genk and As.

In 2020, the National Park doubled in size to 12,742 hectares by adding the nature reserves Duinengordel, Bergerven and the Natura 2000 area Munsterbos, respectively on the territory of the municipalities of Maaseik, Bree, Oudsbergen and Bilzen, and a few plots adjacent to the original area.

It is expected that in due course the Valley of the Bosbeek, part of the Natura 2000 area 'Bosbeekvallei and adjacent forest and heathland areas in As-Opglabbeek-Maaseik' (BE2200043), with the source area in As en Waterschei and the estuary in the Maas near Maaseik, will be integrated into the National Park.

 

Biotopes

The most common biotopes are coniferous forests and heathland. In addition, there are deciduous forests, inland dunes, fens, streams, dry valleys, ponds, gravel ponds and minestone mountains (terrils). A large number of plant and animal species live there. Some typical and/or rare species: juniper, gorse, red heather, gale, swamp clubmoss, bogwort, dragonflies, heather blue, queen's page, fritillary, moor frog, natterjack toad, smooth snake, viviparous lizard, brook lamprey, black woodpecker, nightjar, roe deer.

 

Vision and method

The major challenge in creating this national park is the defragmentation of the area, which will benefit the viability of flora and fauna. The Kikbeek ecoduct over the E314 motorway in Opgrimbie near Maasmechelen and the eco-veloduct over the same highway in Zutendaal were the first achievements to achieve this goal. After that, the Tourist Road (Weg naar Heiwijck), dating from the 1960s, which had been constructed through the Mechelse Heide, was closed to through traffic. This 4 km long road will eventually become a separate cycle path, part of the Limburg cycle route network. An "eco valley" will also be created to the west of the Kikbeek ecoduct, where there will be a viaduct for the E314.

Another action in the national park is the restoration of the source of the Kikbeek near Opgrimbie. After the white sand exploitation in the source area of this brook ceased, the area was redesigned and the brook was given a new upper course, with an adjustable weir for, among other things, restoring the groundwater level in the wider area. Due to years of exploitation and cratering, that level had dropped considerably.

There are also a number of enclaves within the boundaries of the park, such as a number of permanently inhabited and non-zonal buildings, gravel and sand extraction quarries and an industrial estate. The plan is that gradually all land will be bought by the Flemish government and integrated into the national park. In 2005, 85% of the entire area was owned by the government.

 

Tourism

The main function of the national park is nature conservation, but recreational shared use (hiking, cycling, mountain biking, forest games, horseback riding, nature experience, nature research, ...) is possible if this is done without causing damage to nature and landscape. The Hoge Kempen National Park is presented as a whole to the general public. An entrance gate is being built in each municipality that explains an aspect of the national park.

Terhills: The entrance gate on the border between the municipalities of Maasmechelen and Dilsen-Stokkem functions as the main gate of the national park. Was called Connecterra until January 2021.
Kattevennen: The entrance gate in Genk has the theme of the macrocosm and is set up at the recreation area Kattevennen next to the Cosmodrome with, among other things, a public observatory.
Mechelse Heide: The entrance gate in Maasmechelen has a walking theme and is located near the Mechelse Heide nature reserve. The star attraction of this gateway is the vast purple moorland.
Pietersheim: The entrance gate in Lanaken has a history theme and is located in the Pietersheim castle, which consists of a Romanesque castle ruin near the Pietersembos.
De Lieteberg: The entrance gate in Zutendaal has the insect world as its theme. The visitor center is located in an old gravel pit that once housed a bee fertilization station.
Station As: The entrance gate in As has the theme of the industrial past of the region. The watchtower at the former station of As resembles a derrick used to drill for coal a century ago.

After the 2020 expansion, there will be three additional entrance gates:
Commandery of Gruitrode
't Eilandje in Neeroeteren
Thor Park in Genk

Molenberg was purchased in 2007 by the Flemish government.
A network of 200 km of hiking trails exists within the national park. Forty loop-shaped walks have been developed with a length between 3 and 14 km. The start of these walking loops is at one of the six entrance gates. The cycle paths in the national park are part of the node network of the cycle route network of the Regional Landscape Kempen and Maasland. Furthermore, within the national park there is a network of 140 km of mostly unpaved equestrian and driving trails that connects to the equestrian and driving route Limburgse Kempen. These are organized via a node system similar to the cycle node network.

Since June 2022 there is also a long-distance walk through the National Park: the National Park Trail. This is a strong modification of the former long-distance walk. The walk is 110 km long and is signposted with plaques with a brown wolf's paw. The walk consists of 5 stages, each of which starts from the following entrance gates: Kattevennen, Pietersheim, Terhills, Dunes Belt and Thorpark. It is one of the few walks in Flanders where you see little buildings and traffic for more than 100 km. The hike was inaugurated at the Hiking Festival from June 3 to 6, 2022. During that Pentecost weekend, 400 participants hiked the route over 4 days.

With European support, "Rangers" have been trained who can introduce the various types of visitors and recreationists to the National Park in the Hoge Kempen.

 

Ecology and economy

The Dutch social geographer Tom Bade calculated the economic return of the national park in his publication "Hoge Kempen, high benefits". The park created 5100 jobs in the six municipalities where the "gates" are also located. This concerns personnel in care institutions, agriculture and catering. The annual turnover is 191 million euros, accounting for 13 million euros in tax revenue. In addition, the 40 million euros invested by the government in the past ten years were recouped in three years. The park had one million visitors in 2013 and contributes to the preservation of biodiversity and the well-being and health of local residents.

 

Recognition

Park
In April 2008, project leader Ignace Schops was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize (the "green Nobel Prize") in San Francisco. Schops and his RLKM project group received this prestigious prize for the original way in which they managed to protect a large area of valuable nature in a relatively densely populated area. It is a recognition for the concept that aims to integrate nature, agriculture, economy and tourism. On May 7, 2008, he was honored for this in the European Parliament, also as an exemplary project where public authorities and private initiative work together.

UNESCO World Heritage
After nine municipal authorities involved, the province of Limburg and the Flemish government signed a declaration of intent to this end in 2012, the National Park submitted an application to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage Site on behalf of the Flemish Government in 2018. The designation emphasizes the transition character and cultural dimension of the park and the surrounding area: Hoge Kempen Rural-Industrial Transition Landscape. The requested recognition therefore covers a larger area than the park itself and also includes the Duinengordel nature reserve (since 2020, this area has been part of the national park), adjacent special green urban districts, garden districts, and a number of former coal mines and associated heritage (Winterslag, Waterschei, Zwartberg and Eisden). The World Heritage Commission will evaluate the application at one of its next annual sessions. However, the file was withdrawn a year later because of the criticism of the proposal from UNESCO. The Flemish government will revise the proposal. Despite this setback, Masterplan 20-40 reiterated the ambition to be recognized as World Heritage.