Mechelen railway station

The Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk is a Roman Catholic basilica in Mechelen, Belgium. The basilica is a famous place of pilgrimage in Belgium, the statue was crowned on 30 July 1876 by Cardinal Deschamps by request of pope Pius IX.

The Botanical Garden of Mechelen (Kruidtuin Mechelen) is the largest public park within the historic city centre of Mechelen, Belgium. It is located on the north bank of the River Dijle and is surrounded by educational establishments (two secondary-school campuses to the east and west, and the Kruidtuin campus of Thomas More University College to the north). Entrances are in the Bruul, the Pitzemburgstraat, and via a footpath from the Zandpoortvest.

The Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" (Dutch: Koninklijke Beiaardschool "Jef Denyn"; informally also the Mechelen carillon school) is a music school in Mechelen, Belgium, that specializes in the carillon. It is the first and largest carillon school in the world. The Belgian government defines it as an "International Higher Institute for the Carillon Arts under the High Protection of Her Majesty Queen Fabiola". The school has trained many of the foremost carillonneurs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and houses a rich archive and library.

The English Fury at Mechelen or the Capture of Mechelen was an event in the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War on April 9, 1580. The city of Mechelen (known as Malines in French and historically in English) was conquered by Calvinist rebel forces from Brussels, which included a large contingent of English mercenaries. The city was sacked and many of its religious treasures destroyed or plundered.

Mechelen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛxələ(n)] (listen); French: Malines [malin]; traditional English name: Mechlin) is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel (a few kilometers away), as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dyle (Dutch: Dijle) flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad ("City on the river Dijle"). Mechelen lies on the major urban and industrial axis Brussels–Antwerp, about 25 km from each city. Inhabitants find employment at Mechelen's southern industrial and northern office estates, as well as at offices or industry near the capital and Zaventem Airport, or at industrial plants near Antwerp's seaport. Mechelen is one of Flanders' prominent cities of historical art, with Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, and Leuven. It was notably a centre for artistic production during the Northern Renaissance, when painters, printmakers, illuminators and composers of polyphony were attracted by patrons such as Margaret of York, Margaret of Austria and Hieronymus van Busleyden.

The Brusselpoort (English: Brussels Gate) is the sole remaining city gate of the original twelve gates of Mechelen, Belgium. This imposing structure dates from the 13th century. Because of its exceptional height, towering above the other gates, it was also called the Overste Poort ("Superior Gate"). In the 16th century, the towers were lowered and the roof construction was altered to the present configuration.In the course of the centuries, the building had many different uses: from police station to youth centre, from duty collector's office to artist's workshop (Alfred Ost). It then became a museum about the city's history containing documents and archaeological finds. The collection of the De Maan City Puppet Theater is currently stored there. The Brusselpoort is not accessible to visitors.

The Schepenhuis (Aldermen's House) of Mechelen is a building where the city's aldermen held their meetings in the Middle Ages. It is located on the edge of the Grote Markt, between the latter and the IJzerenleen and is considered the first stone 'town hall' of Flanders.In the 13th century, Mechelen experienced an economic revival due to the flourishing cloth trade. As a result, the need for buildings grew. In 1288 it was decided to erect a stone building for the aldermen's bench, which until then met in the open air. The building was expanded between 1374 and 1375. The decoration was done by André Beauneveu and Jan van Mansdale, among others.The interior includes a remarkable archive room on the ground floor. Previously called Vierschaere, it has a remarkable oak ceiling. In the interior there are 12 sculpted balkzolen created between 1375 and 1378 by Herman Van Blankene and Jan van Lokeren. The original furnishings have been preserved only in the 1374 wing. There are cross bracings supported by corbels of carved stone made by Jan I Keldermans (Mansdale) between 1377 and 1385. The original fireplace and a stone landing staircase were removed in 1772. On the above floor there is a library that was formerly the meeting room of the aldermen. The chimney is by Andries Keldermans, with a mantelpiece made by Frans Sanders in 1526. On the north wall there is a 16th-century fresco depicting the Crucifixion. The stairway tower dates from 1407.During the reign of Charles the Bold, the Parliament of Mechelen was installed in the Schepenhuis in 1473. This parliament was the highest court of law in the Netherlands. In 1477 it was abolished by Mary of Burgundy. Philip the Handsome decided to re-establish the parliament, under the name Grote Raad van Mechelen. In 1616 the council moved to the former palace of Margaret of Austria, also in Mechelen. The building was later given various functions. For example, from 1811 to 1846 the city academy was housed here. From 1852 the building served as a municipal museum. On 1 November 1897 it was turned into a city archive and city library. The building was heavily damaged during the First World War. Several restoration campaigns followed, in 1916-1917, 1932 and 1934-1938. From 2000, the Schepenhuis served again as a museum. In 2011, an exhibition of works by Rik Wouters from the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts opened, as the Antwerp museum was undergoing works of renovation. Until the end of these works in 2017, the Wouters collection remained in the Schepenhuis. Since 9 September 2018, the Schepenhuis is the new location of the tourist information office "Visit and UiT in Mechelen".

The Hof van Savoye (Court of Savoy) or Palace of Margaret of Austria is an early 16th-century building in Mechelen, Belgium. It was one of the first Renaissance buildings in Northern Europe. Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Governor of the Netherlands, was granted a house located in the Korte Maagdenstraat (Virgins Short Street), but she found it too small and started an ambitious expansion campaign in 1507. From 1517 to 1530 the architect Rombout II Keldermans furthered the project, along the Keizerstraat (Emperor Street) modifying what became the rear wing, which faces the Palace of Margaret of York, her step grandmother who had died in 1503. Margaret raised her nephew Charles, the later Holy Roman Emperor, in her palace, at which she lived until her death in 1530.Historian Eric Ives describes the inner courtyard and southern wing of the palace, still much like Anne Boleyn must have seen it during the stage of her upbringing at Margaret's court. It stood a model for the Palace of Whitehall as rebuilt for Anne in the 1530s.In 1546 the explosion of the city gate that held the gunpowder stock, the Zandpoort (Sand Gate), brought repairable damage to the palace. It was owned by the city until 1561. That year, it received a new calling as the residence of Granvelle, the first Archbishop of Mechelen, and right-hand man of Philip II. In 1609 the building was bought back by the city and served as the headquarters of the Great Council of the Netherlands from 1616 until 1795. The Hof van Savoye became known as the Gerechtshof (Court of Justice), because it houses the lower courts (Criminal and Civil Court, Justice of the Peace, and Police Court).

St. Rumbold's Cathedral (Dutch: Sint-Romboutskathedraal) is the Belgian metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who had founded an abbey nearby. His remains are rumoured to be buried inside the cathedral. State-of-the-art examination of the relics honoured as Saint Rumbold's and kept in a shrine in the retro-choir, showed a life span of about 40 years and a death date between 580 and 655, while tradition had claimed 775 AD.In 1999, the tower of the cathedral was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, in recognition of its architecture and its importance in civic duties such as a watchtower.

The Archbishops of Mechelen-Brussels are the head of the Archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussels of the Catholic church in Belgium. It currently encompasses all of Belgium, making them the head of the Roman Catholic faith in the country. The current archbishop is Jozef De Kesel.

The Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is the primatial see of Belgium and the centre of the Ecclesiastical Province governed by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium. It was formed in 1559 and the bishop has a seat in two cathedrals, St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. The current archbishop is Jozef De Kesel, who was installed in November 2015.

Hof van Busleyden (English: Court of Busleyden; Spanish: Palacio van Busleyden), also called the Busleyden Palace, is a palace in the municipality of Mechelen in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium.