Mechelen

Mechelen, municipality, Flanders Region, north-central Belgium. It lies along the Dijle River, a few miles north-northeast of Brussels. St. Rumoldus (Rombold) was said to have come there in 756. In the Middle Ages it was called Machlina (Mechlinia) and belonged to the prince-bishops of Liège (915–1333) and the counts of Flanders (1333–69). It passed to the Burgundians (1369), and Charles the Bold made it the seat of the Grand Council (1473), the supreme court of the Low Countries. Mechelen reached its zenith as capital of the Netherlands and as a centre of culture under the regency of Margaret of Austria, who held a brilliant court there from 1507 to 1517 and from 1519 to 1530. Since 1559 Mechelen has been the see of Belgium’s only archbishopric. Mechelen suffered greatly in the wars of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries and was captured several times by the Spanish, English, and French. It was heavily damaged in World Wars I and II.

Long renowned for lacemaking, Mechelen is also one of western Europe’s principal vegetable markets and has railway repair shops. Its industries include brewing, the manufacture of furniture and textiles, and various handicrafts, in particular tapestry making. The Belgian Malinois herding and working dog developed in this area in the 1800s.

Medieval churches include the Cathedral of St. Rumoldus (13th–15th century), containing a 49-bell carillon and Anthony Van Dyck’s Crucifixion; St. John’s, with Peter Paul Rubens’s Adoration of the Magi; and Notre Dame (Onze Lieve Vrouw), with Rubens’s Miraculous Draught of Fishes. Notable civic landmarks include the Renaissance palace of Margaret of Austria (law courts since 1796), the 14th-century Cloth Hall, and the town hall, which is composed of three distinct structures: the Palace of the Grand Council (1526), the cadre of halls (1311–26), and a Renaissance building (17th century). Of four museums in Mechelen, the most notable are the Stadsmuseum (art and antiquities) and the diocesan museum. Pop. (2008 est.) mun., 79,503.