Forest edge with low pollarded trees domain Nieuwenhoven

Old woodland bank at the boundary of the 17th-century abbey estate of the Sint-Trudo Abbey in Nieuwenhoven with the 'Hoge Mielenbroekbos' of the Herkenrode Abbey. This bank served as a property boundary between the two estates. The woodland bank consists of an earthen bank with low pollarded hornbeams next to a ditch. This ensemble is clearly visible over a length of 120m and still counts 18 living specimens of old pollarded hornbeams. The pollarding height varies from 0.80 - 1.40m. Two specimens fused together at the pollards suggest that there was a coppice hedge on the bank. The high shoots on the pollards indicate that management ceased a long time ago. The pollards themselves can no longer be dated, but they are definitely old specimens. The woodland bank lost its function when the nationalized estates of the abbeys of Sint-Trudo and Herkenrode were sold to private individuals in 1797 and came into the possession of the same family during the 19th century.

Onroerend Erfgoed Vlaanderen