Heistraat

The Heistraat is located in the middle of the meadows with grazing cows, with here and there a castle and a farm. It is remarkable that this is the current landscape when you know that there was and is enormous pressure to build on this area. The area around the Heistraat is part of the Zwijnaarde castle site, which connects to the 'Scheldeveld' (De Pinte & Nazareth). This is an area that could not be converted into agricultural land during the great period of medieval reclamation, but was instead mainly used for grazing. This allowed the shrub heather (Calluna vulgaris) to expand. Reminders of this can be found in place names in which the component 'heath' occurs (such as the Heidestraat). During the final phase of the medieval reclamation (13th century), attempts were made here and there to cultivate the land. St. Peter's Abbey in Ghent played an important role as one of the main owners. The marginal nature of the sandy soils was undoubtedly one of the reasons that led to the failure of many of these reclamations. The area of Reivissche and its surroundings bears the traces of such late medieval reclamations.

Dromos