Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal and Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal

   Rik Van Looy, one of the great Belgian cyclists of the 1950s and 1960s, was known as the Emperor of Herentals, which tells you something about the priorities of this town in the Kempen. Herentals lies on the flat heathland of the province of Antwerp, and in the middle of its market square stands the old town hall, built in the fourteenth century as a cloth hall, a lakenhal, when the town grew rich on wool and weaving. Its belfry is part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France, a symbol of civic pride and of the freedoms that merchants bought from their lords.

   Read the complete Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis en Belforttoren.

2. 2. Stadhuis en Belforttoren

   Lier's Grote Markt is one of those squares that makes you slow down without being asked. In the middle stands an elegant eighteenth-century town hall in pale stone, and grafted onto its side is something much older: a slim Gothic belfry from the fourteenth century, its four corner turrets giving it the look of a castle chess piece. Together they belong to the group of Belgian and French belfries listed by UNESCO, symbols of the moment when medieval towns won their freedoms and built towers to prove it.

   Read the complete Stadhuis en Belforttoren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Stadhuis en Belforttoren comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

3. 3. Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort

   Leuven is a university town through and through. Its university, founded in 1425, is the oldest in the Low Countries, and its students fill the streets, cafés and squares, giving the city a youthful energy. At its heart is the Grote Markt, dominated by two buildings: the Town Hall, a Gothic masterpiece covered in hundreds of statues, and opposite it, the Church of St Peter, a great Gothic church whose tower was never finished but which is part of the UNESCO-listed Belfries of Belgium and France.

   Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort. Next is Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren.

4. 4. Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren

   Tienen means sugar to most Belgians. The town in the east of Flemish Brabant has been the home of Belgium's largest sugar refinery since the nineteenth century, and the smell of sugar beet being processed hangs over the town in autumn during the campaign, when trucks loaded with beets roll in from the surrounding fields. The Sint-Germanuskerk, the church of Saint Germanus, with its massive tower serving as the town's belfry, stands near the huge Grote Markt, one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The tower, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, has a carillon whose bells ring out over the town.

   Read the complete Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Sint-Germanuskerk met Stadstoren, about halfway. Next is back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

5. 5. back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort sits at 121 km, about halfway. Next is back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren.

6. 6. back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Stadhuis en Belforttoren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren comes up about 186 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.

7. 7. Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal closes the day.