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Mills and a motte: cycling around Erpe-Mere
Erpe-Mere is a rural municipality in East Flanders bringing together eight villages along the Molenbeek valley, with a windmill and ten water mills. Read on for the Kasteelberg motte, the Kruiskoutermolen, cyclist Lucien Van Impe, the Den Dotter walk and the mill route.
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About Erpe-Mere
Erpe-Mere is a rural municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders, a short hop from Aalst and described by Visit Flanders as a gateway to the rolling landscape of the Flemish Ardennes. Since 1977 it has brought together eight villages: Erpe, Mere, Aaigem, Bambrugge, Burst, Erondegem, Ottergem and Vlekkem. Its backbone is the Molenbeek, one of the main tributaries of the Dender, and along this narrow valley the municipality counts a windmill and ten water mills or their remains.
The villages are old. Erondegem is first recorded as "Eroldingeheim" in 868–869, and its Sint-Pietersbanden church, first mentioned in 1142, mixes a partly 14th-century Gothic choir, a 16th-century crossing tower and a nave from 1846–1847. In the centre of Erpe rises the Kasteelberg, a medieval motte, an artificial mound that once carried a castle; a castle at Erpe is first mentioned in 1057, and the council calls the motte one of the best preserved and largest in Belgium and the Netherlands. About 16 metres high, it is freely accessible, and the castle itself has long gone. Lower down the valley, Ottergem's water mill was licensed in 1774 and worked until 1994.
The best-known mill is the Kruiskoutermolen in Mere, a wooden post mill first built in Nieuwerkerken in 1632 and rebuilt on its present site in 1922–1923; it was restored to working order in 2004–2006 and is a protected monument. The Gotegemmolen, a corn water mill dated 1808, has been protected since 1993. Erpe-Mere is also the home area of cyclist Lucien Van Impe, who won the yellow jersey in the 1976 Tour de France and took the mountains prize six times; a bronze artwork at the roundabout in Mere honours him.
This is walking and cycling country. Spend a morning on the 11.3 km Den Dotter walk, which starts at the Gotegemmolen and crosses a 250-hectare nature area of wet meadows, marshy woods and rolling fields, named after the marsh marigolds that turn the grassland yellow in spring. In the afternoon, follow the 39 km mill cycle route past ten mills, or the 36 km Lucien Van Impe route that loops through all eight villages from church to church. A paved cycling and walking path runs beside railway line 82 between Burst station and Mere as part of the F414 cycle highway between Zottegem and Aalst.
Public transport is limited, so plan ahead. Railway line 82 between Aalst and Burst has only a few trains, and none at weekends or on public holidays, while Burst also has a station on line 89 between Kortrijk and Denderleeuw. De Lijn buses run between Aalst, Erpe, Burst, Herzele and Zottegem, and on-demand flex transport serves the wider area.
For a quiet rural municipality, Erpe-Mere punches above its weight with 2 breweries tucked among its villages. It is the kind of place where a cycling day can end with a glass poured close to where it was brewed, and where you might even meet the brewer.
Frequently asked questions about Erpe-Mere
In the centre of Erpe rises the Kasteelberg, a medieval motte, an artificial mound that once carried a castle first mentioned in 1057. The council calls it one of the best preserved and largest in Belgium and the Netherlands. About 16 metres high, it is freely accessible, and the castle itself has long gone.
The best-known is the Kruiskoutermolen in Mere, a wooden post mill first built in Nieuwerkerken in 1632, rebuilt on its present site in 1922-1923 and restored to working order in 2004-2006. The Gotegemmolen, a corn water mill dated 1808, has been protected since 1993. A 39 km cycle route passes ten mills.
Public transport is limited, so plan ahead. Railway line 82 between Aalst and Burst has only a few trains, and none at weekends or on public holidays, while Burst also has a station on line 89. De Lijn buses run between Aalst, Erpe, Burst, Herzele and Zottegem, and on-demand flex transport serves the wider area.
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