Cold Brook Valley

From the cemetery, we enter the Koude Beek valley. “Borsbeek has four watercourses: the Grensscheidingsbeek, Fortloop, Koude Beek, and Diepenbeek or Bursebeek,” Piet tells us. “The Koude Beek is the largest and originates in Hove near the Fruithof castle and flows through Boechout, Mortsel, Borsbeek. It forms the border with Wommelgem and empties into the Groot Schijn in Deurne. In the 1990s, the brook caused flooding after heavy rainfall. Therefore, the province created two floodplains as part of an ecological redesign: at the confluence of the Diepenbeek and Koude Beek and at the Fortloop. From a straight brook, it was transformed back into a meandering brook. At the level of the municipal art school Academia and at the Fort of Borsbeek, 450 meters of piped watercourse was exposed.”

On the evolution of this natural area, poet Marc Tritsmans wrote five poems that form the cycle 'Watermuziek'. Each poem received a place on a panel made of weather-resistant steel. As an environmental officer for Borsbeek, he was closely involved in the re-evaluation of the Koude Beek valley.
 

Sandra