Past monuments from Aarschot's wartime past

This walking route leads past the war memorials in the city of Aarschot. The entire walk of more than 6 kilometers visits almost all memorials within the city periphery. If this is too much, you can discover a large part of the monuments within a loop of 3 kilometers. In that case, you will skip the following monuments: the plaques in the station, the statue of Captain Gilson, the monument in the Leenstraat, the Sint-Rochus memorial, the monument to the 26th Line Regiment and the Damien Institute. To do this, after the Cross at the Beguinage, you go past the church and through the city park to the statue of Mayor Tielemans. You continue along the route until you return to the Grote Markt after the house of jeweler Verhaegen and immediately cross to the statue of the Grenadier Guard. You don't take the last loop to the Damiaansinstuut either, but after the Uytterhoeven house, you go back to the Stedelijk Museum.

Or would you rather cycle? That is also possible. We have a northern and southern loop available of about 20 km. If you are a bit sportier, you can do the whole loop of almost 40 km.

• The southern loop.
• The northern loop.
• The full loop.

A free brochure with the cycle route and the walk

The cycle route and the walk are accompanied by a 100-page brochure. packed with fascinating information and striking photos in a beautiful layout. This brochure and accompanying map can be picked up free of charge at Toerisme Aarschot, probably from 1 July 2020. Check the website of the municipal museum.

Why a route along the war memorials?

Aarschot suffered particularly badly in both world wars. In the First World War it was the first martyr city on Flemish soil. On the morning of 19 August, the rearguard of the Belgian army stopped the advance of the German troops so that the Belgian main force could safely retreat to the fortress of Antwerp. The city was taken by frustrated Germans and the civilians were confronted with the first wanton destruction, looting and acts of violence. The situation got completely out of hand when shots were heard in the city around 5:30 p.m. The Germans panicked and thought that Scottish civilians were shooting at them. During the shooting, the German commander was killed and retaliatory actions were immediately taken. On 19 and 20 August, more than 170 civilians were murdered by the Germans. Officially, 416 homes were burned down in those first weeks of the war, of which 366 were completely damaged and 50 heavily damaged. This trauma remains vividly present to this day. In the course of the past century, numerous monuments, memorials, even a memorial and a Peace Eebeiaard have been erected, which should continue to remind us of the suffering of the civilians and the heroism of the military.

In the Second World War, Aarschot was severely affected both at the outbreak of the war and in the final phase. Allied bombing targeted the station and the collateral damage was large: 44 civilians lost their lives and a third of the houses were badly damaged or completely destroyed. More than before the First World War, the memorials of the Second World War pay tribute to the commitment and special courage of resistance fighters, Allied pilots and liberators.

About the information at the memorials

At the sights we always indicate whether it is a monument to WWI or WWII. Then comes the date the memorial was erected. Next, we give a brief description of the facts with which the memorial is connected.

Want to know more about war memorials of Aarschot?

In 2020, a richly illustrated brochure titled "Forgive, Yes. Forgotten, never' of about 100 pages published. While stocks last, you can pick them up for free at the Tourist Office of Aarschot.