Flemish Knowledge and Training Centre for Nature and Environment De Helix

The numerous old, often monumental hooves in the region bear witness to a rich agricultural past. They were often owned by abbeys, castles or farmers. The closed building arrangement around a courtyard is typical of the entire fertile hill country of central Belgium.
The Hof ter Hoogvorst was built in 1864 after the grubbing up of part of the Raspaille forest. This rural property was purchased in 1962 by the Union Allumetière, the match factory of Geraardsbergen that finally ended its production in 1999. Experimental forestry was applied to the farm's 30 hectares of farmland. The aim was to breed the poplar, a raw material for the production of matches.
Finally, the Flemish government purchased the former Hof ter Hoogvorst. On one side, a new building was added in 1996 to house the Nature and Environmental Education Centre De Helix. The other wings were set up as a residential function, as part of the Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO) and as a barn.
The blue helix is the symbol of the center. The name De Helix refers to the structure of DNA, the carrier of hereditary information in all living things.

Departement Omgeving