Back to list
The Palace of the Great Council and Belfry at Mechelen (Belgium)

The Palace of the Great Council and Belfry at Mechelen (Belgium)

9,203 27

Mark Billiau.


Premium (World), region Antwerp, Belgium

The Palace of the Great Council and Belfry at Mechelen (Belgium)

My ‘Castles of Belgium’-series continues. However, not with a picture of a castle this time, but one of a palace (what’s in a name).

The Palace of the Great Council (on the left) was built in 1526.
At that time, this council was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands (= present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France).

The (never finished) Belfry (°), right of the palace, is a 14th century gothic building with 17th century baroque elements.
Due to lack of sufficient funds by the city of Mechelen, the planned high tower was never completed.
Despite this unfinished state, UNESCO has declared this belfry as a world heritage site.

(°) : A belfry is a medieval alarm bell tower, mostly built in big town centers.

Castles of Belgium
Folder Castles of Belgium
(120)

Comments 27

  • teototi 02/07/2011 22:29

    Beautiful!
  • TeresaM 10/06/2011 22:29

    Cette architecture est très belle... comme toute la place d'ailleurs.
    Une lumineuse et splendide vision.
    Amitiés,
  • Lawson McCulloch 10/06/2011 20:43

    I really do love seeing this type of architecture. You have captured the detail and different shapes so well.
    best wishes from Lawson.
  • Vera M. Shulga 10/06/2011 12:46

    Klasse Foto!
  • Adele D. Oliver 10/06/2011 1:39

    This is splendid architecture and all the better to appreciate with your excellent capture, Mark. The interesting and intricate turrets and arches are wonderful .... and so nice to see with the flowers and the blue sky above.
    cheers, Adele
  • Josef Kainz 09/06/2011 21:56

    Das ist eine ganz tolle Aufnahme gefällt mir sehr
    Gruß Josef
  • Wolfgang Bazer 09/06/2011 21:22

    A great architecture photograph and interesting information.
    BW Wolfgang
  • Andrea Sagawe 09/06/2011 18:58

    Beautiful Gothic architecture! The church where I used to go as a child was a Gothic building and I always was fascinated by it's beauty (more than by the mass I must say ;-))
    Your Palace reminds me of Munich's city hall which is Gothic too. Think must go and take some pictures... :-)

    andrea
  • Irbenika 09/06/2011 16:29

    Super snapshot!! Very beautiful architecture!
    I saw this palace. On the square where he stands there are many interesting old buildings :-)

    Irb
  • Sylvia Schulz 09/06/2011 15:57

    sehr schön fotografiert, Mark, das muss insgesamt eine tolle Anlage sein
    Grüße von Sylvia
  • s. sabine krause 09/06/2011 15:29

    they look so very different, the palace and the belfry! in a way it's a beautiful "clash of architecture"! great shot, as always mark! you must have been there early, or payed the tourists to leave for a minute ; )) – the courtyard looks deserted! greetings, sabine. p.s.: great original flower decorations, too!
  • Christine Ge. 09/06/2011 13:33

    Eine klare, hervorragende Aufnahme dieses wunderschönen, alten Gebäudes. Das ist sicher einen Besuch wert.
    Gruß Tina
  • Werner R. Albert 09/06/2011 13:07

    These embellishments on the gable wall are amazing.
    It looks like small little towers.
    A great documentation of this historic buildings.
    best wishes
    Werner
  • Silvia Simonato. 09/06/2011 12:45

    Maravillosa construcción, muy buena imagen!!!
    Saludos Silvia
  • Norbert Kappenstein 09/06/2011 11:38

    Ein beeindruckendes und wunderbares Gebäude.
    Sehr schön Deine Aufnahme.
    LG Norbert