A Belgian Renaissance
Mechelen, the former capital of a Renaissance princess, is having a renaissance of its own
Deanna MacDonald
Montreal Gazette, September, 2005
Margaret of Austria once lamented she would be forgotten after her death. That was in 1530. This October as I walked the streets of her former hometown of Mechelen, it was clear that her fears were unfounded. Margaret is everywhere – there is the fleshy feminine 19th century statue of her presiding over the main square, the posters of her red velvet clad form in every shops window, even a portrait composed entirely of chocolate in the shop window of a local chocolate maker. 2005 Mechelen buzzes with talk about a Habsburg princess who ruled the Low Countries from their city in the 16th century and who is being celebrated in an in exhibition in the new Lamot cultural centre, the design of another distinct but very modern woman, architect Zaha Hadid.
Once the capital of the Low Countries, Mechelen has for centuries been outshone by neighbouring Antwerp and Brussels. But this sleepy town has woken up and a mini-renaissance has been initiated by a landmark exhibition, “Women of Distinction, Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria” has begun draw visitors to this often overlooked gem.
Lamot – a fomer brewery given the full deconstructionist treatment by Hadid. One of the reknown Hadid’s (she won the Pritzker Prize in 2004) few built structures, it seems wildly deconstructed for such a sedate town – but this seems to be the way such towns drag themselves into the 21st century, even thought they mostly missed the 20th! It was unfinished when I visited and thus had an unclear interior organistion, though I feared this could be the case when complete as well. But the entrance area and café is well done with a jagged open stair well and dramatic glass walls overlooking the river.
Exhibit is held over two floors in highly stylized rooms – first filled with collapsible geometric shapes which is not so successful as instead of creating distinct spaces they make you feel claustrophobic, like the walls are about to collapse. The second part is more successful in terms of space but as with the whole exhibit it is unclearly laid out and so darkly lit as to make reading the translation booklets (signs are in Flemish only) difficult. That said, the objects on view are fascinating and illuminate an age and persons rarely seen.
Particularly interesting are object on loan from the ?? museum of pre-columbian Aztec objects, which Margaret owned and displayed as treasures in her extensive collections.
The town has a ton of potential – so many lovely old buildings everywhere, some crumbling, others reworked as a shop or hidden behind 19th-century plaster (thought the form is still clear). There are lots of “te koop” signs so anyone interested in a 16th century fixer upper, this is the place. But revival is already underway lead by the Hadid’s cultural centre along the Dijle River and the revitialzation of the riverside generally.
Opposite the hyper-modern Lamot stand deliciously baroque gables and the popular Vismarkt area which is clustered with cafes and restaurants overlooking the river, whose terraces overflow on a sunny afternoon. Feels like the place for locals and museum goers compared to the old folk and tourist feel of the main square.
Onze Lieve Vrou church which is huge and has a nice Rubens, fishermen
Walk along the Dijle along Ticherlij by the Lamot which has an amazing array of historic houses dating to the 16th century in varying states of repair. There is a troika of beautiful houses across a small bridge on Dijle St. one with a rare wooden façade, others with ornate baroque curvesc. Others on the street look like comfortable homes while others fall into ruin. There are also brand new condos, part of the Dijle river rejuvenation. It is an organic melding of the extraordinary, the ordinary and the very new.
Beguinage – beautiful tiny medieval streets lined with historic homes which have clearly survived thanks to Mechelen’s backwater years. The houses that were once the residences of the beguines are now homes, many with the air of gentrification, though a hint of its earlier poor years is there as the Golden Carolus brewery rises at the end of one of the streets! Cat perched on a Baroque gabled window sill
Make way past St. Jan’s crumbling exterior held up with scaffolding when I passed.
Close by is St. Catherine’s – wooden roof, like an upturned ship; video installation by …on Turkish immigration, something Mechelen clearly knows something about to judge from the number of kebab shops about.
On the Vreemarkt sit the remains of the former Palaces of the two Margarets, one recently converted into a theatre and the other since the 19th century, the law courts. The interior courtyards are open to the public
Lovely sting of ornate gable houses along shopping street Ijzerenleen
Back at the main square Groot Markt, often filled with terraces with coffee and beer drinkers enjoying the splendid architectural surroundings. Impressive collection of gables houses, the lavish 16th/19th cneutry town hall and the magnificent St. Rombouts
St. Rombout’s dominates the town and its gothic tower can be glimpsed from all over – mention the cookie bakery.
If you go: CHECK MIICHELIN and Routard for recommendations!!
Lamot, van Beethovenstraat 8-10. “Women of Distinction” from September 17 to December 18, 2005, open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm, Friday until 9pm. Closed Monday.
Historical Women’s Walk: every day until December 18th at 2pm or by arrangement.
Contour - 2nd Biennial for video Art in Mechelen. From September 17 to November 20, 2005.
For more information visit the Mechelen Tourist Office, Hallestraat 2-4-6 (+32) 070 22 28 00nn, www.mechelen2005.be or contact Belgian Tourism, tel………. www.visitbelgium.com.
Where to eat:
Enjoy a beer at one of the many cafes on the main square (Groot Markt), eg. de Oise
Restaurant de Cirque, 8 Vismarkt. Popular spot overlooking the Lamot with well-cooked basics – fish, steak, pasta, salads. Mains 8-15euros.
Usuahia – recommended to me as chic place but who knows…..
De Kok & De Proever, 43 Adegemstraat, www.dekokendeproever.com, 015 43 60 02 – looked ok?
Bakery Willem en Martine Matthus-D’hont, 59 St-Katelijnestraat, 015 20 29 34. Artisanal bakery with special “Mechels Torentje” (Mechelen tower) cookies.
Where to stay:
NH Mechelen
Novotel , new by Lamot
Den Wolsack, by cathedral and friendly but looked quite pokey. 92-112euros
Deanna MacDonald
Montreal Gazette, September, 2005
Margaret of Austria once lamented she would be forgotten after her death. That was in 1530. This October as I walked the streets of her former hometown of Mechelen, it was clear that her fears were unfounded. Margaret is everywhere – there is the fleshy feminine 19th century statue of her presiding over the main square, the posters of her red velvet clad form in every shops window, even a portrait composed entirely of chocolate in the shop window of a local chocolate maker. 2005 Mechelen buzzes with talk about a Habsburg princess who ruled the Low Countries from their city in the 16th century and who is being celebrated in an in exhibition in the new Lamot cultural centre, the design of another distinct but very modern woman, architect Zaha Hadid.
Once the capital of the Low Countries, Mechelen has for centuries been outshone by neighbouring Antwerp and Brussels. But this sleepy town has woken up and a mini-renaissance has been initiated by a landmark exhibition, “Women of Distinction, Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria” has begun draw visitors to this often overlooked gem.
Lamot – a fomer brewery given the full deconstructionist treatment by Hadid. One of the reknown Hadid’s (she won the Pritzker Prize in 2004) few built structures, it seems wildly deconstructed for such a sedate town – but this seems to be the way such towns drag themselves into the 21st century, even thought they mostly missed the 20th! It was unfinished when I visited and thus had an unclear interior organistion, though I feared this could be the case when complete as well. But the entrance area and café is well done with a jagged open stair well and dramatic glass walls overlooking the river.
Exhibit is held over two floors in highly stylized rooms – first filled with collapsible geometric shapes which is not so successful as instead of creating distinct spaces they make you feel claustrophobic, like the walls are about to collapse. The second part is more successful in terms of space but as with the whole exhibit it is unclearly laid out and so darkly lit as to make reading the translation booklets (signs are in Flemish only) difficult. That said, the objects on view are fascinating and illuminate an age and persons rarely seen.
Particularly interesting are object on loan from the ?? museum of pre-columbian Aztec objects, which Margaret owned and displayed as treasures in her extensive collections.
The town has a ton of potential – so many lovely old buildings everywhere, some crumbling, others reworked as a shop or hidden behind 19th-century plaster (thought the form is still clear). There are lots of “te koop” signs so anyone interested in a 16th century fixer upper, this is the place. But revival is already underway lead by the Hadid’s cultural centre along the Dijle River and the revitialzation of the riverside generally.
Opposite the hyper-modern Lamot stand deliciously baroque gables and the popular Vismarkt area which is clustered with cafes and restaurants overlooking the river, whose terraces overflow on a sunny afternoon. Feels like the place for locals and museum goers compared to the old folk and tourist feel of the main square.
Onze Lieve Vrou church which is huge and has a nice Rubens, fishermen
Walk along the Dijle along Ticherlij by the Lamot which has an amazing array of historic houses dating to the 16th century in varying states of repair. There is a troika of beautiful houses across a small bridge on Dijle St. one with a rare wooden façade, others with ornate baroque curvesc. Others on the street look like comfortable homes while others fall into ruin. There are also brand new condos, part of the Dijle river rejuvenation. It is an organic melding of the extraordinary, the ordinary and the very new.
Beguinage – beautiful tiny medieval streets lined with historic homes which have clearly survived thanks to Mechelen’s backwater years. The houses that were once the residences of the beguines are now homes, many with the air of gentrification, though a hint of its earlier poor years is there as the Golden Carolus brewery rises at the end of one of the streets! Cat perched on a Baroque gabled window sill
Make way past St. Jan’s crumbling exterior held up with scaffolding when I passed.
Close by is St. Catherine’s – wooden roof, like an upturned ship; video installation by …on Turkish immigration, something Mechelen clearly knows something about to judge from the number of kebab shops about.
On the Vreemarkt sit the remains of the former Palaces of the two Margarets, one recently converted into a theatre and the other since the 19th century, the law courts. The interior courtyards are open to the public
Lovely sting of ornate gable houses along shopping street Ijzerenleen
Back at the main square Groot Markt, often filled with terraces with coffee and beer drinkers enjoying the splendid architectural surroundings. Impressive collection of gables houses, the lavish 16th/19th cneutry town hall and the magnificent St. Rombouts
St. Rombout’s dominates the town and its gothic tower can be glimpsed from all over – mention the cookie bakery.
If you go: CHECK MIICHELIN and Routard for recommendations!!
Lamot, van Beethovenstraat 8-10. “Women of Distinction” from September 17 to December 18, 2005, open Tuesday to Sunday 10am-6pm, Friday until 9pm. Closed Monday.
Historical Women’s Walk: every day until December 18th at 2pm or by arrangement.
Contour - 2nd Biennial for video Art in Mechelen. From September 17 to November 20, 2005.
For more information visit the Mechelen Tourist Office, Hallestraat 2-4-6 (+32) 070 22 28 00nn, www.mechelen2005.be or contact Belgian Tourism, tel………. www.visitbelgium.com.
Where to eat:
Enjoy a beer at one of the many cafes on the main square (Groot Markt), eg. de Oise
Restaurant de Cirque, 8 Vismarkt. Popular spot overlooking the Lamot with well-cooked basics – fish, steak, pasta, salads. Mains 8-15euros.
Usuahia – recommended to me as chic place but who knows…..
De Kok & De Proever, 43 Adegemstraat, www.dekokendeproever.com, 015 43 60 02 – looked ok?
Bakery Willem en Martine Matthus-D’hont, 59 St-Katelijnestraat, 015 20 29 34. Artisanal bakery with special “Mechels Torentje” (Mechelen tower) cookies.
Where to stay:
NH Mechelen
Novotel , new by Lamot
Den Wolsack, by cathedral and friendly but looked quite pokey. 92-112euros
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