Discover the Key places in Hasselt! Want to get the best out of your trip to Hasselt? Play a City Game in Hasselt.
Japanese Garden
Europe’s largest Japanese garden is a symbol of friendship between Hasselt and its Japanese twin city, Itami, in Hyogo Prefecture. It is a 2.5 hectare extension of the Kapermolenpark and was introduced in the early 1990s. The garden is completely steeped in symbolism, from its bubbling stream to its zigzagging bridge, waterfall and stone lantern.
Bokrijk
A plot of land that was purchased by Herkenrode Abbey in the 13th century. It is fifteen minutes from the center. The abbey farm was sold after the French Revolution, although many of the outbuildings survived. Bokrijk is a remarkable place, with about 150 historic buildings. The oldest of these dates back to the early 16th century, and although the focus is agriculture, you will find a school and more.
Sint-Quintinuskathedraal
The main church of the town that has a complicated construction history. There was a church on this site as early as the 8th century, while the remains of an 11th century Romanesque church survive in the substructure of the present tower. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Sint-Quintinuskathedraal took on a Gothic form, beginning with the completion of the present early Gothic tower around 1250.
Nationaal Jenevermuseum Hasselt
This is also such an important part of Hasselt’s history that there is even a festival for the drink every October. The Jenever Museum, which documents this traditional drink, opened in 1987 and was renovated in the 2010s. You can tour the courtyard, the malt tower, the germ attic, the mill room, the boiling room, the bottling plant, the distiller’s residence and the oxen stable.
Modemuseum Hasselt
A fashion museum in Hasselt is as normal as it gets in this city. For one thing, the city had a thriving cloth trade in medieval times. Among the stylish fashion emporiums in Kapelstraat is Jeurissen, which was founded here just after World War II and has a real prestige in the Belgian fashion industry.