Diest

Diest sits in the Hageland, where the local stone is an iron-rich sandstone that weathers to a rusty brown, so the older buildings have a colour found nowhere else in Belgium. It was a Nassau town, held by the ancestors of the Dutch royal house, and Philip William of Orange is buried in the church of Saint Sulpitius. The Great Beguinage is among the best preserved in Flanders, a walled quarter of brick houses, lanes and a church entered through a baroque gate, listed with the other Flemish beguinages. Sections of the seventeenth-century ramparts and the citadel survive around the town, walked as a green circuit, and the Grote Markt keeps its gabled houses and a town hall with a Romanesque cellar.

History

From 1499 to 1795 the town belonged to the House of Nassau, the family of the princes of Orange, who became kings of the Netherlands in 1815, and Philip William, son of William the Silent and unlike his father a devout Catholic, is buried here, having asked in his will for a yearly Requiem Mass in the church of Saint Sulpitius. The town is still ringed by high ramparts, partly preserved (Wikipedia, Diest).

The main sights

• Iron-brown sandstone buildings - the local stone that colours the town.
• The Great Beguinage - a walled quarter behind a baroque gate.
• Rampart walks - seventeenth-century earthworks circling the town.
• Saint Sulpitius church - with the Nassau family tombs.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The beguinage is open ground at all hours. Museums close on Mondays and have limited winter hours. The rampart circuit is best in spring and autumn.

What to expect

It is a small town and half a day covers it. Museum opening is limited. Interpretation is largely in Dutch. Much of the citadel is not accessible. There is little in the way of restaurants beyond the market square.

Nearby

Zoutleeuw is south; Scherpenheuvel lies south-west.

Key facts