Lil chapel

The neighborhood knows this medieval St. Elisabeth Chapel better as Lil's chapel. According to tradition, the building was originally a place of worship for lepers. This may be true given the location of the chapel far away from the village center on the border with another municipality.

Elisabeth of Thuringia is the patron saint of the chapel. This Hungarian princess lived only 24 years in the 13th century. She made an impression by sacrificing her titles of nobility for the care of the poor.

The famous bell founder Frans Van den Geyn poured an 8 kilogram bell for the tower in 1527. The municipality keeps this clock. A replica hangs in the tower.

The extension of the chapel in 1725 is clearly visible. From then on it became the district chapel of the Meerhout hamlet Lil.

It was sometimes claimed that the border between Balen and Meerhout runs right through the chapel, but that is not true. The border with Balen runs behind the grounds of the chapel.

Entirely in keeping with Kempen tradition, a ghost story cannot be missed. Around the chapel there was reportedly a black dog that scared the superstitious local residents.

Willytou(r)