Ypres Cloth Hall
Belgium
You will stand on the main square of Ypres seeing the Cloth Hall, the Cathedral and some other nice builddings. You will have some free time to spend in town.
Contents
8 sections · tap a section for its opening lines1Ypres Cloth Hall
Welcome to the Cloth Hall, or 'Lakenhalle,' the architectural and historical heart of Ypres. As a historian, standing before this immense Gothic structure is a surreal experience. …
Listen in the app2The Grote Markt and the Reconstruction Controversy
As you stand in the Grote Markt, or Market Square, take a moment to look at the string of buildings facing you. They appear as separate structures with different gabled faces, yet they are actually part of a carefully planned…
Listen in the app3The Central Belfry and the View from Above
The central feature of the Cloth Hall is its magnificent Belfry, a square tower that reaches toward the sky. Climbing the 231 steps to the top is a 'narrow' and tiring effort, but the panoramic views are absolutely worth it. …
Listen in the app4In Flanders Fields Museum
Located on the second floor of the Cloth Hall, the 'In Flanders Fields Museum' is widely considered one of the best war museums in the world. It moved away from traditional displays of 'guns and uniforms' to focus on the human…
Listen in the app5The Legend of the Cat Parade (Kattenstoet)
No visit to the Ypres Cloth Hall is complete without mentioning its most 'unpleasant' and peculiar tradition: the throwing of cats from the belfry. In the Middle Ages, cats were kept in the Cloth Hall to protect the expensive…
Listen in the app6Saint Martin's Cathedral and the Soldier in the Ruins
Directly behind the Cloth Hall stands Saint Martin's Cathedral, which the locals still refer to as a cathedral even though it is technically now a church. Like the Cloth Hall, it was 'bombarded into ruins' during the war. …
Listen in the app7The Menin Gate View and the Square at Night
As the day draws to a close, the Cloth Hall and the Grote Markt undergo a transformation. When the sun sets, the building is illuminated, emphasizing its 'gleaming' stonework and the vertical lines of the belfry. …
Listen in the app8Closing
As we conclude our tour of the Ypres Cloth Hall, reflect on the journey this building has taken from the 13th-century commercial peak of Flanders to the 'bottomless mess' of 1918 and its final, triumphant reconstruction. We have…
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What is Ypres Cloth Hall?
Ypres Cloth Hall is a place in Belgium with 8 story sections on Tellby. You can read the opening of each section on this page; the sound plays in the app.
| Location | Belgium |
|---|---|
| Type | Heritage |
| Story sections | 8 |
| Text language | English |
| Coordinates | 50.8513, 2.8860 |
| Last updated |
