Mechelen Town Hall, Mechelen, Belgium

Mechelen town hall on the Grote Markt consists of two parts: the cloth hall with unfinished belfry and the Palace of the Great Council. The cloth trade went into decline in the 14th century and there wasn't the money to complete the building. For two hundred years the belfry was no more than a shell, until it was eventually provided with a temporary roof in the 16th century. The belfry is now a UNESCO world heritage site. On the right of the belfry you can see the oldest part of the town hall, the remains of the earlier cloth hall. On the left is the Palace of the Great Council. The Great Council never actually met here, because this wing was only completed in the twentieth century in accordance with the original sixteenth-century plans of the then leading architect Rombout Keldermans. The interior of the Town Hall is well worth seeing.

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Mechelen Tourism

Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Johnny settle (2 years ago)
I Always enjoy walking thru the square,

dirk vandewege (2 years ago)
Visit, eat, drink and sleep …city of churches…

Zsófia Kovács (3 years ago)
Quite small but really unique city!

pranav joshi (4 years ago)
beautiful building & beautiful town square

ncku16howard (4 years ago)
Waw~ I thought it is a hotel

Mechelen Town Hall

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Sigmaringen Castle