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Mechelen
Sunday, 12 Oct: Mechelen. The train station is on a ring road around the town, mostly following the footprint of the medieval city walls, so we had a bit of a walk to get to the old town.
The first stop on that walk was one of the gate towers remaining from the medieval city walls, now looking rather incongruous in the middle of a traffic circle. Its upper story is now used to store sets and props for some kind of community theatre, but it still commands the main street.
Mechelen, like much of Belgium, is all about the old and the new living side-by-side. Of course, some of the old things are better preserved than others...
Like most medieval European towns, Mechelen was centered on the cathedral, in this case dedicated to St Rumpold (Sint-Romboutskathedraal). This particular cathedral is noted for its enormous bell tower, which visitors can climb up for a small fee. Each of its nine floors serves a different purpose: the entrance,
the crane that raises bells and construction materials to and from the upper stories,
the forge for on-site metalworking,
the bell chamber, the old carillon, the clock,
the new carillon, the place where they mixed mortar for the top story, and the scenic walk at the top.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Mechelen was home to several of the richest merchants in the Low Countries, one of whom (Hieronymus van Busleyden) built a luxurious palace which is now restored as the Hof van Busleyden, home of a well-respected art museum. We arrived shortly before closing time, so we didn't actually go through the museum, but we visited the bookstore and admired the gardens and facade.
By this time we were pretty tired, so we caught a bus back to the train station and a train back to Brussels.
BTW, I've started uploading pictures and adding them to previous entries, starting October 1. Go back and take a look, if you wish.
The first stop on that walk was one of the gate towers remaining from the medieval city walls, now looking rather incongruous in the middle of a traffic circle. Its upper story is now used to store sets and props for some kind of community theatre, but it still commands the main street.
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Mechelen, like much of Belgium, is all about the old and the new living side-by-side. Of course, some of the old things are better preserved than others...
Like most medieval European towns, Mechelen was centered on the cathedral, in this case dedicated to St Rumpold (Sint-Romboutskathedraal). This particular cathedral is noted for its enormous bell tower, which visitors can climb up for a small fee. Each of its nine floors serves a different purpose: the entrance,
the crane that raises bells and construction materials to and from the upper stories,
the forge for on-site metalworking,
the bell chamber, the old carillon, the clock,
the new carillon, the place where they mixed mortar for the top story, and the scenic walk at the top.
 |
 |
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Mechelen was home to several of the richest merchants in the Low Countries, one of whom (Hieronymus van Busleyden) built a luxurious palace which is now restored as the Hof van Busleyden, home of a well-respected art museum. We arrived shortly before closing time, so we didn't actually go through the museum, but we visited the bookstore and admired the gardens and facade.
By this time we were pretty tired, so we caught a bus back to the train station and a train back to Brussels.
BTW, I've started uploading pictures and adding them to previous entries, starting October 1. Go back and take a look, if you wish.