What is "tongelreep"

The Tongelreep is a small tributary of the Dommel that flows through Belgium and the Netherlands. It begins in Belgium near Neerpelt (where the stream is called the Warmbeek) and runs into the Dommel in Eindhoven by way of Valkenswaard and Aalst. The stream runs near the Achel Abbey, the Leenderbos, the Valkenhorst estates and the Genneper Parken park area.

The Tongelreep has always remained a relatively naturally flowing, clear river with natural interaction between water and landscape; this despite the fact that man has tried to alter the river bed since the Middle Ages, the stretch to the west of the current Leenderbos was canaled in 1890 in order to create a series of fishing ponds and the stretch to the south of that was canaled by the Aachen Abbey monks before that. The natural character of the southern Tongelreep has been returning since 1989, when the Aachen Abbey agricultural activities were ceased and the lands were sold to environmental groups, who are restoring the natural flow of the river. The grassy lands of the Warmbeek valleys are also being restored.