City walk in Aalst

Get to know Aalst, the second city of the Belgian province of East Flanders. Aalst is best known for its exuberant carnival and the associated'feud\\\' with the town of Dendermonde over the rights to the horse Carillon. This route takes you through the old cozy city center with its beautiful monumental buildings. You start on the Grote Markt, the place where, among other things, the fifteenth-century Aldermen's House and the associated Belfry are located. The still working carillon reminds us every 15 minutes of the age-old presence of the belfry on the Grote Markt. Both buildings are on the World Heritage List. You walk along the large Stadspark south of the city center. During the First World War, this originally swampy area was transformed into a real pleasure garden of about fifteen hectares. The aldermen of Public Works at the time wanted to provide work for the people of Aalst in this way, so that they would not be claimed by the German occupiers. Work began in the summer of 1915 and was completed in the spring of 1916. In all, more than 20,000 cubic meters of soil were used. 200 different tree species and 100 different shrub species were planted. Remarkably enough, many of these were delivered by the then German city commander, a lord of the castle who had special trees imported from his domain or elsewhere in Germany. One of the best-known inhabitants of Aalst is the novelist Louis Paul Boon. His most famous work is De Kapellekensbaan from 1953. The novel is named after the real existing street, because Boon said'had no imagination\\\'. The Kapellekensbaan is on your route. Boon also described the life of another well-known inhabitant of Aalst: Pieter Daens, the brother of Adolf Daens. You will still find references to Boon and the Daens brothers here and there in the city. When you return to the Grote Markt, you have plenty of choice to enjoy a drink on a terrace. Aalst owes its prosperity in part to hop cultivation, enthusiasts will find various regional beers here. From your seat you have a view of the statue of Dirk Martens. This Aalst native is generally regarded as the importer of the art of printing in the southern Netherlands. In 1473 he founded his first studio in Aalst. He was also an important advocate of humanism. He published works by his good friend Erasmus and printed the first edition of'Utopia\\\' by Thomas More. His statue was placed on the Grote Markt in 1856. The bronze has now oxidized to such an extent that residents of Aalst describe the statue as'the black man\\\'.