A walk that has a lot to offer: nature, religion, history, memories... Some sights you will discover here are: the St. Anna Chapel, the Vault of Vrijhern, beautiful forest paths with a special cemetery, a monument in memory of an American pilot who crashed here in 1943, etc.

Directions:

Walk into Tuinstraat and turn left onto Papenbergstraat. At the end, turn right onto Vrijhernstraat and continue down. Always follow this (keep right). At the top, you will arrive at an arch bridge. Before the tunnel bridge, turn left towards the St. Anna Chapel on a hill. Here, turn left over the parking lot towards the Vault of Vrijhern. Go past it and now follow the path upwards along the prayer altar. You will come out onto Hernerweg. Turn a bit to the right, cross over, and follow the walking path. A little further, you will come out onto a subdivision road, which you follow to the right (cross the old tramway) and continue along the subdivision road. At the intersection, go straight ahead, on the left side are 2 forest paths (50 meters apart), both leading to the special cemetery. A bit lower is an idyllic pond with benches. Now continue along the forest path, which goes steeply uphill and you will soon see American and Belgian signs and flags. At the top of the hill is a monument to an American pilot who crashed here in 1943. The crew managed to escape but was apprehended some time later. Now leave the forest via a field road back to the intersection. Turn right (Hardelingenstraat) and you will pass castle Hardelingen. Continue down the road. Cross the old tramway. Several old houses have been renovated and provided with signs explaining their history. Finally, you will arrive at the church, and at the intersection, turn left back to your parking spot.

You can also start at the parking lots at the Vault itself. Here there are 2 parking lots (upper, with information board) or via the St. Anna Chapel. The Loretto chapel is a copy of the holy house of Nazareth (like the Vault of Bolderberg). Next to the vault chapel is a small tavern, currently closed due to corona. There is also a candle chapel, and the last hermit has a grave pillar here. The vegetable garden is managed by VELT. The house in front of it is private. There are some playground equipment for children, and sheep or goats are roaming in the meadow.

There is also another walk possible from the Vault that goes under the tunnel bridge to Wijngaardbos and back to the Vault.