De Heksenboom & Zwarte Kaat
The Witches’ Tree
According to legend, four hundred years ago, Zwarte Kaat ’s gang terrorised the Brabantse Kempen.
They robbed farms, ambushed travellers and plundered churches.
They also kidnapped a newborn baby – an act that would ultimately spell the gang’s downfall.
In the Bladel area, traces of Zwarte Kaat can still be found everywhere.
The year is 1596......
Zwarte Kaat, a woman with raven-black hair and a hawk-like nose, is on a raid with her gang.
This time, they kidnap a newborn baby from the Hoeve Ten Vorsel farm.
Zwarte Kaat flees to Germany with the little boy, whom she names Thomas, and raises him as her own son.
Eighteen years later, the gang returns to de Kempen.
They want to pull off one last big heist by raiding Postel Abbey.
Here, they…
The Witches’ Tree
According to legend, four hundred years ago, Zwarte Kaat ’s gang terrorised the Brabantse Kempen.
They robbed farms, ambushed travellers and plundered churches.
They also kidnapped a newborn baby – an act that would ultimately spell the gang’s downfall.
In the Bladel area, traces of Zwarte Kaat can still be found everywhere.
The year is 1596......
Zwarte Kaat, a woman with raven-black hair and a hawk-like nose, is on a raid with her gang.
This time, they kidnap a newborn baby from the Hoeve Ten Vorsel farm.
Zwarte Kaat flees to Germany with the little boy, whom she names Thomas, and raises him as her own son.
Eighteen years later, the gang returns to de Kempen.
They want to pull off one last big heist by raiding Postel Abbey.
Here, however, they are met by a small group of soldiers led by Floris ten Vorsel,
Thomas’s older brother.
He had witnessed the abduction at the time and had sworn revenge.
Thomas discovers the truth about his origins and embraces his brother.
Zwarte Kaat is beheaded and buried on the heath.
A bush marks the spot, but it soon grows into a ghostly tree,
which is still known today as the Witches’ Tree.
In reality, it is a beech tree planted around 1890, long after
Wat er dus waar is van deze legende…?
Heksenboom Ten Vorsel
Ten Vorsel
5531 ND
Nederland
Contactgegevens E-mail: info@tenvorsel.nl