Stand in the inner courtyard of Hof van Eggertingen on a Saturday morning and you'll understand immediately why this place stops people in their tracks. The cobblestones underfoot have been worn smooth by five centuries of footsteps. The low Belgian sun cuts across the sandstone walls at an angle that architects can't replicate. And from somewhere inside, the smell of fresh coffee drifts out through an open window. This isn't a renovation project dressed up in estate-agent language — it's a genuinely rare piece of Flemish rural history that someone had the vision and the budget to restore properly, and it has been lived in comfortably ever since.
Hof van Eggertingen dates to the 1400s. The square farmstead was meticulously brought back to life in 2005, converted into nine individual residences that each hold onto the bones of the original structure — thick walls, vaulted ceilings, solid oak joinery — while adding every practical comfort a full-time or part-time resident could want. This particular home at Langstraat 29-2 spreads across 288 square metres across three levels, which gives it a generosity of space that's genuinely unusual for a two-bedroom property. The extra room isn't wasted. It's what makes this work so well as a second home or holiday base: there's always somewhere to retreat, spread out, or quietly read while someone else is cooking.
The ground floor sets the tone. A wide entrance hall opens into an open-plan living and dining space of around 64 square metres — large windows pull in southwestern light, and the blue stone floors keep things cool in summer without ever feeling cold. The kitchen is fully fitted: gas hob, two ovens, extractor, dishwasher, fridge, freezer. Nothing has been skimped on. A laundry room sits just off the kitchen, which sounds like a small thing until you're actually living somewhere and realise how much it matters. A separate storage room handles the overflow that every well-used home accumulates.
Climb to the first floor and you find the real surprise — a living room of around 70 square metres anchored by an atmospheric fireplace and flanked by built-in cabinetry in that same solid oak that runs throughout the property. Right now it functions as a generous reception space, but its scale opens other possibilities: a home studio, a reading library with proper shelving, a playroom for grandchildren. The fireplace alone, on a grey November afternoon with rain tapping against the shutters, is worth the trip from anywhere.
The second floor holds both bedrooms. The master suite runs to about 22 square metres with an ensuite bathroom — bathtub, vanity unit, toilet — that feels genuinely private rather than an afterthought. The second bedroom works well as a guest room or home office. A separate family bathroom with shower and toilet serves this floor independently. A landing of 23 square metres with its own washbasin adds the kind of breathing room that older children or visiting friends particularly appreciate.
Outside, the southwest-facing garden catches the afternoon sun from lunch until dusk. A garage of 17 square metres opens onto the beautifully maintained inner courtyard, and there's communal parking reachable from the rear of the property via a shared passage. The courtyard itself — that shared heart of the farmstead — is the feature that photographs can't quite convey. It has a stillness and an enclosure that feels genuinely restorative, the kind of space that makes you slow down within minutes of arriving.
Riemst sits in the Haspengouw region of Belgian Limburg, a landscape of rolling fruit orchards, Romanesque churches, and cycling tracks that connect villages at a pace that feels entirely deliberate. In April and May, the entire region blooms white and pink as cherry and apple trees flower along the back roads between Millen, Kanne, and Vliermaal — it's a seasonal spectacle that locals call the Bloesemroute, and cyclists ride it in their thousands. The Fietsroute Haspengouw is one of Belgium's most celebrated cycling networks, and from Langstraat you can join it essentially from your front door.
The city of Tongeren, Belgium's oldest, is around ten minutes by car. Its Sunday market — held every week since the Middle Ages — fills the streets around the Basilica of Our Lady with antique dealers, textile sellers, and food stalls. The Roman Museum there is exceptional: the collection covers Tongeren's life as Atuatuca Tungrorum, the largest Roman city north of the Alps. On weekday mornings it's quiet enough to walk the exhibits at your own pace. Maastricht is twenty minutes away across the Dutch border — a city that punches far above its population with its arts scene, the TEFAF fair in March, and a dining culture that ranges from Surinamese roti shops on the Markt to Michelin-starred kitchens along the Maas. Bilzen and Visé are both within a quarter hour. Liège Airport is accessible in under half an hour, and Brussels can be reached in under ninety minutes by road.
The climate here is mild and four-seasoned in a way that suits a property you want to use year-round. Summers are warm — enough for that southwest garden to earn its orientation — without the exhausting heat of southern Europe. Autumn turns the Haspengouw orchards gold and amber, and the region's jenever distilleries in and around Hasselt start to feel very relevant once the temperature drops. Winter evenings by the fireplace on the first floor of this house are exactly as good as you're imagining right now.
For international buyers, the Belgian property market has historically offered strong value relative to neighbouring Netherlands and Germany. The Flemish government maintains strict heritage protections on a property like this — registered under ID2293 and ID17513 — which limits what future owners can alter, but equally protects the character and long-term value of what you're buying. Energy label B is a meaningful achievement in a 15th-century structure and reflects the seriousness of the 2005 restoration. Belgian notarial law is transparent and buyer-friendly. Professional property management and short-term rental platforms have made the Haspengouw region increasingly attractive to holiday visitors from the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK, which gives this property genuine rental income potential for owners who want to offset costs during the months they're not in residence.
Key features at a glance:
- 288 sqm of living space across three floors in a restored 15th-century square farmstead
- Two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, plus a guest WC on the ground floor
- Master bedroom with private ensuite including bathtub and vanity
- First-floor living room of 70 sqm with original fireplace and solid oak built-ins
- Open-plan ground-floor living and dining area of 64 sqm with blue stone floors
- Fully equipped kitchen with gas hob, two ovens, dishwasher, and full appliances
- Laundry room and separate storage room for practical daily use
- Southwest-facing private garden with afternoon and evening sun
- Private garage of 17 sqm plus access to communal rear parking
- Beautifully maintained shared inner courtyard within the historic farmstead complex
- Registered Belgian heritage property (ID2293 + ID17513)
- Energy performance certificate: label B
- Ten minutes from Tongeren, twenty minutes from Maastricht, thirty minutes from Liège Airport
- Direct access to the Bloesemroute and Fietsroute Haspengouw cycling network
- Nine-residence complex restored in 2005 with strong attention to authentic materials
This is a property for someone who doesn't want a generic holiday home — who wants a place with actual history under their feet, room to spread out across three floors, and a region that rewards curiosity. If you've been searching for a second home in Europe that offers something genuinely distinct, Langstraat 29-2 is worth seeing in person. Reach out through Homestra today to arrange a private viewing and discover what five centuries of Flemish craftsmanship feels like to walk around in.
