Every year Herita a non-profit membership and network association bring people together to experience and explore heritage.  They are the organising force behind the annual Heritage Day which is held within Flanders.

The Heritage Day in Mechelen was held on Sunday, September 11th, 2016.  Various buildings and monuments were open throughout Mechelen.  Dean (my other half) and I were fortunate enough to explore a few buildings we had not explored in 2015.

I would highly recommend booking this day in your diary.  Please note that the Tours are guided and are in Flemish, yet sometimes some of the guides do speak some English.

Included are a few photos of the buildings which we had the opportunity to visit.

CHURCH OF THE BEGUINAGE

The seventeenth-century Beguinage Church has a magnificent baroque façade. The church, dedicated to Alexius of Rome and Catherine of Alexandria, replaced an interim church which was consecrated in 1596. The Beguines settled on land given to them by the Alexian after being originally in the 13th century had stayed close to current Begijnenstraat.  Baroque church located in the Nonnenstraat started in 1629 to a design by Jacob Franquart and Architect P. Huyssens.  Italy was the inspiration for the Architecture of the interior.  The plans were drawn up by the Jesuit Pieter Huyssens, but the actual work was overseen by Jacques Francart, who was from Brussels and was court architect to archdukes Albrecht and Isabella.

The interior was decorated with sculptures and approximately fifty 17th-century paintings.  These paintings have been preserved for the most part.  Some of them show snippets from the lives of saints who were popular with the Beguines as Bridget and Catherine but also Damian and Begga, because of their purity of life. The Beguines ordered their paintings from the famous Southern Dutch Painters of the 17th century – Jan Cossiers and Theodoor Boeyermans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCHEPENHUIS
The Schepenhuis, or Aldermen’s House, is one of the most eyecatching buildings in Mechelen. The earliest reference to it dates from 1288. The Schepenhuis has a fascinating history and this is reflected in the building. First it was the town hall, later on the seat of the Great Council and then the home of the municipal collection and the city archive. The Schepenhuis has been a municipal museum since 2000. The Schepenhuis houses one of the best – perhaps the best – collection of artworks by Rik Wouters.

 

 

 

 

 

The Monument Dag is indeed a day to put into your calendar and why not b0ok for September 10th 2017.