Via Olne: a route around the town centre

(S/E) From the Hall Omnisport (leisure centre), turn left. Take a look at an old fort. Continue along Chemin de la Croix and be sure to enjoy the view on your right, which, on a clear day, stretches as far as the Fagnes and the Spa region.

(1) Just past the football pitches, at the cross, turn left. At the end of the path, turn right into Rue Bouteille, where you’ll see an old well on your right. Carry on to the next junction.

(2) Turn left into Rue de l’Octroi and carry on for about 700 metres.

Cross the N604 with care and turn into Rue Rafhay. On your right, the Hasard slag heap dominates the horizon. Take the first left into Rue Pré des Paul.

(3) At the junction, after 300m, the walk continues to the left, staying on Rue Pré des Paul. This leads onto a footpath from which you’ll have a magnificent view of the village and Château d’Olne.
Please note! This path can sometimes be muddy and slippery; if you’re walking with a pushchair or if your shoes aren’t suitable for such terrain, we recommend taking a short detour of around 500 metres (see ‘Practical Information’ section).
After this brief detour, let’s return to our main walk and the path that leads onto the tarmac road known as La Falise.

(4) There, turn right, then take the first path on the left which leads straight back up into the village. Take a moment to admire the rear of the village hall before the climb.
Turn right onto the N604, which runs through the village. The old buildings and the ‘teutés’ will catch your eye.

(5) Take a sharp left into the first street on the left, Rue des Combattants, with its old patrician houses (Château Chrouet), porticoes and turrets.
Turn into the first small alleyway on the left, the Ruelle de l’Arvô, which is quite narrow but full of charm. This will take you out in front of the town hall. Turn right and head back up through the village. Walk past Saint-Sébastien Church, cross Rue du Presbytère and take the narrow lane on your right, which will lead you back to the Hall Omnisport (S/E).

The walk starts and finishes at the Olne Sports Centre. A café and a restaurant are available. There is a chip shop at the end of Rue des Combattants.

The walk follows signpost no. 2 (Green Diamond) throughout its entire route. It is suitable for pushchairs.

Please note! If you are doing the walk with a pushchair or if your shoes are too delicate.
From (3), the route follows a small path with a spring in the middle; we recommend a short detour of around 500m. At point (3), you will need to turn right onto Chemin de Justice until the first junction, where you turn left onto Herdavoie. This road will take you back to the junction of Rue Falise and Rue Herdovoie. Turn left here and, 100 metres further on, you will reach the signposted walkway.

With its centuries-old buildings in the centre of Olne and the Fief de Saint-Hadelin, Olne has been recognised as one of the ‘Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia’. Our walk showcases this architectural heritage and the old roads, offering magnificent views.

If you’d like to find out more, please feel free to visit the website of the Most Beautiful Villages of Wallonia, the Olne local authority website and Wikipedia

Those interested in ‘smaller heritage features’ can visit this website, which provides an explanation of each feature (waymarkers, crosses, drinking troughs, gates with guardian figures, remarkable trees, etc.) and locates them on a map.

During the walk

and afterwards:
As you leave the narrow path, directly in front of you stands the former communal brewery of Olne, with its entrance portico flanked by two tall trees. On your left is a water reservoir and a shelter housing a pump still used today by farmers to collect water. This water comes from two springs, situated below Olne Castle, which form the source of the Ri de Rode. On the right, at the end of the street, is the sinkhole through which the Ri de Rode disappears, only to resurface at Vaux-sous-Olne.

The end of the walk takes us through the old centre of Olne.

Let’s head up towards the village and turn right into Rue Village:

- The 17th- and 18th-century houses are built of rubble stone quarried from nearby quarries. Some houses are made of red brick with bands of cut limestone.
- Numerous gateways topped with ‘teutés’ (the Walloon name for shelters) conceal the inner courtyards in the centre of the village.

Let’s turn left into Rue des Combattants:

- The inscription above the door at No. 3 indicates a renovation in 1788.
Gerardvs Chaineux / Scabinvs Vlensis / Me Renovabat MDCCLXVVVVVIII.
- Opposite stands Château Chrouet, austere on the street side, rustic on the park side (private). The oldest part of Château Chrouet was built around 1710 by Warnier Chrouet, a famous doctor (specialising in the waters of Spa, Chaudfontaine and Aachen).
- The white paint on the next house lends a sense of unity to this 18th-century complex comprising three sections. The Regnier family (aldermen, mayors, notaries) lived there for nearly 200 years.
- Note the ‘rust-coloured’ joints between the rubble stones of some of the houses in the middle of Rue des Combattants. The mortar used for the joints (‘molèye’) was reinforced with iron filings from the many nail-making workshops in Olne.

Let’s take the little ‘Ruelle d’Avrô’, which leads out in front of the town hall:

The town hall, dating from 1746, was originally a typical 18th-century town house. Inside, in the wedding hall, there is beautiful wood panelling and Louis XV fireplaces.

- Admire Saint-Sébastien Church, its wrought-iron gateway dating from 1774 and its old walled cemetery. On the church tower is the inscription 1584. Try to find the gravestone of Jacques the mason, dated 1639.

Nearby

- There are numerous signposted walks starting from the Hall Omnisport.
- For lovers of local heritage: see the website olne.petit-patrimoine.be
- Wallonia’s Most Beautiful Villages: near Olne there are two other villages listed among Wallonia’s Most Beautiful Villages: Soiron (4 km) and Thimister-Clermont (10 km).
- Wégimont (3 km): an imposing castle, a lake, play areas, mini-golf and an open-air swimming pool.
- Further afield: Liège, Maastricht, Verviers, Eupen, the Hautes Fagnes, Monschau and Aachen.