‘Heerdgang’ is a centuries-old name for a passageway that shepherds used to use to guide their sheep from the market to the moors. It now serves as a connecting road between Hertog Janplein and Marktplein.
Sheep farming used to be vital to Lommel. It is no coincidence that the city’s coat of arms features two sheep under an oak tree. In 1480, the village had 30,330 inhabitants: 330 people and 30,000 sheep! By the first half of the 17th century, there were still 18,000 sheep compared to only 3,000 people. Speaking of counting sheep…
