Boundary marker 191 & Highest point of North Brabant - Luyksgestel

Boundary marker 191 marks the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. You are also standing here on the highest natural point in North Brabant, located at 44 metres above sea level. The Stevensbergen nature reserve is nearby and has almost as high shifting sand peaks.

North of this point, the Kempisch Plateau is descending. This is reflected in the flow of the streams: on the Dutch side, the streams flow broadly towards the more northern Meuse. The brooks on the Belgian side flow west into the Scheldt.

Boundary marker 191 is one of 288 posts erected between the Netherlands and Belgium after 1843. Seven of them are located between Luyksgestel and Lommel. Forged from cast iron, the pole weighs a whopping 372 kilograms. On top of the cone you can see a pine cone, the symbol for eternity.

Besides the pole number, the pole also features a year and the coats of arms of Belgium and the Netherlands. The coat of arms must be facing the home country, but that is not so easy to recognise at this border post. Indeed, Luyksgestel and Lommel changed ‘owners’ regularly. According to the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1785, Lommel belonged to the Republic of the Netherlands and Luyksgestel was part of the Principality of Liège. After Napoleon's French rule in 1818, the two villages were exchanged against each other. This was because Napoleon wanted Lommel to build a canal there to connect the Scheldt and Meuse rivers.

Photo: ©VisitBrabant Routebureau