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The town of Mechelen  (in French: Malines) is situated half-way between Brussels and Antwerp. It has about 75.000 inhabitants.

The landmark of Mechelen is the huge St. Rumbold's Tower (in Dutch : St. Romboutstoren). This impressive late-medieval tower can be seen from far away. Standing close to the tower it is immediately clear that the tower was designed to become very high. The construction was stopped in the 16^th century because the town of Mechelen had financial problems.

The town was founded in the early Middle-Ages on the banks of the river Dijle (which also runs through the town of Leuven). It is a pleasant typical Flemish city which belonged to the Duchy of Brabant. The town centre is a low-traffic area, which makes Mechelen a pleasant shopping city. On Saturdays the main shopping streets 'Bruul' and 'IJzerenleen' are visited by all the people of the city itself and the neighbouring villages.

Brussels has almost always been the most important city of the Low Countries, but for a short period (1^st half of the 16^th century) Mechelen was the capital of the Low Countries. At that time Margaret of Austria ruled here and had set up her court in Mechelen. Her successor, Charles V, again moved the court to Brussels. Nowadays, Mechelen is still the religious capital of Belgium. Here resides the Archbishop of Belgium.

Although Mechelen suffered badly during the World Wars of the 20^th century, a lot of interesting and beautiful old buildings have been preserved. To name but a few: the St. Rumbold's Cathedral, the former Palace of Margaret of Austria, the Town Hall, and several really beautiful and enchanting houses.

Visitors to Belgium often only visit the main cities like Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp. This is because they don't know that a little bit outside of the beaten track, there are other beautiful historic sites in our country. Mechelen is one of those sites and deserves to be visited.

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