Hoge Kempen National Park (''Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen'') is the first

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It is located in the

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

in the East of the Province of Limburg, between Genk and the river

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

(Dutch: ''Maas'') Valley. It includes the elevated ground that defines the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between that river and the low ground of the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of the river Demer that covers most of Belgian Limburg.

History

It was opened on Sunday 29 March 2006. Covering 67 square kilometres, it forms part of the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

network. The area is mostly

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and pine forest. It was first established in 1990 within the ''Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland'' as part of a progressive policy to advance nature reserves in Flanders. In May 2011 it was placed on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's Tentative List for consideration as a

World Heritage site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. On 23 March 2012, the nine municipal councils, the Province of Limburg and the Flemish government signed a letter of intent to support the application of the Hoge Kempen National Park for recognition as UNESCO World Heritage. The national park has revealed plans to expand its territory to more than 100 square kilometres. In the 1990s, the park was the place of origin of the now-widespread

numbered-node cycle network The numbered-node cycle network ( nl, fietsknooppuntennetwerk; german: Knotenpunktbezogene Wegweisung/Knotenpunktsystem für Radwanderern ormaland bike-by-numbers", informalref name="Jerichow"/>) is a wayfinding system. It spans the Netherlands ...

. Designer Hugo Bollen wanted something short; he felt it was important that the signage not contain too much information. RLKM estimates that the network brings 16.5 million euros of revenue to Kempen in Maasland annually.

Geography

The park is in the province of Limburg, covering territory in the municipalities of As, Dilsen-Stokkem, Genk, Lanaken, Maasmechelen and

Zutendaal Zutendaal (; li, Zietendaol; in English sometimes also referred to as "Sweet Valley") is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. On 1 January 2017 Zutendaal had a total pop ...

. As well as extensive woodlands, it includes existing protected natural areas such as the Mechelse Heide, Zipebeek Valley (''de Vallei van de Ziepbeek''), Bog under the Mountain (''het Ven onder de Berg'') and the Neerharer Heide. The Hoge Kempen (or ''Kempens Plateau'') is a large area of scree formed from rocks that were deposited in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

by the

during the last Ice Age in the south east of Limburg and covered with sand blown by sea winds. Over time a relatively deep valley was eroded by the Grensmaas. The slope of the plateau to the west of the Maas valley is steep and rises 45 metres to form a step of sorts. This step runs 20 kilometres from

Opoeteren Maaseik (; li, Mezeik) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. Both in size (close to 77 km2) and in population (appro ...

at Maaseik near Lanaken in the north to Gellik in the south. Over half of this step lies within the park and the height of land above this reaches 102 metres. The area is crossed by several major highways that presented a challenge as to how to maintain eco-diversity across the fragmented parkland. Construction took place of the Kikbeek ''eco-velo-duct'' over the E314 near Maasmechelen and also near

. The ''Toeristiche Weg'' built 60 years ago on the Mechelse Heide was closed to road traffic as part of the park planning. This paved road will become part of the Limburg cycling network. West of the Kikbeek eco-duct will be a eco-valley and another eco-duct over the E314. Another element to aid the recovery of the park was the restoration of the source of the Kikbeek at

Opgrimbie Maasmechelen (; li, Mechele) is a municipality located on the Meuse in the Belgian province of Limburg. It comprises the former municipalities of Mechelen-aan-de-Maas, Vucht, Leut, Meeswijk, Uikhoven, Eisden, Opgrimbie, Boorsem, and Kotem. A ...

. This resulted in the upper course of the brook being redesigned with a controllable flow that helped restore the natural water level in the area. Due to years of excavation of white sand evidenced by the many craters, the water level had fallen. Inside the boundaries of the park there are still some enclaves where there are some residences, gravel and sand quarries and industrial zones. The Government of Flanders currently owns 85% of the land in the park.

Ecology

The habitat is mostly coniferous trees and heath land. There are some deciduous trees, dunes, marshes, streams, dry valleys, ponds, gravel pits and former mine spoil heaps. Typical flora and fauna include juniper;

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

; bell heather;

sweet gale ''Myrica gale'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Myricaceae, native to parts of Japan, North Korea, Russia, mainland Europe, the British Isles and parts of northern North America, in Canada and the United States. Common names include ...

;

club moss Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching s ...

; asphodel;

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

; silver studded blue butterfly; swallow tail butterfly; Granville fritillary butterfly ;

Moor frog The moor frog (''Rana arvalis'') is a slim, reddish-brown, semiaquatic amphibian native to Europe and Asia. Moor frogs are known for their ability to freeze solid and survive thawing. The frog makes use of various cryoprotectants i.e. antifreeze ...

; Natterjack toad; Smooth snake;

Common lizard The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara''), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it ...

; Brook Lamprey;

Black woodpecker The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

;

Red Fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

; Pine marten; Nightjar and

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

Tourism

The park is open to the general public and each municipality has its own gateway to the park. These are: *Connecterra: The gateway at the border between the municipalities of Maasmechelen and Dilsen-Stokkem acts as the main gate of the national park. *Kattevennen: This is the gateway in Genk and is themed on the cosmos. Here is the Cosmodrome and a recreation area. *Mechelse Heide: The gateway in Maasmechelen leads to the Mechelse Heide nature reserve, a vast purple heath land. *Pietersheim: The gateway in Lanaken is located in the Pietersheim castle, which is a Romanesque castle ruin at the Pietersembos. *The Lieteberg: The gateway in Zutendaal has the theme of the insect world. The visitor center is located in an old gravel pit that was once a mating station for bees. *Station As: The gateway in As has the theme of the industrial past of the region. The lookout tower at the former As station resembles a coal drilling tower typical of a century ago. There is a 200 km network of hiking trails within the national park. Some 40 loop-shaped walks were designed with a length between 3 and 14 km. The start of these hiking trails is at one of the 6 entrance gates. The cycle paths in the national park form part of the

, the Kempen and Maasland Regional Landscape part. In addition, within the national park there is a 140 km network of mostly unpaved bridleways and paths that connects the rider and heart of the Limburg Kempen. These are organized via a node system similar to the cycle node network. Support from the European Union has meant that there are a number of Rangers on hand to help all visitors.

Awards

In April 2008, project manager

Ignace Schops Ignace Schops (born 1964) is a Belgian environmentalist, a biodiversity, landscaping and herpetology expert. He is Director of the Belgian NGO Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland (RLKM), and was the President of the largest network on the natu ...

received the Goldman Environmental Prize (the "Green Nobel Prize") in San Francisco.The Goldmanprize for this project The 2008 Goldman Prize Winner
/ref> Schops and his RLKM project group got this prestigious award for the original way they managed to protect a large area of valuable nature in a relatively densely populated area. It recognized the concept of integrating nature, agriculture, economy and tourism. On 7 May 2008 he was honored in the European Parliament, also as an example project where public authorities and private initiatives cooperated successfully.

Gallery

File:Connecterra - hoofdtoegangspoort van het Nationaal Park Hoge Kempen 18-06-2018 11-42-55.jpg, Connecterra, a gate to Hoge Kempen File:Lieteberg 5-04-2019 14-06-44.jpg, Lieteberg park centre File:Eisden Schachtbokken.jpg, Abandoned mineshafts (2018) File:View from terril on lake and terrils in national park hoge Kempen - Connecterra.JPG, Lakes and forests (2013) File:Hoge Kempen - Vallei van de Kikbeekbron en omgeving (11).JPG File:Hoge Kempen - Vallei van de Kikbeekbron en omgeving (8).JPG, Trees encroaching the heath File:Mariabeeld (Eduard Nulens 1954) Hesselsberg 5-04-2019 13-27-59.jpg, Statue File:Ecoducthogekempen.jpg, Ecoduct Kikbeek

References

External links

Hoge Kempen National Park homepage

The Goldmanprize for this project
{{authority control National parks of Belgium Geography of Limburg (Belgium) Protected areas established in 2006 Tourist attractions in Limburg (Belgium) Genk