Walk through the Warande Park of Tervuren.

The walk can be shortened so that it is completely flat along the ponds fed by the river De Voer.
The full walk through the forest is slightly hillier (see elevation graph).
Halfway through the walk, a snack and/or a dry item can be consumed at the Spanish House, close to the Vossem pond.
After the walk, one can also visit the recently renovated Africa Museum.

De Voer

De Voer is a Flemish Brabant river that springs from the Sonian Forest. It first flows through Tervuren and then through Vossem, Leefdaal, and Bertem.
De Voer flows underground into the Dijle in Leuven at the Kapucijnenvoer.

De Voer is first mentioned as Fura in a manuscript from 1222. Voer is a common name for brooks and streams and is related to varen and vaart. The municipality of Tervuren is named after the river: literally Tervuren means ‘by the Voer’. In Old Dutch, this was “Ter Voeren” later corrupted to “Tervuren”.

The Saint Hubert Chapel

The Saint Hubert Chapel is a baroque chapel and was built in 1617 on the orders of Archdukes Albrecht and Isabella and is the only remaining part of the former castle of Charles of Lorraine.
According to legend, Saint Hubert died at this location.
Every year, on the last Sunday of October (31/10/2021), an open-air mass is said for Saint Hubert, and horses and dogs are blessed to protect them from rabies.

The Panquin Barracks

In 1750, a castle surrounded by a 4 ha park was built for the Austrian governor Charles of Lorraine.
In 1830, the then newly established Belgian armed forces took residence there. Hence the horseshoe shape of the building.
In 1914, during the cavalry battle of the Silver Helmets at Halen, the Belgian armed forces achieved their only victory over the much more powerful German army. In this battle, the Belgian commander, Captain Georges Panquin, fell, and the cavalry barracks in Tervuren was named in his honor.
In 2014, the Belgian army finally left the complex, and it is being converted into a residential area.

The Warande of Tervuren

Warande Park is 205 ha and was once the hunting ground of the Dukes of Brabant.
The park is a domain forest, laid out as a park, which encompasses two separate valleys.
In front of the park is a French garden with ponds, flower beds, and statues, leading to a series of ponds that receive their water from De Voer.
In 1830, the park became the property of the Belgian State, and Leopold II further beautified it with funds generated from colonial Congo.

The Spanish House

The Spanish House is the old mill house in the Park of Tervuren. The first mention of it, when Gordaelmolen, appears in a document from 1239. It served as the ducal ban mill for Tervuren and Duisburg. In the medieval legal system, the wind and water also belonged to the owner of a fief, in this case, the duke of Brabant. Thus, the residents of the fief were obliged to have their grain milled at the lord's mill.

The Spanish House is today run as a Park bistro and Info Point Forest, equipped with a Regional Shop. You can go there to grab a light meal to satisfy your Quiet Hunger or have a drink to quench your Loud Thirst. They also support social employment by hiring people who cannot find (suitable) jobs in the regular labor market; these individuals are guided through a development pathway to strengthen their basic competencies, enabling them to transition to the regular labor market.

The Africa Museum

The renovated Africa Museum aims to portray contemporary, emancipated Africa in a museum building with a colonial past.
Through the underground gallery, you enter the basements of the old building where you will find the permanent exhibition. An introductory exhibition outlines the past, present, and future vision of the museum.
Further discover on the ground floor the 5 thematic exhibitions, primarily focused on Central Africa.

Parking near the starting location:

1. At the market square of Tervuren (paid)
2. Underground parking at Warandepoort (paid)
3. Free parking at the Panquin Barracks