Out on a Limburg

Having just returned from the Japanese Garden in Hasselt, The Bulletin decides to see what else Limburg province has to offer. The answer is a whole lot

Limburg isn’t a well-known tourist destination for the Brussels expat. The easternmost Flemish province hasn’t the seaside charm of the Belgian coast, the medieval grandeur of Bruges, the urban chic of Antwerp or the savage beauty of the Ardennes. Its capital and biggest city, Hasselt, has maintained its profile down the years through pioneering cultural activities, but Limburg as a whole has remained a hidden gem to the foreign traveller, despite a range of attractions that draw plenty of day-tripping Belgians. Now Limburg is staking its claim, much like Detroit and Manchester have, as a post-industrial hub of creativity. Perhaps now we’ll pay attention.

Limburg’s star attraction is decidedly old-school and a name as familiar to Belgians as Disney World is to Americans. The Open Air Museum of Bokrijk recreates the rural Flemish village of yesteryear, with 83 authentic buildings – picturesque thatch-roofed houses, shops and stables – collected from all across Flanders. Yes, these historical treasures were surgically dismantled, transported in bite-size pieces and rebuilt at Bokrijk, brick by brick.

Originally conceived as an exhibit for Expo ’58 in Brussels, Limburg’s bucolic showcase must have offered the visitor a much-needed break from the industrial and geo-political bluster of its neighbouring pavilions, notably those of the Cold War superpowers. So successful was the exhibit that it was thereafter given a permanent home in the fields of Bokrijk, formerly a religious sanctuary, and has since become a Belgian institution, visited by young and old on both sides of the linguistic divide.

This year Bokrijk has updated its timeline with a new attraction. The Sixties is a time capsule dedicated to those relatively recent years of cultural upheaval. This addition occupies an indoor space on the periphery of the grounds, includes a customisable audio guide (available in English) and requires a supplementary ticket, which costs €5.

C-Mine, on the outskirts of Limburg’s second city, Genk, is a more recent project, a creative response to the bust of Limburg’s erstwhile industrial boomtowns. Wallonia has, of course, become notorious for its post-industrial blight, but a similar story unfolded in Limburg, where there were several mines in the last century. Labourers were invited to work them, and urban development followed. Then, as quickly as the process started, the mines shut up shop, the surrounding communities’ raison d’être ceased to exist and their inhabitants were left struggling with unemployment and its social corollaries.

Like similar ventures in other post-industrial regions, C-Mine takes the neglected industrial infrastructure – in this case the Winterslag coal mine – and re-imagines its function. Part of the structure, above and below ground, is maintained intact for the historically minded, but the rest has been transformed into a cultural centre with educational facilities, restaurants, a cinema and a concert venue. The complex is also home to artists’ workshops, including that of famed Belgian ceramics wizard Pieter Stockmans, whose simple but elegant porcelain ware, tinted in his signature baby blue, can be found on the tables of Europe’s finest restaurants and royal wedding receptions.

For those looking to stay a while, Genk offers several new designer hotels, which have themselves played a role in the town’s economic rebound. The most central of these (across the main drag from the station and next door to the public library and city hall), Hotel Carbon has led the push to revive downtown Genk. In another tip of the hat to the region’s industrial history, the hotel’s unifying motif is –surprise! – coal. The decor, down to the table lamps, is of a piece: veined, granular and, above all, dark. But, though the colour spectrum runs from coal black to charcoal gray, the vibe is not at all sombre but rather modern and festive. All 60 rooms overlook a rooftop garden and terrace capped by an elegant slate-coloured tent. Carbon also houses top-of-the-line conference and spa facilities (the latter occupying the entire top floor) as well as a restaurant and wine bar on the ground floor. Indeed, the locals too have developed a taste for Carbon’s delicious mushroom risotto, baked salmon and fine wine, making the hotel’s lobby the crossroads of Genk.

Limburg can also boast that most quintessential of tourist attractions: an American-style outlet mall. Due east of Genk, on the left bank of the Meuse, boundary between Belgium and the Netherlands, Maasmechelen Village is an open-air shopping and entertainment development featuring luxury outlet boutiques, cafes, restaurants and a giant multiplex cinema.

The newest addition to the Village is a Stijn Helsen boutique, which balances the mall’s disarming cookie-cutter familiarity (one might just as easily be in Orlando, Florida – weather notwithstanding) with a strong dose of local flavour. Helsen, son of a humble Hasselt tailor, rose through the ranks of high fashion to become one of its top names and, later, a costume designer for Hollywood blockbusters. So even if we can’t afford his to wear his work, we’ve seen it on Johnny Depp and Tobey Maguire and, most recently, the Belgian Olympic team.

It’s a tired cliché but Limburg strives to offer something for everyone: recreation, history, culture, cuisine, design and shopping. More than just a convenient pitstop for those en route to Germany, the Netherlands or Luxembourg, this slice of the Flemish fringe is a worthwhile destination in its own right.

www.toerismelimburg.be

HOW TO GET THERE

Limburg can be easily reached in about an hour from Brussels by car (take the E314/A2 towards Genk/Aachen) or train (an IC line runs from Blankenberge through Brussels to its final destination, Genk)