Tournai - Grand'Place

The large triangular Grand'Place is lined by gabled houses most of which are restored. In the center stands the bronze statue of Christine de Lalaing (Princess d'Espinoy) under whose leadership the town was defended during the siege of 1581. On the northwest side of the square is the Eglise Saint-Quentin, originally a Romanesque building of the 12th C., which was burnt down during the Second World War and has been restored. On the south side of the square stands the former Hall aux Draps (cloth hall) which replaces a wooden predecessor blown away in 1601 in a storm. The hall was begun in 1610 but part of it fell down in 1881 and three years later it was rebuilt. It now serves as an exhibition and function center.

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