Long ago our city was surrounded by an impressive defensive wall or rampart punctuated with 12 gates and several towers. The first wall was built of earth in the early 11th century. As the city grew, so did the need for a larger wall, which followed in the second half of the 13th century. By the end of the 14th century, it was built entirely of stone. Later on, cannons and other defence devices were placed on top of the wall.
History
Long ago our city was surrounded by an impressive defensive wall or rampart punctuated with 12 gates and several towers. The first wall was built of earth in the early 11th century. As the city grew, so did the need for a larger wall, which followed in the second half of the 13th century. By the end of the 14th century, it was built entirely of stone. Later on, cannons and other defence devices were placed on top of the wall.
Each gate had heavy doors, an iron fence, which could be lowered, a wooden drawbridge and all manner of outer fortifications. Many gateways had an outer gateway to defend the main gate and bridge. The gateways were interlinked by a wall with small towers and doors.
The gates, wall and moat, collectively known as the ‘vest/’vesten’ in Dutch, protected the city during a siege and served as points of controlled access to and departure from the walled city. Gunpowder and weapons were kept in many of the gatehouses. Some housed prisons where the mentally ill or soldiers might be incarcerated. In others, by contrast, specific products like herrings were on sale.
Travellers and traders often had to pay a toll to the gatekeeper, a major source of income for the city. In the first half of the 19th century, the large city gates were gradually dismantled along with the vest. Once demolished, they were replaced by small toll houses, charged with collecting octroi, a local tax levied on certain articles entering the city.
Power and prosperity
As well as providing security and safety, prestige also played a role. The wall around the city formed the hard border between city and countryside. Towering, beautifully executed gatehouses, some resembling small castles, underlined the city’s might and prosperity and inspired wonder and awe in approaching travellers and other powers. A large chunk of the city’s revenue was therefore spent on maintaining and improving the ‘vest’.
City moat
As the city wall was surrounded by a moat, bridges provided the only access to the city. Those points of access were guarded by a gate, which could be raised to close off the city. Mechelen’s city canals were an important trade route for boats too.
Mechelen had a watermill complex, which also regulated the water level of the city moat. In the event of danger from outside, the water in the River Dyle outside the city was pumped into the city canal. This created a sort of swamp and made it impossible to enter the city by boat. When the outer Dyle to the north of the city – the Afleidingsdijle – was constructed (1893–1907), all these mills were dismantled. Only the Volmolen was spared. Today it houses the ViaVia café in the Botanical Garden.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the southern half of the canal ring was filled in. The northern canal ring was widened and became the Afleidingsdijle.
Beautiful boulevards, parks and green squares
Major changes in warfare at the beginning of the 19th century rendered city walls obsolete. Alterations were made to the wall around Mechelen and to many of its military buildings. For example, starting in the 19th century, large sections of the wall and a number of gates were dismantled. But the dismantling of the gates, walls and filling in of the canals served another purpose too: that of making the city a more pleasant and attractive place. Beautiful boulevards and green spaces were created on the site of the demolished city walls and gates, and large numbers of trees such as elms, oaks, linden and Canadian poplars were planted.
Over the years, however, the 'vesten' were altered to accommodate the increasing levels of motorised vehicles and the tram lines running round and through the city. Green spaces were replaced by asphalt. Cyclists and pedestrians were squeezed out.
The Nieuwe Vesten scheme aims to restore the balance. There will be more space for cyclists, pedestrians and public transport, while still leaving enough room for motorised vehicles. This will ensure increased safety and more green spaces too.
About the illustrations of the gates
The 3D images of the gates you see on our website are by Wilfried Montald from Mechelen. He set out to bring the fascinating history of the city gates back to life. Wilfried, who started this hobby in the middle of the pandemic, eventually wants to recreate the whole city as it was around the 16th and 17th centuries. The images you see here are only of the city walls and gates. He still has work to do on the surrounding area. His impressions mirror history as accurately as possible. You can view more of his work at montald.com.
The other images you see here are from the Mechelen City Archive. If you would like to delve into history yourself, you will find lots of information at
stadsarchiefmechelen.be and regionalebeeldbank.be.
Brusselpoort
Brusselpoort was named after a road to Brussels built on the same site in 1698. It was also known as Hoogpoort – or ‘high gate’ – (after Hoogstraat) and Overstepoort – ‘superior gate’ – because it stood at the highest point in the city. Over the years, Brusselpoort served a succession of different purposes, including a telegraph pole, a shelter during the Second World War and an art studio. These days the puppets belonging to the DE MAAN puppet theatre are kept in the gatehouse.
Did you know that there was also an old Brusselpoort?
Oude Brusselpoort was located at the end of Oude Brusselsestraat and connected Mechelen with Brussels via Tervuursesteenweg. The new, present-day Brusselpoort took over the role as connecting gate after the new paved road (steenweg) was constructed in 1698. The Oude Brusselpoort closed in 1745 and was demolished in 1839.
Adegempoort
Adegempoort was connected to roads to Sint-Niklaas, Dendermonde and Ghent, and so was also known as Gentsepoort. It was an impressive 45 metres high. Until 1578 it had bell towers, which sounded the alarm at times of danger.
Nekkerspoelpoort
Until 1812, another gate, Nekkerspoelpoort, stood at the end of Keizerstraat. Two of its storeys were demolished in the 17th century and replaced by a single brick structure, thereby radically altering its appearance.
Trade played an important role here, just as it did with the other gates. Not only did Nekkerspoelpoort connect the city with the main road to Heist-op-den-Berg and the Kempen region (its other name Diestsepoort references this) and serve as a toll house collecting money from traders, but it was also a marketplace. Herrings, for instance, could only be sold here and in Sint-Katelijnepoort.
Winketpoort
Winketpoort or Waterpoort was an important gate because of the role it played in defending the city’s waterways. It was located at the point where the Dyle and the city wall intersect and where today Winketkaai and Olivetenvest meet.
At this gate there was no bridge over the River Dyle until 1564. Before that ships were used to form a bridge, allowing people to cross the river on special occasions such as processions. A drawbridge erected in1564 made crossing the Dyle easier. The Winketbrug now occupies the same spot.
Nonnenpoort
Nonnenpoort – or Nuns Gate – owes its name to the nuns residing in the convents of Thabor and Blijdenberg, located outside the city. The gate was their access to the city. Both convents were destroyed in 1572 during the Eighty Years’ War, rendering the gate redundant. Eventually it was dismantled.
Centjesmuur
The wall known as Centjesmuur (Cents Wall) on Guido Gezellelaan was built after 1660 as part of the wall enclosing Mechelen’s Great Beguinage. The wall, approximately half of which has survived, was originally called Oordjesmuur. The beguines contributed an ‘oordje’ or farthing every week – then the smallest denomination – towards the construction of the wall. With the reform of the currency, it was renamed Centjesmuur. At the time, Centjesmuur was not part of the wall around the city.
Zandpoort
At the end of Bleekstraat was Zandpoort, best known as the gate that was destroyed by a bolt of lightning. On the night of 7 August 1546, a terrible storm raged over Mechelen. Lightning struck Zandpoort, where 40,000 kilograms of gunpowder were stored, causing a huge explosion and resulting in its total destruction. Flying debris caused damage far into the city. To this day, a discarded stone is preserved in Mechelen’s storeroom. In the 16th century, Mechelen was in fact renowned for its cannon foundry and as a centre for the production of gunpowder.
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