Deerlijk: Nature, Routes and Cultural Heritage

Discover Deerlijk through several distinct themes: protected buildings, natural areas and routes with stated distances. If you are looking for a hotel for your stay, these highlights can help shape your choice of destination. First decide whether you would rather focus on historic architecture, distinctive landscapes or a particular route; Deerlijk offers a point of interest for each of these.

Protected Buildings and Milling History

The Sint-Columba parish church is a protected monument. The present-day neoclassical church building dates from 1774 and replaced a Romanesque-Gothic church. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe ter Ruste chapel was founded in 1639 and is also a protected monument. Here you can encounter two religious monuments with different historical points of reference: the founding of the chapel and the construction of the present-day church.

The Ter Geest en Ter Zande mill site, dating from the late 19th century, is also part of the cultural heritage. It is defined by a brick gallery windmill from 1888, a mill with a steam engine and chimney from 1898, and a small cross barn with a cart shed. The two mills are associated with different construction dates; the cross barn with cart shed adds another named structure to the complex. This takes you from windmill architecture to a mill powered by a steam engine.

Natural Areas with Distinctive Character

The original landscape has been largely restored in Wijmelbroek Park. Small-scale landscape features include ditches, a wildflower meadow and a high-stem orchard with old fruit varieties. Its diversity lies in the combination of these features: the ditches, flowering area and orchard each form a different part of the landscape.

Wilgenhoek is a natural area of about half a hectare, home to numerous plant and animal species. Green walking paths serve as connecting corridors to the surrounding area. Unlike Wijmelbroek, whose described focus is on restored landscape features, the character of Wilgenhoek is defined by its biodiversity and the connecting role of its paths.

Bonte Os stands out for having the largest natural reed bed in Southwest Flanders. The natural area also includes a spring woodland, an area of wild growth and two adjacent pastures. Important for your planning: Bonte Os is accessible only as part of guided walks.

The Veemeersen also offer a distinctive landscape. They lie among fields and not far from the Bokkeslot children’s farm, and invite you to linger and enjoy the scenery.

Plan Routes and Guided Tours

For cyclists, the three local Stijn Devolder discovery cycling tours offer a specific choice of 16, 30 and 70 kilometres. The distances range from the shortest route at 16 kilometres, through the 30-kilometre option, to the longest at 70 kilometres. You can take the stated route length into account when planning.

The Molenhoek route is 6 kilometres long and runs close to the centre of Deerlijk. It is shorter than the shortest Stijn Devolder tour, which is 16 kilometres long. The discovery cycling tours and Molenhoek therefore offer routes of different lengths to choose from.

The René De Clercq Museum offers guided tours every day throughout the year, which must be booked in advance. Be sure to account for this booking requirement before planning the tour as part of your stay.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Oostrozebeke, Torhout, Zonnebeke, Ingelmunster, Diksmuide, Pittem, Avelgem, Veurne.

For the broader travel overview: West Flanders.