Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison and Stadhuis met Belfort starting at Aalst

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison

   Aalst's Schepenhuis, the old aldermen's house on the Grote Markt, is reckoned to be the oldest surviving town hall in the Low Countries, its oldest parts going back to the thirteenth century, and its belfry, added later, carries the bells that once regulated the town's life. Together they are part of the UNESCO listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France. In front of them stands a statue of Dirk Martens, who set up one of the first printing presses in the Southern Netherlands here in the 1470s and later printed works by Erasmus and Thomas More.

   Read the complete Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is where the day begins. Next is Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.

2. 2. Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent

   The Great Béguinage of Sint-Amandsberg looks like a small walled town of its own, tucked into a residential suburb just east of the centre of Ghent. When the city expanded in the 1870s and the old béguinage of St Elisabeth was in the way, the beguines, lay religious women who lived in community without taking permanent vows, moved here to a new complex of neo-Gothic houses, convents and a church, all laid out around streets, squares and gardens behind a wall and gate. The move was funded by the Duke of Arenberg, and the whole place was finished in just a few years. It is one of the thirteen Flemish Béguinages on the UNESCO list since 1998, and although the beguines are gone, the houses are still lived in, and the atmosphere is calm and quiet.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stadhuis met Belfort.

3. 3. Stadhuis met Belfort

   Eeklo is the capital of the Meetjesland, the flat, green region of East Flanders between Ghent and Bruges, close to the Dutch border, and its town hall with a belfry, the Stadhuis met Belfort, stands on the market square as the symbol of the town. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO, a group of civic towers that embodied the freedom and power of the medieval towns of Flanders. Eeklo's belfry is modest compared with those of Bruges and Ghent, but it has its own charm, rising above a town that most visitors pass through without stopping.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Stadhuis met Belfort. Next is back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.

4. 4. back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent, late in the day. Next is Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.

5. 5. Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison. That is the ride.