Page 144 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

142  BEL GIUM AND L UXEMBOURG REGION B Y REGION

the Stadhuis was originally
installed in 1459, so it predates
the one in Brussels by nearly 200
years. The statue’s 235 costumes
can be admired in a small
museum by the tourist office.
The 15th-century stone fountain
and cross in the square is a town
emblem known as the Marbol.

d Aalst
33 km (21 miles) SE of Ghent.
The Flamboyant Gothic façade of Oudenaarde’s elegant Stadhuis
Road Map B2. * 82,000. £ @
a Oudenaarde The undulating countryside n Hopmarkt 51; (053) 723880. _
Carnival (Feb). ∑ aalst.be/toerisme
around Oudenaarde is known
30 km (19 miles) S of Ghent.
Road Map B2. * 28,000. £ @ as the Vlaamse Ardennen, or Aalst is the second largest city in
n Stadhuis, Markt 1; (055) 317251. the Flemish Ardennes. East Flanders. It has a splendid
∑ oudenaarde.be town square (Grote Markt) featur-
P Museum of Oudenaarde and ing the Alderman’s House, which
Founded as a fortress on the the Flemish Ardennes was originally the town hall and
River Scheldt in the 11th century, Stadhuis, Grote Markt. Tel (055) dates to the 13th century,
Oudenaarde (Old Landing 317251. Open summer: 10am–5:30pm making it one of the oldest town
Place) has had a long and Tue–Sun; winter: 10am–5pm Tue–Fri, halls in the Low Countries. The
troubled history, scrapping 2–5pm Sat & Sun. & 8 beautiful adjacent belfry has a
with the rival city of Ghent in the P Huis de Lalaing carillon of 52 bells. The old town
Middle Ages, and often besieged. Bourgondiestraat 9. hall now serves as the deputy
Developing as a cloth town, Closed to the public. & mayor’s office, while a 19th-
it became celebrated for its century building with a rococo
tapestries in the 15th century, façade in its inner court houses
but fell into decline thereafter. s Geraardsbergen the present-day town hall. Other
Oudenaarde has preserved 41 km (25 miles) S of Ghent. notable buildings include the
many of its great monuments, Road Map B2. * 31,000. £ @ Old Hospital (15th century) and
chief among which is the outstand- n Stadhuis, Grote Markt; (054) the Gothic-style St Martin’s
ing 16th-century Stadhuis built 437289. _ Krakelingenfeest (Feb). Collegiate Church (built in 1480),
in Flamboyant Gothic style. ∑ geraardsbergen.be which contains the painting
It houses the Museum of Saint Rochus Beseeching Christ to
Oudenaarde and the Flemish The agreeable town of Terminate the Plague at Aalst
Ardennes. Of particular note Geraardsbergen (Grammont in (1623–6) by Rubens. The
here are the carved wood French) is situated in the Municipal Museum has displays
furnishings, the fine silverware Vlaamse Ardennen, on the River about local history and folklore,
collection, and the works of art Dender. The nearby hill of including carnival masks.
by Adriaen Brouwer (1605-1638), Oudenberg rises above the Aalst’s Shrove Tuesday
famed for his rumbustious town to a height of 110 m (360 Carnival (see p39) is a popular
paintings of peasants. There are ft), and the steep, cobbled road three-day festival.
informative displays that feature up it is known to all cycle-race
the life and culture of the Flemish enthusiasts as the Mur de
Ardennes region. The museum Grammont, a gruelling feature of
also incorporates the nearby the Tour of Flanders (see p36).
Lakenhalle (Cloth Hall), which The summit, with its Baroque
contains an exceptional chapel dating from 1648, is
collection of tapestries. where 8,000 ring-shaped
Overlooking the River Scheldt is pastries are thrown into the
the grand 16th- to 18th-century crowd after a costumed parade
mansion Huis de Lalaing, now known as the Krakenlingenstoet
a municipal tapestry workshop. (see p39). However, bakers from
A little way up-river, the 13th- Geraardsbergen pride
century Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk themselves more on a sweet
van Pamele is a classic example cheese tartlet called mattentaart.
of Scheldt Gothic (see p32); The Grote Markt, at the centre
Pamele was the name of the of the town, has an impressive
twin town that developed on Stadhuis. The version of the The 15th-century belfry tower on the
the south bank of the Scheldt. Manneken-Pis found outside Grote Markt, Aalst
For hotels and restaurants see pp266–7 and pp283–6

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