House ten Dijcken

Huis ten Dijcken or De Hegge is a fortified seventeenth-century mansion in the Geleenbeek valley in the hamlet of Hegge between Spaubeek and Schinnen. It is a national monument.
The origin of the Huis ten Dijcken can be found in the locally located fief of the fief of the fief of Sint-Jansgeleen with the name 'Die Hegghe'. This refers to the meaning 'hedge' or 'fence with shrubbery'
Around 1525 the estate belongs to squire Zacharias Rode van Opsinnich.
The main building is an early seventeenth-century hook-shaped brick building and is located on an (originally double) moated site. The building consists of two floors. The entrance gate was originally a gate tower with a drawbridge. The drawbridge rebate around the gate and the two bricked-up trenches for the bridge beams are still clearly visible. An old private tower with bacon tires was removed in the twentieth century. The gated front has a drawbridge rebate with embrasures. The oldest part of the mansion still presents dates back to the 17th century. The other buildings mainly date from the 18th century. From 1800 to 1924, the mansion was thoroughly renovated several times. Historical building traces have disappeared (including the modernization of the cellars under the mansion) or have been modified (example: lowering the gatehouse, ground floor layout changed from hall layout to residential house with living room, kitchen, etc., removal of the private tower). The Mansion was restored in 2007.