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Belgium

Flanders

Antwerp

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – Het Anker Brewery loop from Mechelen-Nekkerspoel

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Belgium

Flanders

Antwerp

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – Het Anker Brewery loop from Mechelen-Nekkerspoel

Moderate

4.6

(97)

600

hikers

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – Het Anker Brewery loop from Mechelen-Nekkerspoel

02:18

9.05km

20m

Hiking

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: March 31, 2026

Tips

Temporary access restrictions

Includes segments with temporary access restrictions.

After 5.70 km for 71 m

Customers only

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

1.10 km

Fulling Mill and Sluice House

Highlight • Monument

At this location, the Dyle crosses the old city walls. In the 15th century, an impressive complex with 7 water mills demanded here at Zandpoortvest. These were of great importance to the cloth industry. The wooden sluice house regulated the water level for the mills. Around 1915 the mill house was transformed into a private house and snack bar.

Translated by Google •

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2.01 km

Kruidtuin - Botanical Garden

Highlight • Natural

A city park with a rich past. This green oasis has served as a garden for the commandery of Pitzemburg since the Middle Ages. An English landscape garden was created here in the 19th century. The herb garden has been open to the public since the First World War. A nice playground is an attraction for the kids.

Translated by Google •

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2.40 km

herb garden

Highlight • Natural

The Kruidtuin or 'Botanique' has a rich cultural history. The green oasis has served as a garden for the Pitzemburg commandery since the Middle Ages. After the abolition of the order of knighthood, an English landscape garden was created in the nineteenth century for the members of the elite Société Royale d'Horticulture. After the First World War, it was opened to the public as a city park.
In the middle of the Botanic Garden is the statue of the famous scientist Rembert Dodoens. In the sixteenth century he wrote the Cruydenboek, the very first work on medicinal plants and herbs. Today, the Botanic Garden is a cosy, quiet park where you can enjoy the greenery while children enjoy themselves in the playground.
Source: Visitmechelen

Translated by Google •

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3.53 km

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen

Highlight • Historical Site

The Grote Markt is the central square of Mechelen's city center. The St. Rumbold's Tower dominates the square. You can see it from everywhere. On the other side of the square you will find the City Hall. Look at the houses around the Grote Markt: from different times and in different styles, including 16th century Renaissance and 18th century rococo.
In 2004 the Grote Markt was made traffic-free and an underground car park was built.
Archaeological finds were made during the construction, including an old well and a road from the thirteenth century. At that time there were already market stalls along this road. And now there is still a lively market here every Saturday morning.
visit.mechelen.be/nl/grote-markt

Translated by Google •

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5.60 km

Het Anker Brewery

Highlight • Pub

Priest! There is beer everywhere. But it tastes best in a place with real tradition. “Het Anker” is one of the oldest breweries in Belgium. In 1471, the Beguines began brewing beer here - for purely medical reasons, of course. Because Charles the Bold had decreed that the beer brewed for the infirmary "for the Beguines and their officials" was free of consumption taxes and duties.

Today the brewery is owned by the Van Breedam family - now in the 5th generation!

Our tip: Try a glass of "Maneblusser", a blond beer of 5.8% vol. with a light citrus aroma and a fine aftertaste, brewed using the traditional top fermentation method.

Why is it called that? On the night of January 27-28, 1687, the moon cast its shine on the spire of St. Rombouts, which was shrouded in mist. "Fire, the tower is burning!" shouted a drunk. The alarm bell rang everyone from their sleep. But when they were at the church to save the house of God, the moon shone gently through the haze. Since then the people of Mechelen have been called "Maneblusser", or "moon extinguishers".

Translated by Google •

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6.56 km

Post office, former Town Hall (14th to 16th century)

Highlight • Historical Site

The post office was once the town hall of Mechelen in the period 14th to 16th century. However, the current facade dates from a restoration about a hundred years ago.

Translated by Google •

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6.60 km

Old Cloth Hall - Mechelen Town Hall

Highlight • Historical Site

Mechelen actually has three town halls: the old Schepenhuis, Huis De Beyaert and the current town hall. Behind the latter you also have the administrative center called 'Huis van de Mechelaar'. But to return to the current town hall on the Grote Markt, it consists of two parts: the cloth hall with unfinished bell tower and the Palace of the Grand Council. Why was the belfry never finished? The cloth trade fell into decline in the fourteenth century and there was no money to complete the building. For two hundred years, the belfry was no more than a construction, until it was finally provided with a temporary roof in the sixteenth century. Temporary? That roof is still there. The belfry is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To the right of it you can see the oldest part of the town hall, the remains of the former cloth hall. On the left is the Palace of the Great Council. The big advice? It never actually came together here, because this wing was only built in the twentieth century according to the original sixteenth-century plans of the then famous architect Rombout Keldermans.TIP! The interior of the town hall is worth seeing. You can visit it in the company of a guide during the historical city walk.
visit.mechelen.be/nl/stadhuis

Translated by Google •

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6.93 km

Grootbrug (Hoogbrug) over the Dijle

Highlight • Bridge

A bridge that has fulfilled its function for more than 800 years.
The Gothic Hoog- or Grootbrug dates from the 13th century.
It has four arches: three connect the high with the low bank of the Beneden-Dijle and the fourth covers the vliet to the IJzerenleen.
Also notice the former toll booth that hangs over the water at the 'Restaurant Madrid' building. The toll booth was also called "the leftover" because it hangs all the way over the river.

Translated by Google •

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9.05 km

End point

Train Station

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

4.80 km

3.19 km

695 m

337 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

6.96 km

807 m

459 m

408 m

330 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Tuesday 23 June

36°C

20°C

0 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 4.0 km/h

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Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen – Het Anker Brewery loop from Mechelen-Nekkerspoel

Fulling Mill and Sluice House

Kruidtuin - Botanical Garden

herb garden

Grote Markt (Main Market Square), Mechelen

Het Anker Brewery

Post office, former Town Hall (14th to 16th century)

Old Cloth Hall - Mechelen Town Hall

Grootbrug (Hoogbrug) over the Dijle

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