Where is mechelen belgium

Leuven 24 Kilometer. Mons 76 Kilometer. Ixelles 23 Kilometer. Uccle 27 Kilometer. Deurne 22 Kilometer. Aalst 37 Kilometer. From Mechelen to the world's largest cities Shanghai 9, Kilometer. Istanbul 2, Kilometer. Buenos Aires 10, Kilometer. Mumbai 6, Kilometer.

Mexico City 8, Kilometer. Beijing 9, Kilometer. Karachi 5, Kilometer. Tianjin 9, Kilometer. Guangzhou 9, Kilometer. Delhi 6, Kilometer. Moscow 2, Kilometer. Shenzhen 9, Kilometer. Dhaka 7, Kilometer. Seoul 9, Kilometer. Wuhan 9, Kilometer. Lagos 4, Kilometer.

Jakarta 10, Kilometer. Tokyo 10, Kilometer. New York City 6, Kilometer. Dongguan 9, Kilometer. Taipei 9, Kilometer. Let's wind the clock back, and start our tale of Mechelen at the beginning — and a foot long dug-out canoe.

The canoe in question is the oldest evidence of those who settled here, and is a few thousand years old. It was hollowed from a single oak trunk, and was used by the first inhabitants to navigate this marshy stretch of the River Dijle, in the 5th century BC.

Then Mechelen was just a Celtic settlement of five wooden huts. And it remained a small village, even as the Romans came, saw and slunk-off, in the 3rd century AD. The German tribes that followed them made a more substantial settlement here, in the 4th century. That's when the first of the British connections — which thread through Mechelen's history — came into play. The local saint, Rumbold, who converted these pagan German tribes to Christianity in the 6th century, was most likely a wandering Scottish missionary.

He became a saint after his murder at the hands of two men he had denounced. And as a saint, his relics naturally became a draw for hordes of pilgrims; the 'tourists' of the Dark Ages.

As the town prospered, it was decided to build a cathedral to house St. Rumbold's remains — and in it was started. Like many Flemish towns, Mechelen was also doing well out of the wool trade, and it did even better when the Duke of Brabant, John II, granted City status — and rights as 'first seller' for wool — to Mechelen in Other 'woolly-towns' in the Brabant, naturally enough, were not pleased — especially Antwerp , which had been 'first seller' until then.

By , Mechelen had become the political capital of one of the biggest powers in Europe —the Duchy of Burgundy, under Charles the Bold. This is when the city's British connections came to the fore again — and when the story of Mechelen's 'Two Margarets' began. The first of Mechelen's Margarets was Margaret of Burgundy.

She was one of the most powerful women in northern Europe in the 15th-century, and lived in Mechelen from until Born in Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire, she was known as a tall, slender and clever woman.

She proved skilful at the 15th-century 'game of thrones', both for herself and her husband, Charles the Bold — and for her adopted Burgundy. She helped Burgundy dance the tricky conflict between England and France, and convinced her husband to help her brothers in England, in their numerous times of crisis. Even after the death of Charles, she continued to play the game. Margaret, now the Dowager Duchess, forged an Anglo-Burgundian alliance that kept the French at bay, and she got her step-daughter Mary to marry Burgundy into a powerful alliance — through Maximilian of Habsburg, son of the Holy Roman Emperor.

She also became known as a patron for vivid manuscripts and books, kept in her palatial Gothic house in Mechelen, where she died in The second Margaret, who eventually became Archduchess Margaret of Austria, was born from that arranged marriage between Mary and Maximilian of Habsburg. She was elected as ruler of the Low Countries in — the only woman ever to manage this — and she built a new palace in Mechelen, the Hof van Savoye. This is widely thought to be the first Renaissance-style building in northern Europe.

She ruled the Low Countries for her nephew until — helping develop the region's cloth-trade, which bought it so much wealth — and then ruled the area again, from Her palace was a centre of Renaissance culture, with a famous library, and she was visited by philosophers of the time, like Erasmus.

She too died in Mechelen, in The capital of the Low Countries was moved to Brussels , and in the city was burned to the ground by the Spanish, during the Eighty Years' War. It became less famous as a city of power, and more as a city of exquisite crafts. Sitting as close to Brussels as it does, those wanting get fly in to Mechelen normally choose the National Airport at Brussels. This has excellent connections to regional airports in the UK, including Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham, as well as Heathrow.

If you decide to come into Mechelen by rail , you'll find the journey a simple, and welcoming, one. As the very first place in Europe to have a railway, Mechelen has always been well-connected, with Brussels and Antwerp just 25 minutes away.

And when you step out of the station, you'll find a stone pillar, the 'De Mijlpaal', which marks the place where the first passenger-train ride on the European mainland slid to a halt. As a small city, which has piled its attractions high in the city centre, Mechelen is one of those Belgian cities where walking is both easy and a pleasure.

It's also a great city to cycle around, though there are only a few bus routes, mainly connecting the centre to the suburbs and surrounding villages. Like most Belgian cities and towns, Mechelen provides for the budget traveller with hostels, but the two main ones here are kept out of the centre, on the ring-road.

You will find communal sleeping rooms, family and double-rooms, all at good rates, in clean and modern hostels. Many visitors to Mechelen, though — wowed no doubt by its quaint architectural delights — are keen to stay nearer the city centre, which is one of the prettiest in Belgium. And Mechelen's hotels don't disappoint.

You will find accomodation around the 'Vismarkt' fish-market , now a trendy part of town, and centrally located close to attractions like St. Rumbold's cathedral. These area's are all well-served by bars and restaurants. There are also several bigger modern hotel chains on the city's outskirts — functional and cheaper, if not as convenient or beautiful. Camping is an option, as it is for many Belgian cities.

The 'Nekker Provincial Sports and Recreation Centre' has a pitch, located next to the river, as well as cabins and a youth hostel. There is also a camping section in the elegant surroundings of 'Abdijsite Roosendael', a former abbey which also provides wonderful hotel accommodation, a mile or two out-of-town.

Mechelen's got history,when it comes to beer. It made a name for itself among the beer-drinking elite even in the 16th-century. The city's most famous brewery, 'Het Anker', can trace its pedigree a little tenuously maybe to those times. In , nuns from a Mechelen convent set up the 'Hospice de Beaune', to treat those ill or near-death.

Naturally enough they turned to a spot of on-site brewing to both treat and comfort their patients beer being so much better for them than the local water at the time. He apparently chose the name in honour of Mechelen's first maltster, Jan In Den Anker — and for the role his beers would play in 'anchoring the soul' Het Anker means 'the anchor'. The cathedral's 97m high bell tower was originally intended to be m, which would have made it the tallest building in the world, but it was never completed.

You could call it a church with an erectile dysfunction. It contains a bell carillion from the 15t century - one of Belgium's finest. The bells dates from to , and the largest of them Salvator weighs kg. The cathedral is open daily from am to pm until pm from November to March and admission is free. Note the Stadhuis townhall and the grotesque town's mascot known as Op Signoorke "the fool" on the Grote Markt main square. On Veemarkt , the Baroque St Peter and St Paul's Church Open 1pm-5pm; Nov-March noon-4pm; entry free was built by the Jesuits in is worth a look for its oak paneling made by the sculptor Verbruggen in , as well as a collection of 17th c.

The former Palace of Margaret of Austria see History above was constructed in in late-Gothic with Renaissance style gatehouse. The building now houses the City Museum of Mechelen. Another major attraction is the Planckendael Animal Park , located 4 km southeast of Mechelen. Mechelen is easily accesible by train from Brussels 18 to 35min or Antwerp 18 to 31min.