Heirbrug Mill

Just over a century ago, there were at least 35 windmills in Lokeren. Today, only one remains, the Heirbrugmolen. The current stone mill dates back to 1837 and was fully restored and made operational in 2002. Notably, there is an open space around the mill. This is a result of the so-called 'wind right' of the millers. As a consequence, no construction was allowed near a mill, as it would take away the wind from the mill.

The Sint-Annakapel in Heirbrugstraat dates from 1644. There was already a chapel earlier, but it was destroyed by the Geuzen(1) during the religious wars(2). The chapel is dedicated to Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. She also miraculously became pregnant and is invoked for childlessness.

Heirbrugmolen
Heirbrugstraat 106-162 9160 Lokeren
Open for visits:
Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month: 2 PM - 5 PM.

Geuzen (1)
This term refers to the opponents of the Spanish King Philip II during the religious wars. The word is derived from the French 'gueux', which means beggar or scrounger. The Spanish rulers in the Netherlands used this word for the rebels. It clearly indicates that they underestimated them and thought it would be a piece of cake to defeat them. The war ultimately lasted 80 years.

Religious wars (2)
The religious wars during the second half of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century are also known as the Eighty Years' War. It was a war in which the population directly confronted the Catholic rulers. They were thoroughly fed up with the abuses, not only of the Church but of all traditional authorities. They placed their hopes on Protestantism, which exposed the misdeeds within the Church. The anger peaked with the Iconoclasm that swept through the Netherlands in 1566. Churches were stormed, and a tremendous amount of church treasures were lost at that time. Eventually, the Protestants moved north, and the Netherlands were split into two regions: the northern Protestant Netherlands, now known as the Netherlands, and the southern Catholic Netherlands, now known as Belgium.

Stichting Open Kerken