Page 140 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

138  BEL GIUM AND L UXEMBOURG REGION B Y REGION

P Groot Vleeshuis unsettled and violent
Groentenmarkt 7. Tel (09) 2232324. context of Ghent’s early
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. 0 = medieval past. Parts of
∑ grootvleeshuis.be the castle date back to
Literally the Great Meat Hall, the late 1100s, but most
the Groot Vleeshuis was built of it comprises later
between 1407 and 1419. Its additions. Until the 14th
long, low interior space still century, the castle, with
reflects the area’s original its massive stone walls,
purpose as a covered butchers’ was Ghent’s main
market, complete with ancient military stronghold. It
beams and uneven flooring. was then used as the
A large modern glass box has city’s jail until the late
been ingeniously inserted into 1700s. Later, it became
this to house a centre that a cotton mill.
promotes local Flemish food. From the gatehouse, a
One side is a restaurant that long and heavily fortified
serves good Flemish dishes; tunnel leads up to the
the other is a delicatessen. courtyard, which is over-
looked by two large Het Gravensteen, a classic medieval castle
buildings, the count’s
medieval residence and the plays throughout the year in
earlier keep. Arrows guide Dutch. The museum is set out
visitors around the interiors of in a sequence of rooms located
both buildings, and in the in a pretty group of whitewashed
upper rooms there is a spine- almshouses (the House of Alijn)
chilling collection of medieval sur rounding a grassy courtyard.
torture instruments. Although mainly 16th-century,
the alms houses were originally
E Het Huis van Alijn founded in 1363 as a child ren’s
Kraanlei 65. Tel (09) 2353800. hospital – not out of philanthropy,
The original covered butchers’ market of the Open 11am–5:30pm Tue–Sat, but as an act of penance by the
Groot Vleeshuis 10am–5:30pm Sun. & = Rijm family for the murder of two
∑ huisvanalijn.be members of the rival Alijn family.
P Dulle Griet This is one of Belgium’s best folk The surrounding area, known
Groot Kanonplein. museums, graphically evoking as the Patershol, is a grid of
This 5-m (16-ft) long giant cannon, daily life of the past through a quaint little lanes and low brick
sitting on the embankment of huge collection of fascinating houses that developed in the
the River Leie, is famous in Ghent artifacts. This includes dolls and 17th century to house the city’s
folklore. Cast in about 1450 and other toys, clothes, games, weavers. This once down-at-heel
weighing 16,000 kg (35,300 lb), furniture, kitch enware and area under went extensive
it could fire stone cannonballs funerary mementos as well as refurbishment in the 1980s
the size of beach-balls. It was complete shops and craftsmen’s and is now one of the trendiest
brought to Ghent in 1578, during workshops. The complex also has parts of town, but retains a
an era of the Calvinist government. a puppet theatre that presents bohemian flair.
The name Dulle Griet means
Mad Meg, a legendary medieval
character who embodied mad,
violent frenzy and dis order.
The cannon has been repainted
in its original red which reflects
its other nick name, the
Groten Rooden Duyvele
(Great Red Devil).
+ Het Gravensteen
St-Veerleplein. Tel (09) 2259306.
Open Apr–Sep: 9am–6pm daily;
Oct–Mar: 9am–5pm daily. &
∑ gent.be/gravensteen
Once the seat of the counts of
Flanders, the imposing bulk of
Het Gravensteen, or the Castle of
the Counts, eloquently recalls the Het Huis van Alijn, housed in atmospheric 16th-century almshouses
For hotels and restaurants see p267 and pp284–5

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