Minderhout

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.

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.

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.

Meer is a village in the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten in the province of Antwerp. As of 2021, it has 3,542 inhabitants.

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.

Rijkevorsel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌrɛi̯kəˈvɔrsəl]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the town of Rijkevorsel, Achtel, Sint-Jozef-Rijkevorsel and Gammel. In 2021, Rijkevorsel had a total population of 12,262. The total area is 46.79 km².

Meersel-Dreef is a village in the Belgian municipality of Hoogstraten in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. Meersel-Dreef is the northernmost point of Belgium, and directly borders the Netherlands.

Galder is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Alphen-Chaam 8 km south of the city of Breda.

Zundert (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzʏndərt] ) is a municipality and town in the south of the Netherlands bordering Belgium, in the province of North Brabant. Zundert is the birthplace of post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.

De Akkermolen (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈʔɑkərmoːlə(n)]; English: The Field Mill) is a 17th-century windmill in Zundert, Netherlands. Built around 1605 to replace an earlier windmill, it was used as a gristmill until it was severely damaged in 1950. The mill was bought by the local government and restored in 1961, and it was listed as a national heritage site in 1974.

Merksplas (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛr(ə)ksplɑs]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Merksplas proper. In 2021, Merksplas had a total population of 8,616. The total area is 44.56 km².

Rijsbergen a town in the municipality of Zundert in the southern Netherlands. In the town used to be an AC (Aanmeldcentrum, i.e. Asylum Request Center). Until 1997 Rijsbergen was an independent municipality, after which it was added to Zundert. The skyline of Rijsbergen is dominated by the neo-Gothic Roman Catholic church of Saint Bavo, which was built in 1918 as a replacement of a smaller fourteenth-century church. The church is situated in the town centre and is flanked by the former town hall, which has been transformed into a museum. Furthermore, in the outskirts of Rijsbergen a successful Garden Centre can be found named: "De Bosrand". A deeply loved place by the locals. The countryside around Rijsbergen is dotted with eleven shrines devoted to the Virgin Mary. They were built after the Second World War as a thanksgiving for surviving the war relatively undamaged.