Scherpenheuvel-Zichem

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Scherpenheuvel-Zichem
Scherpenheuvel-Zichem wapen.svg Flag of Scherpenheuvel-Zichem.svg
Scherpenheuvel-Zichem (Flemish Brabant)
Scherpenheuvel-Zichem
Scherpenheuvel-Zichem
State : BelgiumBelgium Belgium
Region : Flanders
Province : Flemish Brabant
District : Lions
Coordinates : 50 ° 59 ′  N , 4 ° 59 ′  E Coordinates: 50 ° 59 ′  N , 4 ° 59 ′  E
Area : 50.50 km²
Residents: 23,029 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density: 456 inhabitants per km²
Height: 44  m
Post Code: 3270 (Scherpenheuvel)
3271 (Averbode, Zichem)
3272 (Messelbroek, Testelt)
Prefix: 013, 016
Mayor: Manu Claes ( CD&V / N-VA )

Local government address : 		Stad Scherpenheuvel-Zichem,
August Nihoulstraat 13–15,
3270 Scherpenheuvel-Zichem
Website: www.scherpenheuvel-zichem.be
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Scherpenheuvel-Zichem ( French Montaigu-Zichem ) is a city in Belgium , in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant and there in the district of Leuven . It was created in 1977 from the merger of the municipalities of Averbode, Messelbroek, Scherpenheuvel, Testelt and Zichem.

Geography and traffic

Scherpenheuvel is six kilometers west of the city of Diest and about 12 kilometers east of Aarschot . It is about 30 kilometers to the southwest of Leuven and the capital Brussels is about 50 kilometers to the west. The Demer flows through the northern municipal area in numerous windings to the west, where it joins the Dijle from the right at Werchter .

The A2 motorway ( Brussels - Sittard-Geleen (NL) - Aachen ) runs just two kilometers south. In Testelt and Zichem there is one train station each on the Löwen - Hasselt railway line .

Culture and sights

The small town of Scherpenheuvel is grouped around the baroque pilgrimage church , built in the 17th century and consecrated to Our Lady , which was elevated to the rank of a minor basilica in 1922 . The Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel , in which Pope John Paul II also prayed, makes Scherpenheuvel one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium. On February 2, 2011, the church received the papal award Golden Rose from Pope Benedict XVI.

On the northern edge of Averbode , seven kilometers north of Scherpenheuvel, lies the Averbode Abbey of the Order of the Premonstratensians .

Zichem became famous through the Flemish writer Ernest Claes , who vividly described his place of birth in the picaresque novel "De Witte" (German version : flax head ).

  • Our Lady Basilica in Scherpenheuvel

  • Michaelskirche in the municipality of Messelbroek

  • Ernest Claes' birth house in Zichem

There are several hotels and pensions in the two main towns; the tourist office organizes a lot around the fictional character “De Witte” (De Witte = the white one, because the boy had white-blonde / flax-blonde hair).

literature

  • Anke Naujokat: A star-shaped hortus conclusus: considerations on the form and program of the archducal initial project for the Marian pilgrimage site of Scherpenheuvel . In: INSITU 2017/2. ISSN 1866-959X, pp. 229-246.

Web links

Commons : Scherpenheuvel-Zichem  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Scherpenheuvel in the Topographia Circuli Burgundici (Mathäus Merian)  - sources and full texts
Wikisource: Zichem in the Topographia Circuli Burgundici (Mathäus Merian)  - sources and full texts