A very Flemish landscape shot on the out skirts of the historic town of Lier. The church spire you can see on the horizon belong to the 'Heilige Familiekerk', which roughly translates as 'the church of the holly family'.
Tags: Belgium Canal Church Clouds Landscape Shot Lier Monochrome Pathway Tonemapped Topaz Adjust Winter
Another look at 'het groot spiu' in Lier. This charming sluice house from the early 1500s was built to control the flow of water running through the centre of Lier. Here we see it from the 'inside', i.e. from the town't point of view.
Tags: Belgium Historic Building History Lier Local History PTLens Reflection River Winter
This shot of the back of Kasteel Gestelhof as seen from the banks of the river 'de Grote Nete' gives just a glimpse of the beauty of this place. The buildings we see closest to us are just the stables, the moated castle itself is in lovely local red brick, and is just seen peeping between the trees.
Tags: Belgium Historic Building Kessel Local History River Winter
Title Translation: An old-style farm building in Kessel
North of the town of Lier there is a beautiful area of rural beauty along the banks of the river 'de Grote Nete'. There are many traditional old flemish farm buildings scattered throughout this landscape. These buildings consist of living quarters and a barn under the same roof, and are generally referred to as a 'hoeve' in flemish.
Tags: Belgium Historic Building Kessel Topaz Adjust Winter
This charming medieval building was built between 1508 and 1516 to act as a sluice house on what was once the main course of the river 'de Kliene Nete'. Having been built at the meeting point of two rivers (de Grote Nete & de Kliene Nete), management of water has always been important to the residents of Lier.
Originally the two rivers met to the south of the town, now, they meet to the north of the town. The change came way back in 1426 when a canal was dug north of the city to connect the two rivers, allowing much of the water to flow around the town. The remnants of the old path of de Kleine Nete is now known as 'De Binnen Nete'. This sluice house was used to control how much of the water from de Kliene Nete was allowed to flow through the centre of the town, and how much was to be diverted to de Grote Nete via the 1426 canal. The sluice house actually had a dual function - to protect the town from flooding, and, to make sure there was water in the moats around the town for defence.
Useful Translations for understanding the river names:
Kleine = Small
Grote = Big
Binnen = Inner
Tags: Belgium Historic Building Lier Local History PTLens Winter