Lier Off The Beaten Path

Forgotten by everyone, most of the people in Lier don't know there's a soldier cemetery in their town.

Address :
Mechelsesteenweg
(on the ring of Lier, take the road to Mechelen, after 150 m on your left)

Ideal for a walk, the oldest cemetery of Lier.
Beautiful graves and statues (even in Carrara marble).

In the near future they're gonna it a cemetery-park, with benches.

Address :
Mechelsesteenweg
(at the crossing of the ring and the road to Mechelen, drive towards the centre; on your right after 200 m)

Builded in 1877 as a defence for Antwerp. Trapezium shaped with a ditch around it.

It isn't opened for tourists, because of the danger of the shafts and the pits.

What you can do, is take a walk around the ditch.

Address :
Fortweg
(on the ring of Lier, take the road to Aarschot, after 100m turn left, after 50 m turn right, drive till the end)

Most goods in medieval times were brought to a market to be sold, devided and distributed from the producer to the consumer or trader. Therefor Lier (as well as many other places in Belgium and The Netherlands) have a central marketplace (miscelanous products) granemarket, fishmarket, vegetablemarket, flowermarket etc. etc. etc. With precious meat it was however little different. This was traded within a special house, called the meathouse (vleeshuis). Many towns still have one and also in Lier it is to be seen behind the townhall on the marketplace.

It would almost be forgotten when it wouldn't have been so spaciously put in a field. The statues, like this one of a sheepherder guiding his flock, of Lier. This welcomed artworks is obviosuly ignored by the masses, but can tell us also about some other parts of history then the ones in the buildings. In the surroundings of Lier there used to be a quite poor agricultural land. Especially a little further North-East, sheepherding was one of the few activities that had some income. For the textile-industry that was Flanders motor in early medieval times, the whool was of vital importance. Loads were imported from Scotland, but homemarket-whool was of course a lot cheaper (or should I say "sheeper"). (-:

While roaming around in lier, just once and a while go in one of the many alleys that are leading away from the main roads. Here little treasures await you and pictoresk scenes will make you draw your camera immediately. This monastry is on the opposit side of Saint Gummarus, from which most people immediately turn back to the marketsquare.

Clamped in between the beautiful houses of the marketsquare and almost overshaded by the beauty of the townhall, the little Saint Pieterschapel is the oldest building in Lier. This Romanic-Gothic chapel is built around 1255 and has had it's share of misfortune. The French plundered it and tried to burn it down and in the Great War (World war 1) it again got heavily damaged by fire. Still it stands proud in between it's graceful neighbors. On the place where this church stands, the original chapel of Gummarus stood, but his grave (behind the altar) is empty as it has been rellocated to the Saint Gummarus-church itself.

Well, we all have to go. In this case is at a little side street called Brouwerijstraat, where you find all comfort.