Today, Genk is best known for its mining history, but did you know that the city was also known for its natural resources in the past?
Today, we follow in the footsteps of famous landscape painters from the 19th and 20th centuries who felt completely at home in the former marshland. However, we have to look hard to find any marshland left; most of the Molenvijverpark is now taken up by the beautiful Molenvijver lake.
The Molenvijver pond in the middle of the park, with local fauna and flora © Lowie Bergmans.
Literally following in their footsteps
Almost invisible in the grass, we see a tile with two footprints pointing in a certain direction. Thanks to the information in the ErfgoedApp , we ErfgoedApp that the artists' guild painted the landscape here 150 years ago. So we are literally following in the footsteps of the artists!
Using images of the paintings in the ErfgoedApp , we ErfgoedApp vividly imagine what the place must have looked like back then: we can almost see the Kozenhuisje with its original inhabitants appearing before our eyes.
The foot tile of the Kozenhuisje © Lowie Bergmans; Erfgoedapp.
Another kind of art
Not only artists were drawn to the fauna and flora of the Genk marshlands, scientists also came here eagerly searching for special creatures. Among other things, we discover the story of spider and insect expert Léon Becker (1826-1909), who discovered the spring spider here. It was not until 2009 that this species of spider was found again in Belgium, on the heathland of Lommel.
Léon Becker did not yet have a camera to photograph his discoveries, so he made watercolors of his finds. From the drawings that we ErfgoedApp in the ErfgoedApp , we can see that he too clearly had artistic talent.
Left: Watercolors of insects from Léon Becker's notes © ErfgoedApp. Right: Artwork by Nils Norman, inspired by Léon Becker © Lowie Bergmans.
Everyone is an artist
The idyllic landscape may have largely disappeared in the Genk marshes, but there are still plenty of beautiful scenes to be seen. If you cross the Europalaan via the Ouwe Péekesbrug, where trams and trains used to drop off artists and scientists in Genk, you can buy your own painting kit in the shop of the Emile Van Doren Museum. Scattered throughout the Molenvijverpark are a few easels that you are free to sit at and paint. Do you like to paint the ducks on the Molenvijver or are you more of a fan of the remaining marshy area at the back of the park? Create your own masterpiece and who knows, you might just catch the painting bug!
Did you know that the name of the Ouwe Péekesbrug bridge comes from a residential care center that used to be located nearby? When the weather was nice, the residents of the care center would take this bridge to go to the Molenvijverpark. This sometimes even caused real 'wheelchair and walker traffic jams'!
One of the easels set up throughout Molenvijverpark © Lowie Bergmans.
Of course, even if you don't have any real talent for painting, like us, you can still enjoy the surroundings of the Molenvijver and immerse yourself in the world of the Genk artists' guild. Be sure to check out the walk In the footsteps of ... in the ErfgoedApp take a look at the Emile Van Doren Museum website for the latest exhibitions in the area.