Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
throughBenderville beforelinkingwithWIS57again(there'scamping inacountyparkup
the road) before crossing the Kewaunee-Door County line into Belgian territory.
Brussels and surrounding towns such as Champion, Euren, Maplewood, Rosiere, and
Forestville constitute the country's largest Belgian-American settlement. The architecture
of the region is so well preserved that more than 100 buildings make up Wisconsin's first
rural
National Historical Landmark. Right along WIS 57, the homes and Catholic chapels
show distinctive Belgian influences along with a lot of reddish-orange brick and split cedar
fencing. On alternating weekends through the summer, the villages still celebrate
Kermiss,
church Mass during harvest season.
Brussels
is the area's capital of sorts, with
Belgian Days
the first week of July—plenty
ofBelgianchicken,
booyah
(thickvegetablestock),
jute
(boiledcabbage),andtripesausage.
You'll find Belgian fare in a few places in Brussels, including
Marchants Food, Inc.
(9674 WIS 57, 920/825-1244, 8am-8pm Mon.-Fri., 8am-6pm Sat., 8am-12:30pm Sun.),
open daily for 50 years.
A quick side trip takes in lots of Belgian architecture. In Robinsville, a mile and a half
east of Champion along Highway K, sits the
shrine grotto,
a home and school for disabled
children founded by a Belgian to whom the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in 1858.
Not Belgian per se but north ofLuxemburg,itself south ofBrussels, near the junction of
Highways A and C is
M
Joe Rouer's
(920/866-2585), a classic bar with legendary burgers
that this author would love to eat right now. The cheese curds are pretty darned good, as
well.
North of Brussels along Highway C, the
St. Francis Xavier Church and Grotto Ce-
metery
is representative of Belgian rural construction; farmers contributed aesthetically
pleasing stones from their fields to raise a grotto and crypt for the local reverend.
Perched on a hillside overlooking a lovely historic harbor, Kewaunee was once bent on
rivaling Chicago as maritime center of the Great Lakes and could likely have given the
Windy City a run for its money when an influx of immigrants descended after hearing ru-
mors of a gold strike in the area. But Chicago had the rail, while Kewaunee, despite its har-
bor, was isolated and became a minor port and lumber town.
