Home»All Photographs»Belgium, World Heritage (click to see more)»Belfries of Belgium»Mechelen

St. Rumbold's Cathedral (or Sint-Romboutskathedraal, in Dutch) is the Belgian metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, dedicated to an assumedly Irish or Scottish Christian missionary and martyr who had founded an abbeynearby.His remains are rumoured to be buried inside the cathedral. State-of-the-art examination of the relics honoured as Saint Rumbold's and kept in a shrine in the retro-choir, showed a life span of about 40 years and a death date between 580 and 655, while tradition had claimed 775 AD.

The flat-topped silhouette of the cathedral's tower is easily recognizable and dominates the surroundings. For centuries it held the city documents, served as awatchtower, and could sound the fire alarm. Despite its characteristic incompleteness, this World Heritage monument is 97.28 metres high and its 514 stairs are mounted by thousands of tourists every year.

The Lakenhal (hall for merchants of woollen cloth) and the 14th century Belfry (UNESCO World Heritage ID 943-015) beside it, form now the City Hall at the Grand Market square.