About the village

The small village of Elen has a long history. The village is first mentioned in the year 1150 as ‘Hellim’ (<‘hal/hale, hael’ ->‘hard dry ground’ ). But it was inhabited for much longer. Sipernau castle, for instance, appears in sources as early as the 8th century, as a farmstead. There is talk of a castle itself from the second half of the 14th century. Elen, like nearby Heppeneert (Maaseik) are distinctly agricultural villages, with historic Maaseik farms and an agrarian landscape.

Historic gravel extraction created several large ponds, such as Meerheuvel (not accessible, drinking water reserve) and Bichterweerd (nature reserve managed by Natuurpunt), which is a top area for water birds. Smaller is ‘de Broeken’, a nature reserve west of Elen. Finally, to the east, the large-scale gravel extraction project Elerweerd is currently being implemented.