Mechelen //
Public Road

Car park map

Mechelen is mentioned for the first time in a charter of 1008. The city’s name finds its origins in the word ‘Machal’ which means meeting place or court place. The city enjoyed the statute of ‘Lord’s domain’ for a very long time, which was the same statute as that of Holland, Zeeland and Flanders.

During the 16th century Flanders was administered for a short period of time from Mechelen. It was during that period that the foundations of its present art patrimony were laid.

The city counts 78,000 inhabitants and a number of listed buildings amongst which the Saint-Rumbolds cathedral, a UNESCO heritage site.
Mechelen has a large number of museums such as the famous Toy Museum, the Jewish Museum of Deportation and the Resistance and the Royal Manufacturer of Tapestries.

The Small and Large Beguinages, the City Hall, the Lakenhal (for merchants of woollen cloths) with the Belfry, the Kruidtuin (botanical garden), Planckendael and Technopolis are all sights and attractions of renown. Mechelen has two large soccer clubs of which KV Mechelen (first division) is the most famous.

In Mechelen we have 4136 places in the payment zone and 3659 places in the blue zone.