Rijkevorsel

Hoogstraten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦoːxstraːtə(n)]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Hoogstraten (originally Hoogstraeten) has a population of over 20,000, and lies in Flanders at the northern border of Belgium within an enclave surrounded on three sides by the Netherlands. Today, about 15% percent of the population consists of Dutch people. The town is named after the hoge straat or "high road" – a military highway that linked the old towns of Antwerp and 's-Hertogenbosch. In the town's early days, little trade existed. Villages and towns produced just enough for their own support, with little or no surplus to be 'sold' to other areas. Thus, most travelers along this high road were soldiers and armies. Today Hoogstraten is internationally known for its strawberries. Veiling Hoogstraten (auction) is one of the largest of the Benelux. Every year more than 30,000 tonnes of strawberries are traded there. However its main agricultural crop is the tomato.

St. Catherine's Church in Hoogstraten, Belgium, was built between 1525 and 1550 by order of Antoon van Lalaing and Elisabeth van Culemborg, Count and Countess of the County of Hoogstraten. The imposing building is also referred to as "Cathedral of the Kempen" or popularly as "our Katrien". The church is built in late Gothic style, more specifically a mixture of Kempen Gothic and Brabantine Gothic, based on plans by architect Rombout II Keldermans (died in 1531). The tower has a square base and is 104.7 meters high, corresponding to approximately 150 Brabant cubits. The base of the bell tower is quadrangular and merges into an octagonal (8 is the number of infinity) candle with flame, a double pear spire covered with slates. The design incorporates white layers of sandstone. The church is the third tallest church building in Belgium. Characteristic is the red Kempen brick, which while typical of the region, is rarely used for towers of that size. Although it is not the highest brick church in Belgium, it is the church where the brick is the highest. The church did not suffer in the religious riots of the 16th century, but on October 23, 1944, the tower was dynamited by the retreating German troops just before the liberation. Reconstruction followed from 1952 to 1958. The church has been a protected monument since 1936.

Wortel is a village in the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten. As of 2021, it has 1,844 inhabitants.The toponym means carrot or root in Dutch. Wortel was established in the early 19th century by the Society of Benevolence as a farming colony for the able-bodied working poor. It was meant to provide employment during a time when poverty rates were very high in the Low Countries. Along with the other colonies constructed by the Society of Benevolence, Wortel was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021 as an excellent example of a unique method of housing reform and urban planning.

Oostmalle is a village which is located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle. Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has a surface area of 28.27 km² and in 2004 had 6,510 inhabitants.

The Castle de Renesse is a castle located in the village of Oostmalle (Malle), in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). It is currently owned by the municipality of Malle.

Minderhout is a village in the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten in the province of Antwerp close to the border with the Netherlands. As of 2021, it has about 4,420 inhabitants.

Castelré (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌkɑstəlˈreː]) is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is a part of the municipality of Baarle-Nassau, and lies some 20 km south of Breda. In 2000 a millennium chapel was built at the "Kempische-driehoek" 't Groesje. Castelré belongs to the parish of Sint-Clemenskerk, Minderhout. As Minderhout is a Belgian village in the community of Hoogstraten only a few hundred metres to the west, people are more oriented to Minderhout than to their official municipality of Baarle-Nassau, over 10 km to the east.

Salphen (also Zalfen) is a hamlet which is part of the village of Oostmalle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. The history of Salphen dates back to the 13th century when in the records of the Chapter of Our Lady (Dutch: O.L. Vrouw Kapittel) of Antwerp it was called Zalhulfe.

Wechelderzande is a submunicipality of Lille, situated in the Campine region of the Antwerp Province in Belgium. It has been part of the municipality of Lille since 1977.

Westmalle Castle (Dutch: Kasteel Westmalle) is located in the village of Westmalle, which is part of the municipality of Malle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. Westmalle Castle is situated at an elevation of 29 meters.

Oostmalle Airfield (IATA: OBL, ICAO: EBZR) is an airport in the Antwerp province of the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located east of the town of Zoersel, south of the town of Oostmalle, and west of the town of Wechelderzande, in the municipality of Malle.

Blommerschot was a heerlijkheid located in the southeast of Oostmalle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. Blommerschot was already mentioned in 1300 as Eene oude Ridderlyck hof (E: a noble court), and possibly dates back from a Frankish settlement. In the 17th century it was owned by Johan de Proost, Lord of Wechel, who obtained the feudal rights of the Land of Turnhout (Wechelderzande-Vlimmeren, Lille, Gierle, Beerse-Vosselaar) from Philip IV Duke of Brabant in 1626. In the forests of Blommerschot stands a former hunting pavilion (Castle of Blommerschot), and a Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes (1900). The Cross of Blommerschot, located at Pulderbos, commemorates Léon Nève de Mévergnies (La Hulpe, 20 July 1848–Ghent, 26 January 1934).