(WWII) Shelters and green cabbage on the Elisabethlaan

Before the war, Elisabethlaan looked completely different than it does now. It was a wide, unpaved avenue planted with trees on both sides. During the war, this view would change dramatically. From September 1939 onwards, the soldiers and unemployed who were billeted in Aarschot were put to work digging four large zigzag trenches with a total length of 400 metres as a shelter for the inhabitants. It is doubtful that it was used during the bombings. Most of the inhabitants of Aarschot fled the city. For the youth of Aarschot, however, this was an excellent playground, to the despair of the vigilantes. But adults also inflicted damage. By May 1941, domestic fuel had become so scarce that whole loads of wood were stolen from the trenches.

Toerisme Aarschot