Ypres - Lakenhalle

In the Grote Markt stands the 132m/433ft-long Lakenhalle (cloth hall), rebuilt in 13th C. style.

The original building was begun around 1260 and completed in 1304. It was completely destroyed in the First World War, but the new building is one of the finest and largest secular buildings in Europe. The extent of the hall in which the cloth was stored, checked and sold, is indicative of the power wielded by the guilds within the town. Above the entrance door is the statue of the patron saint Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-van-Thuyne; in the niches are statues of count Balduin and Mary of Constantinople together with King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth. The large hall on the first floor is open to visitors.