Heindonk is a Belgian village in the municipality of

Willebroek Willebroek (, old spelling: ''Willebroeck'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Heindonk, , Klein Willebroek, and Willebroek proper. In 2021, Willebroek had a total population ...

in the province of Antwerp in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It is situated northwest of the city of Mechelen.

History

Historically the village was a part of the parish of

Zemst Zemst () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the villages of Elewijt, Eppegem, Hofstade, Weerde, Zemst-Laar, Zemst-Bos and Zemst proper. On January 1, 2006, Zemst had a total populatio ...

. In 1603, it became part of

Heffen Heffen is a village and deelgemeente in the municipality of Mechelen in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Geography Heffen occupies 6,95 km² and houses 2122 residents (1 january 2007). The village is located to the north-west of Mechelen at ...

. In 1803, the village became an independent municipality. In 1977, the municipality was merged into Willebroek.

Overview

In Heindonk is the

Hazewinkel The Hazewinkel is a 2,000 m rowing and regatta course belonging to Bloso in Heindonk, municipality of Willebroek, near Mechelen, Belgium. The site consists of a finishing tower, boathouses, a cafeteria and eight basic huts that house athl ...

, a 2,000 m

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

and regatta course, where many World Championships Rowing took place. Apart from the Hazewinkel Heindonk is surrounded by water and nature. The rivers

Zenne The Senne () or Zenne () is a small river that flows through Brussels, left tributary of the Dijle/Dyle. Its source is in the village of Naast near the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dijle ...

coming from Brussels, Dyle coming from Louvain, Nete coming from Lier and the channel Louvain-Dyle all come together north of Heindonk, forming the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

Rupel The Rupel () is a tidal river in northern Belgium, right tributary of the Scheldt. It is about long. It flows through the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers Dijle and Nete, in Rumst. It flows into the Sche ...

. A surf-lake called 'De Bocht', is near a small castle called De Bocht, which means 'the curve', because it is next to the Rupel where the river makes a curve between the towns Terhagen and

Rumst Rumst (, old spelling: ''Rumpst'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Since 1976 the municipality not only comprises Rumst proper but also the towns of (old spelling: ''Reeth'') and , which were independent municipali ...

on the other side of the river. At the side of Heindonk this curve creates a creek, called the ' Potpolder'. Next to The Hazewinkel there is ' Het Broek', a 675ha

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

situated in Heindonk and neighbouring villages Blaasveld and

. Situated in the metropolitan area between Brussels and Antwerp it is remote due to its enclosement by the rivers, rowing- and surflakes and nature reserve.

References

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English

External links

* {{commons category-inline
Windsurfing Club in Heindonk
Populated places in Antwerp Province Willebroek