HOPROUTE MOLLEM 31 KM

START MOLLEM CHURCH (KP 19) OR MUNICIPAL SQUARE ASSE (KP9) VIA NEXUS POINTS 19-20-6-5-50-44-45-47-46-50-98-2-3-9-14-19

Via Dorpstraat to Mollemstraat - Strijdlandstraat we arrive at (KP 19) - Meerpoelstraat – Koeweidsestraat – Mieregemstraat – Sleeuwagen - Drielindenbaan - Weyenberg - Grootveld - cross Steenweg on Vilvoorde left to Hulst - Sint Paulusbaan - Oude Pastoriestraat – Hof ten Hemerijck - cross Kloosterstraat - Schoolstraat - Heiveld - (roundabout) - Klaarstraat - Leireken left to - Baardegem Stationeken - Jan Frans Vonckstraat - Rampelberg - Mechelseweg - Schippersweg - cross Baardegem village to Houwelgat - Bosstraat - Huizekensstraat - Mutsereelstraat - Meldert Dorpstraat - Putstraat - Kapellestraat - cross N9 to Assestraat - Putberg - Koensborre - Nieuwstraat - Kerkplein - Kerkstraat - Markt - Arsenaalstraat - Neerstraat Municipal Square - cross N9 to Mollestraat - Prieelstraat - Mollemseweg - cross the railway and turn right Krameibeek - Hopveld - Waarbeek - Kouter - arrival Mollem

This cycling route consists exclusively of paths and roads belonging to the tourist recreational cycling network Flanders and visits the most beautiful cycling junctions in the area of MOLLEM-MERCHTEM-OPWIJK-BAARDEGEM-MELDERT-ASSE ter HEIDE -ASSE-

You cycle through what was for centuries one of the richest hop-growing regions in Europe, along the hop fields of Affligem, Asse, and Opwijk. You cycle a piece on the Leirekensroute, the old railway line between Londerzeel and Aalst. Furthermore, the route includes a number of unpaved roads and cobblestone paths.

Leirekensroute is a cycling and walking path that runs through Opwijk on an old railway bed, (Aalst to Londerzeel).

Merchtem is a place and municipality in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality is located in the Halle-Vilvoorde district and has over 16,000 inhabitants.

For more information: consult the site of Toerisme Vlaams-Brabant, discover the beautiful views of the Brabant kouters via the website of Regional Landscape Green Corridor, or see which valuable buildings Opwijk is rich in via the database of Immovable Heritage.

MELDERT The name Meldert is mentioned for the first time in 1151, in connection with an agreement between the Affligem abbey and Bernerus, lord of Moorsel. The spelling of the name has remained unchanged over the centuries. Its meaning remains uncertain. Perhaps the name is derived from a plant, the melde or milde, which was grown as a vegetable in the style of spinach. Meldert would thus mean: land with melde herb.

The municipality belonged to the Land of Asse and thus formed part of the Duchy of Brabant. The lords of Asse exercised governance there. The lords of Moorsel and Wieze also had properties in Kokerij and Nievel, two important districts of Meldert.

The majority of the village belonged to the nearby abbey of Affligem, while the women's abbey of Vorst also owned extensive domains there. Until 1259, Baardegem and Meldert formed one parish. The rise and flourishing of Meldert were closely linked to that of the Affligem abbey. This abbey owned, among other things, the estate at Mutsereel and the estate at Putte, two still existing buildings. The Affligem possessions in Meldert primarily generated income through the operation of local sandstone quarries, from which the stone was distributed via the Dender to Herdersem in large parts of Europe. Just like the Affligem abbey, Meldert was scorched and destroyed in the 14th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

About one-third of the village area consisted of forest until the 18th century. The Kravaal forest is still a remnant of that. The total area is very vast at 82 hectares, and the number of inhabitants today is around 2,800.
Meldert is the most rural and green of the four Faluintjes municipalities. It was the center of hop cultivation in the Asse-Aalst region, also known as Little Poperinge. Meldert pond is a remnant of the large pot ponds that the Affligem abbey had created in the region for fish farming and energy for the water mills. The Beautiful Mill (16th-century core) across the street is still a typical example of this.

ASSE The municipality of Asse is located on the edge of Pajottenland, just leaning against the Faluintjes region and stretching toward Brussels. Asse is truly no longer rural and also not really urbanized. Perhaps the charm of what Asse has to offer lies exactly in this great diversity.