Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto and Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto

   Tongeren likes to remind you that it is the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a strong claim. The Romans founded a settlement here, Atuatuca Tungrorum, on the road between Cologne and Bavay, and the remains of its walls can still be seen around the town. Before that, the area was home to the Eburones, a Celtic tribe whose chieftain Ambiorix famously ambushed and destroyed a Roman legion in 54 BC. His statue, a heroic nineteenth-century figure with a winged helmet and a magnificent moustache, stands in the main square, the Grote Markt.

   Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto is where the day begins. Next is Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.

2. 2. Beguinage de Sint-Truiden

   At the edge of Sint-Truiden, a market town in the fruit country of Haspengouw, a ring of low brick houses surrounds a large grassy courtyard with trees and a Gothic church in the middle. This is the béguinage, one of the Flemish béguinages listed together by UNESCO, where for centuries communities of laywomen lived devout lives of prayer and work without taking permanent vows. It is one of the largest and best preserved in the region, and it has a calm, almost village-like feel.

   Read the complete Beguinage de Sint-Truiden write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Beguinage de Sint-Truiden comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.

3. 3. Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren

   Tienen means sugar to most Belgians. The town in the east of Flemish Brabant has been the home of Belgium's largest sugar refinery since the nineteenth century, and the smell of sugar beet being processed hangs over the town in autumn during the campaign, when trucks loaded with beets roll in from the surrounding fields. The Sint-Germanuskerk, the church of Saint Germanus, with its massive tower serving as the town's belfry, stands near the huge Grote Markt, one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The tower, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, has a carillon whose bells ring out over the town.

   Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 42 km into the recorded legs you reach Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren. Next is back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden.

4. 4. back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Beguinage de Sint-Truiden write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Beguinage de Sint-Truiden, late in the day. Next is Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.

5. 5. Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto. That is the ride.