Understand
Mechelen is developing into the center of non-profit or non-gouvernamental organisations for flanders. Some famous examples are Natuurpunt, AFS, the Red Cross, ...
This is mainly because it's very easily reachable (by train or by highway) but not as expensive as Brussels.
Inhabitants are called "Maneblussers" (moon-firemen). The story goes that one day long time ago the moonlight was shining on the unfinished St.-Romboutstoren and that some people thought it was burning. The whole city was mobilised to extinguish the fire but there was no fire to extinguish.
Get in
Mechelen is easily reached by train. From Brussels and Antwerp it takes about 25 minutes.
You can also reach by taking a bus from Antwerp.
Mechelen lies at the E19-highway.
Just outside the main train station you'll find a bus station with connections to many places in the vicinity.
Get around
The city center is about 15 minutes walk from the train station. Mechelen is a very compact city, so you can reach most places on foot. There are a few bus routes through and radiating from the city center in case you need them.
See
Do
Drink
Sleep
Contact
The city code for Mechelen is 15.
Stay safe
Mechelen had some problems with some youthgroups. There is no immediate threath if you stay on touristic routes, but certain neighbourhoods are to be avoided at night.
The city used to have one of the highest criminality rates of Flanders. Since 2003 the city is reviving again.
Mechelen (French Malines; English traditional name Mechlin ) is a city and a municipality in the Dutch-speaking province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel (a few kilometers away), as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dijle flows through the city, hence the term 'Dijlestad' (Dijle City).
Mechelen lies on the major urban & industrial axis Brussels-Antwerp, about 25 km from each city. Besides at Mechelen's southern industrial and northern office estates, many inhabitants find employment at offices in or industry near the capital, or at industrial plants near Antwerp's seaport.
History
Archaeological proof of habition during the La Tène era in the triangle Brussels-Leuven-Antwerp, mainly concentrated around Mechelen which originated in wetlands, includes an 8.4 metre long canoe cut from an oak tree-trunk and a settlement of about five wooden houses, at Nekkerspoel.
The area of Mechelen was settled on the banks of the river during the Gallo-Roman period as evidenced by several Roman ruins and roads. Upon Rome's declining influence, during the 3rd-4th century the area became inhabited by Germanic tribes, a few centuries later Christianized assumedly by the Irish or Scottish missionary St. Rumbold, (Rombout in Dutch), who also would have built a monastery.
Antwerp lost profitable stapelrechten (rights as first seller) for wool, oats and salt to Mechelen in 1303 when John II, Duke of Brabant, granted City rights to the town. This started a controversy between these cities that would last well into the 20th century... and possibly beyond.
In the 15th century, the city came under the reign of the Dukes of Burgundy, marking the beginning of a prosperous period. In 1473 Charles the Bold moved several political entities to the city, and Mechelen served as the seat of the Superior Court until the French Revolution.
The highly lucrative cloth trade gained Mechelen wealth and power during the Late Middle Ages and it even became the capital of the Low Countries (very roughly the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) in the first half of the 16th century under Margarete of Austria's reign.
During the 16th century the city's political influence decreased dramatically, due to many governmental institutes being moved to Brussels. The city compensated for this by increased attention in the religious arena: in 1559 it was proclaimed an Archdiocese, for Belgium not sharing this title with Brussels before 1961. In 1572, during the Eighty Years' War, the city was burned and sacked by the Spanish. After this pillaging, the city was rebuilt. It was during this time that the tradition of furniture making, still seen today, began. In 1781, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, ordered the destruction of the city's fortified walls — their former location however maintains to be referred to by the Latin terms intra muros (within the walls) and extra muros (outside), and meanwhile became the inner ring road.
The city entered the industrial age in the 19th century. In 1835, the first railway on the European continent linked Brussels with Mechelen, which became the hub of the Belgian railway network. This led to a development of metalworking industries, among others the central railway workshops which are still located in the town today.
It is famous liturgically and ecumenically as the place at which took place two importance meetings. The first in 1909 is thought to have inaugurated the Liturgical Movement, by which the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, and by osmosis, that of a number of reformed churches, was renewed. It marked the first occasion on which the translation of the mass into the vernacular was freely proposed. In 1925 another important conference, known as the Malines Conversations took place, presided over by Cardinal Mercier and attended by Anglican divines and laymen, including Lord Halifax, which was the most significant of early attempts at the reconciliation between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches.
Local Fame
Folklore
Most cities in Flanders have a mock name for their inhabitants. For their heroic attempt to fight the fire high up in the Saint-Rumbolds Tower - where the gothic windows had shown the flaring of only the moon between clouds... since 1687, Mechlinians are called Maneblussers (Moon Extinguishers).
Once in 25 years, the Cavalcade reminds of the arrival of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian of Austria, father of Margarete, and other major events of the city's past; it is followed along the streets by the Ommegang. The latter had an extra edition in 2000 for the 500th anniversary of Charles Quint. This cortege shows the city's six 15-17th century Giants and other serious and humoresque typical huge puppets and carts, and is UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity since 2005.
The city's 17th century wooden mascotte is since 1775 called Opsinjoorke, the doll - later its replica - gets tolled about on a sheet as part of the Ommegang. Its recent bronze statue stands in front of the Belfry.
The annual parade of carts decorated with flowers, comparable with Blankenberge where Mechlinian florists still prepare up to half of those, and - original and appropriate for the area - with vegetables, has been indefinitely cancelled since the beginning of the 21st century for lack of financing by the City.
In spring, a legendary holy statue of Our Lady is the main feat in the Procession of Hanswijk.
Dialect
Informally, many Mechlinians (in Dutch Mechelaars and locally pronounced Mecheleirs, people from this city) daily speak Mechlinian (in Dutch as well as locally Mechels), a dialect by Dutch-speakers of Belgium pin-pointingly distincted from other Brabantic dialects by three different vowels of Dutch (as in zout or rauw, in kei or bijl, in nu) being typically pronounced as a same vowel — close to the one in English 'raw' which does not appear in other dialects of the Flemish Region or in standard Dutch. Since 1995 a subscribers' quarterly, 'De Mecheleir', shows old photographs of Mechelen and has stories on the local history as well as a few columns written mimicking the dialect, for which no spelling is generally determined.
Specialties
Historically famous Mechlinian trades: laken (woollen cloth), tapestries, cordwain, Mechlin lace (precious bobbin lace, already from the early 18th century), wood carving and sculpturing, furniture.
The area around Mechelen is famous for the culture of vegetables, among which Belgian endive (witloof), asparagus and cauliflower. Originated in the city, the Mechelse Veilingen in neighbouring Sint-Katelijne-Waver is the largest co-operative vegetable auction in Europe.
One of the four breeds of the Belgian Sheepdog is the local Malinois. The Mechelse koekoek is a local poultry breed, fleshy chickens with black and white feathers which extend on the bird's legs, with colours reminiscent of a cuckoo, hence the name.
Mechelsen Bruynen was allegedly the emperor Charles V's favourite beer. A version is still brewed in the city at Het Anker brewery.
Sports
Home of two of the oldest Belgian football clubs, founded in 1904: K.R.C. Mechelen and K.V. Mechelen. The latter contributed to the international glamour of the city by winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup in 1988. The number of lesser local teams shows this sport's popularity: Rapid Leest, Sporting Mechelen, Leest Utd., VV Leest, Walem, Heffen, Zennester Hombeek, FC Muizen.
Places of interest
:*The Refuge of Sint-Truiden and the Refuge of Tongerlo, retreat mansions for distant abbeys, the latter now housing the Manufacturer De Wit which restores the finest tapestries, for which Flanders was famous in the 16th century.
:*'t Groen Waterke, a picturesque small remnant of bygone canals — in particular of the Melaan, of which a longer stretch was after more than a century uncovered in 2007.
:*A stone pillar De Mijlpaal, now prominent in front of the station, had marked the nearby destination point of the first passenger train ride on the continent. The name was adopted by the railway workers' club for miniature model trains, and by a small museum housed in one of the oldest railroad buildings commemorates the historical event and consequent local industry of national importance.
:*The Clock Museum, also known as the Watchmakers' Museum
:*The Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" where carillonneurs come from around the world to study the carillon and playing of the instrument. In fine rococo house 'The ship'.
:*The Theravada Buddhist place of worship Wat Dhammaprateep (Temple of the Flame of Truth or Reality as taught by the Enlightened One) has since 2005 on its grounds an in China beautifully sculptured Buddha seated on a soccle, both in dark green marble - the tallest Buddha statue in Europe.
:*There are over 300 protected monuments in Mechelen.
Famous inhabitantsTwin cities
See also
Nekkerspoel
External links
Books
