Page 131 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Brussels Bruges Ghent & Antwerp

BEY OND BRUSSELS  129

beers, especially lambic and
gueuze. Lambic is one of the
most popular types of beer in
Belgium (see pp148–9).
+ Gaasbeek
Kasteelstraat 40. Tel (02) 531 0130.
Open Easter–Nov 2: 10am–6pm Tue–
Sun. Closed Nov 3–Easter. (Park open
all year.)

8 Halle
* 36,800. £ @ n Stadhuis, Grote
Markt, (02) 356 4259. ∑ toerisme-
halle.be
Wood panelled walls and paintings in the hall at Gaasbeek Castle
Located on the outskirts
the confluence of the Scheldt attraction, the castle and of Brussels, in the province of
and Dender rivers, has attracted grounds of Gaasbeek. The castle Brabant, Halle is a peaceful little
the attention of a string of was remodelled in the 19th town. It has been a major religi-
invaders over the centuries, century, but actually dates from ous centre since the 13th century
including the Germans, who the 13th century, and boasts a because of the cult of the Black
shelled Dendermonde in 1914. moat and a thick curtain wall, Virgin, an effigy in the Onze Lieve
But the town is perhaps best- strengthened by huge semi- Vrouwebasiliek, the town’s main
known as the site of the Steed circular towers. The castle’s interior church. The holy statue’s
Bayard, a carnival held every ten holds an excellent collection of blackness is due to its stained
years at the end of August. fine and applied arts. Among colour, which is said to have
Today, the town’s spacious the treasures are rich tapestries, occurred through contact with
main square is framed by the 15th-century alabaster reliefs gunpowder during the religious
quaint turrets and towers of from England, silverware and a wars of the 17th century.
the Vleeshuis or Meat Hall. delightful ivory and copper The virgin has long been one
The Town Hall is an elegant hunting horn which belonged of Belgium’s most ven erated
14th-century building which to the Protestant martyr Count icons and each year, on Whit
was extensively restored in Egmont in the 16th century. The Sunday, the statue is paraded
1920. Dender monde also Pajottenland is also known for its through the town.
possesses two exquisite early
religious paint ings by Anthony
van Dyck which are on display
in the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk
(Church of Our Lady).

7 Pajottenland
* 113,000. n Grote Markt 1, Halle,
(02) 356 4259. ∑ toerisme-
pajottenland.be
The Pajottenland forms part of
the Brabant province to the
southwest of Brussels, and is
bordered in the west by the
Dender River. The gentle rolling The Steed Bayard
hills of the landscape contain Dendermonde’s famous carnival of the Steed Bayard occurs every ten
many farms, some of which date years at the end of August – the next one is in 2020. The focus of the
back to the 17th century. The festival is a horse, the Steed Bayard itself, represented in the carni val
village of Onze Lieve Vrouw by a giant model. It takes 34 bearers to carry the horse which weighs
Lombeek, just 12 km (7 miles) 700 kg (1,540 lb) and is 5.8 m (19 ft) high. A procession of locals
west of Brussels, is named after dressed in medieval costume re-enact the Steed Bayard legend – a
its church, an outstanding complex tale of chivalry and treachery, family loyalty and betrayal. The
example of 14th-century Gothic four Aymon brothers (who were said to be the nephews of Emperor
architecture. Charlemagne) ride the horse, and it is their behaviour towards the
Just a short distance south of animal which serves to demonstrate their moral worth.
the village lies the area’s main

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