Kruishoutem – Culture, Landscape and Unusual Discoveries

Kruishoutem combines unusual cultural sites, religious history and accessible landscapes to create a diverse destination. At the European Cartoon Center, you can discover the world of cartoons, while the SONS site adds a distinctive architectural feature with its hexagonal cells. Other highlights include the Kruisommegang, Lozerbos and the protected Piers de Raveschoot Castle Estate. Anyone looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Kruishoutem can therefore tailor their stay to their own interests, combining art, local history and nature.

Cartoons, Shoes and Special Architecture

The European Cartoon Center welcomes individual visitors every Sunday from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00. The center is fully accessible to wheelchair users. Groups of ten or more can book visits of approximately two hours every day. Groups of ten or more can therefore plan an approximately two-hour visit every day.

Another unusual address is SONS, which grew out of a former center for visual arts. The Shoe Museum is dedicated to footwear and includes an art collection of shoes that have been transformed into works of art. The SONS site includes an ensemble of five hexagonal cells set within a hilly landscape. The Stichting Veranneman was built between 1972 and 1974 as an ensemble for visual arts consisting of five hexagonal cells; its garden was designed as an open-air museum. Kruishoutem therefore also offers concrete points of interest for visitors seeking architecture and art outside traditional museum spaces.

Local History around the Kruisommegang

Historically, the Kruisommegang runs from the church via Kerkstraat, Brugstraat, Brouwerijstraat, Aaishovedriesstraat and Kasteelstraat and back to the church. It was restored along this route in 1639 and reinstated with fourteen stations around the center of Kruishoutem. On 25 October 1959, the Feast of Christ the King, it was ceremonially inaugurated. Its original form probably consisted of fourteen chapels referring to the Passion of Christ on the cross; it was completely destroyed during the Iconoclasm of 1566.

The Sint-Gabriëlkerk is also a prominent part of the town's history. The brick building has a pseudo-basilical floor plan, side aisles, a transept and a semicircular apse. Visitors interested in sacred architecture can include this building, together with the history of the Kruisommegang, in their cultural day plan.

Landscape, Festivals and Protected Sites

In Lozerbos, designated routes are available to visitors on foot, by bicycle and on horseback. The woodland is privately owned. For travel planning, this means checking the designated route when choosing your activities and combining your visit there with a separate day in nature, rather than treating the trails as part of the cultural attractions.

The Piers de Raveschoot Castle Estate includes a nineteenth-century landscape-style park and representative ancillary buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Castle Estate is protected as a monument; the protection covers the castle, moat, ancillary buildings, park, avenues and the water supply system northwest of the castle. At the highest point of Machelsestraat, there is also a lookout tower built by VTB in 1963, with a roadside chapel opposite it.

If you prefer local traditions, the annual Gulden Eifeesten take place over the Easter weekend. They include, among other things, the election of an Eierboer and an Eierkoningin, as well as the famous egg throwing. Depending on the time of year you travel, this allows you to add a special local festival tradition to your stay.

Holiday Apartment and Travel Arrangements to Suit Your Itinerary

Buses operated by De Lijn from the railway stations in Oudenaarde, Deinze and Waregem take you to the Nieuw Plein stop in the center of Kruishoutem. From there, it is about a five-minute walk to the European Cartoon Center.

If you would like to compare other destinations for your travel plans, you can find Sint-Gillis-Waas, Stekene, Denderleeuw, Sint-Martens-Latem, Dendermonde, Ronse, Sint-Lievens-Houtem and Destelbergen here.

For the higher-level travel overview: East Flanders.