Pastoor Van Haeckeplantsoen (Pastor Van Haecke Garden)

It's highly unlikely that you stumbled upon the Pastor Van Haecke Garden by chance. This well-hidden green space near Ezelstraat has lain untouched for 500 years now. Slip in between house numbers 119 and 123 or walk down Raamstraat to the end. Once a private garden, the grass of this little patch of parkland was featured on a city map by Marcus Gerards as far back as the 16th century. No need to bother with a vain attempt to find the mansion-by-the-garden, as it had to make way for modern flats. The remarkable curate Van Haecke of the St James’s parish after whom the park is named, also already traded the earthly life for the eternal one. Take a tour around the pond and enjoy the notable flora. Do you recognise the swamp cypress, the Japanese walnut or the variegated field elm?