The Geuzen… (Steenvoorde – France, Heuvelland – Belgium)
Photos - Info - Meteo - Tips - Nieuws - Geo Info -
General information about De Geuzen
A piece of important "Vaderlandsche", say Flemish, history took place not far from Castel Mino (the initiator of this websitetop.vlaanderen: namely that of the Beggars in and around Steenvoorde (now French Flanders). Steenvoorde is located in the Houtland and borders the Flemish municipality of Watou.
On Sunday, February 5, 2023, you also saw the sixth episode of the popular TV series "The Story of Flanders" by Tom Waes on Canvas ? The focus was on the iconoclasm and the role played by a hatter, a certain Sebastiaan Matte from Ypres, and Steenvoorde. The hatter was protected on his sermons by hedges of "Beggars", which is why they are called "hedge sermons". Listeners of his sermon in Steenvoorde went to the St. Lawrence Chapel of the convent of the Carmelite Fathers just outside the city and, under the leadership of preacher Jacob de Buyzere, smashed the church statues: the iconoclasm had begun! We say and write August 10, 1566, more than 450 years ago.
Speaking of the Beggars and their iconoclasm. Do you know the story of the 3 clergymen who were murdered in 1568? On the interesting website HistoryFiles we read the following about this: "At the beginning of January 1568, the churches of Reningelst, Dranouter, Kemmel and Nieuwkerke, among others, were looted and the contents destroyed or set on fire. The priest, the chaplain and the clergyman of Reningelst were imprisoned, mutilated, tortured and horribly murdered by some forest beggars. A few days later, their frozen bodies were found in Nieuwkerke at the most probable place of martyrdom, then in the middle of the woods. They are buried in the church of Nieuwkerke. It was not until April 1923 that the remains of the murdered were rediscovered under the church floor and in 1928 the then pastor Gustaaf Lamerant built the monumental crucifix on the spot where their remains were first found.
Also in the Eikelstraat there is a crucifix set up in memory of the 3 murdered "pasters".
In the St. John Baptist Church in Dranouter hangs a work by Peter Soenen, a missionary of Scheut. It was painted in 1947 and is about... Yes, about those 3 "murdered" priests. Below is a black and white shot that we made of it.
In the Sint Vedastus church of Reningelst the phalanges of the 3 murdered clergymen are exhibited:
Did you know... that the term "geus" actually comes from French: 'gueux' means pauper or thief.
Did you know... that there is a real Geuzen walk around Nieuwkerke (Heuvelland) ? Do it! See https://www.visitwestvlaande ren.be/geuzenwandelroute.
Did you know... that there is even a Geuzenproject? See https://www.geuze nproject.be/ of vzw Geuzenproject Nieuwkerke. This website gives nice overviews and contains numerous illustrations about life in our region in the 16th century (years 1502 to 1609 to be exact). Too bad that the illustrations of their "Virtual Museum" cannot be viewed in a larger format. Anyway, an interesting source of information.
Did you know... that there are even people who say that in Steenvoorde a real Protestant temple stood?
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Visitor tips
Algemene tips:
1) zoekt U naar andere bezienswaardigheden in de buurt, raadpleeg dan onze Toeristische kaart van Top.Vlaanderen.
2) U kan onze overzichtslijsten raadplegen: per categorie ( bijv. tijdslijn, grootte, …) of per regio
3) U kan ook altijd de lokale toeristische diensten raadplegen :
Steenvoorde, Noorderdepartement, Hauts-de-France, Frankrijk: 4.324 inwoners op 30 km². | ||||
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Samenwerkingsverband: CC de Flandre Intérieure. Parent tourist regions: | ||||
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Tip 1: Don't miss out on visiting the Steenmeulen and its rural museum in Terdegem . These are only a few kilometres from the centre of Steenvoorde.
Tip 2: If you are in the area, visit Cassel and certainly the beautiful gardens of the Wouwenberghof.
Tip 3: If you want to know more about the history of French Flanders, visit the Maison de la Bataille 1677 in Noordpene.
Tip 4: Castel Mino is excellently located to discover this region and its rich history 😉.
Geographical information
Address: Place Saint-Pierre, 59114 Steenvoorde, Nord Department, Hauts-de-France, France
Geographic coordinates:
– Google Maps: Latitude = 50.81074 – Longitude = 2.5820914
– OpenStreetMap: Latitude = 50.810835 – Longitude = 2.582770
– Altitude h = 25 m
Location of De Geuzen on:
Tourist map of Top.Vlaanderen – Google Maps – OpenStreetMap.
Route to De Geuzen: Route via Google Maps
Meteo
14°C
| Day | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Today
9:00 p.m.
|
 light rain
|
14° | 14°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 30 Km/h | 94 % | 1014 mb |
|
Tomorrow
9:00 p.m.
|
 light rain
|
11° | 18°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 34 Km/h | 93 % | 1025 mb |
|
Wed, May 26
9:00 PM
|
cloudy
|
10° | 22°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 16 Km/h | 95 % | 1028 mb |
|
Thu, May 26
9:00 PM
|
cloudless
|
13° | 25°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 12 Km/h | 91 % | 1029 mb |
|
Fri, May 26
9:00 PM
|
 slightly cloudy
|
15° | 25°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 16 Km/h | 87 % | 1026 mb |
| Hour | Condition | Temperature | Precipitation | Rain Chance | Wind | Humidity | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Today
9:00 a.m.
|
light rain
|
13° | 14°°C | 0.51 mm | 51% | 25 Km/h | 87 % | 1013 mb |
|
Today
12:00
|
light rain
|
13° | 13°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 30 Km/h | 88 % | 1013 mb |
|
Today
3:00 p.m.
|
light rain
|
15° | 15°°C | 1 mm | 100% | 26 Km/h | 90 % | 1013 mb |
|
Today
6:00 p.m.
|
cloudy
|
15° | 15°°C | 0.8 mm | 80% | 26 Km/h | 87 % | 1013 mb |
|
Today
9:00 p.m.
|
light rain
|
15° | 15°°C | 0.8 mm | 80% | 22 Km/h | 94 % | 1014 mb |
|
Tomorrow
12:00 AM
|
light rain
|
13° | 13°°C | 0.34 mm | 34% | 19 Km/h | 88 % | 1015 mb |
|
Tomorrow
03:00
|
 slightly cloudy
|
11° | 11°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 20 Km/h | 93 % | 1016 mb |
|
Tomorrow
06:00
|
slightly cloudy
|
12° | 12°°C | 0 mm | 0% | 25 Km/h | 91 % | 1018 mb |
Online information about De Geuzen
Internet media of the City of Steenvoorde:
Official website – Facebook
Background information about the forest rebels of Heuvelland on HistoryFiles.
Article “1568-2018 3 Martyrs of Reningelst" (Daniël Masure, PDF file)
Page about the series "The Story of Flanders" with Tom Waes (VRT Canvas).
– Link to the sixth episode"How do I get to heaven?"
Wikipedia page about Sebastiaan Matte.
Wikipedia page about Steenvoorde: NL – FR – EN
Wikipedia page about the Iconoclastic Fury: NL – FR – EN
Tourism "Coeur de Flandre"
Administrative – Website – Facebook – Instagram
Tourism "Tourisme en Hauts de France"
Website – Facebook – Instagram
Our photos about De Geuzen
Our photos, videos, etc. are all (c) 2004-2026, Top.Vlaanderen, Belgium. They may not be copied or used without permission. If you would like to use them for a project, please contact us in advance and we will see how we can work together. If you would like us to photograph your own tourist attraction, B&B, vacation home, etc., that is also possible. Please contact us via our contact form .
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Situation after a storm, photo from July 11, 2022.
Disclaimer: All information presented on top.vlaanderen has been compiled with the utmost care. It is also checked regularly. If you have any comments, errors, additional information, etc... please contact us via our contact form. We are not responsible for possible incorrect or incomplete information.
