Scherpenheuvel, Belgium

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Description

The history of Scherpenheuvel, the Belgium place of pilgrimage, begins with an age-old legend. Around the year 1500 a shepherd found a statuette of Mary in an old oak tree on the Scherpe Heuvel (pointed hill) between the villages of Aarschot and Diest. When he tried to pick up the statuette he stopped as if petrified. He could not move. His worried master found him a few hours later, frozen in place, with the statuette in his hand. The master took it from the shepherd's hands and placed it back in the tree. Only then could the man move again. Ever since then Scherpenheuvel has been an important pilgrimage site. Today, it is perhaps best known for its traditional annual walk, a walk of atonement during which the pilgrims travel on foot, beginning their journey in Antwerp. Some 35 miles long, it is often called "The Great Trek."