- Bokrijk
Bokrijk is a provincial
domain in Limburg,Belgium , situated near the city ofGenk . It is mainly known for itsopen air museum . The domain is 5.5 square kilometres in area and hosts an important botanical garden (arboretum) and Flanders' largest open air playground.History
Early sources until the French Revolution
On March the 9th 1252 Count Arnold IV of Loon and Chiny (
county of Loon ) sold a forest, situated betweenGenk ,Zonhoven andHasselt , to the abbey of Herkenrode. This forest was called 'Buscurake' or Buksenrake ('buk' = beech, 'rake' = a part of land). The name later evolved into 'Bouchreyck' and eventually to Bokrijk. TheCistercian abbey of Herkenrode (in Kuringen near Hasselt) built a grangiae (abbey farm), dug out fish ponds and started forestry practices. The abbey farm was cultivated by lay brothers and from 1447 onwards functioned as an ordinary tenant farm. It remained the abbey's property until the years of theFrench Revolutionary Wars . In 1797 French Revolutionaries seized all properties of the Cistercian abbey and the same year sold it to a private investor fromMaastricht .Combining culture and nature
On the 21st of March 1938 the province of Limburg acquired Bokrijk.
Governor of Limburg Hubert Verwilghen inspired the acquisition. Verwilghen strived for the creation of a public domaine that would combine culture and nature. His vision would be realized years later under the dynamic impuls of provincial governor Louis Roppe. On October 6 1953 Provincial Council of the Province of Limburg decided to create anopen air museum in Bokrijk. With the post-war industrial revolution and the increasing development projects of the Fifties, Flanders' living environment was drastically changing. Agricultural buildings of important cultural and historical value for Flanders were disappearing from the landscape. Dr. Jozef Weyns was appointed to coördinate the project and remained in function as first conservator of the Open Air Museum of Bokrijk. The museum opened to the public on the 12th of April 1958 as contribution of the province of Limburg to theExpo '58 (Brussels World’s Fair).Literatuur
* De Keyzer (Laurens). "The Open-Air Museum Bokrijk". Gent-Amsterdam, Ludion, Ludion Guides, 2001, 128p. (foto's: Michiel Hendryckx)
* Rentzhog (Sten). "Open Air Museums. The history and future of a visionary idea". Kristianstad, Carlsson/Jamtli, 2007, 530p. (ISBN 978-91-7948-208-4)Externe links
* [http://www.bokrijk.be/ Official website of Bokrijk]
* [http://www.limburg.be/bokrijk/html/adventurepark.html Bokrijk Adventurepark]
* [http://www.trabel.com/hasselt-bokrijk.htm Review on Bokrijk (English)]
* [http://www.limburg.be/limnet/natuurcentra/hetgroenehuis.html Het Groene Huis (The Green House)]
* [http://www.plantcol.be Plantcol, Belgian botanical collections]
* [http://www.RLLK.be/index.php Regionaal Landschap Lage Kempen]
* [http://www.natuurpunt.be/code/natuurgebieden/natuurgebieddetail.asp?id=312 Het Wik]
* [http://www.w1w2w3.be/index.html Wereldplein]
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