Grand-Place de Tournai

The Grand Place is the main square and the business center of the Belgian city of Tournai. The square has a triangular shape, it owes it to the convergence of several ancient ways.

Originally located outside the city walls, this vast space was used as cemetery in its western part, from the first century till the fourth century AD.

History

During the Carolingian period, in times of the recovery of big business in the West, the long abandoned cemetery turned into a marketplace. The economic importance of this market attracted large crowds. When the city received, in 1187, from King Philip Augustus of France's, the charter guaranteeing its communal liberties, the people of Tournai choose the market to establish a belfry, symbol of these hard-won freedoms. From that moment, the Grand Place became the centre of communal life.

The most tragic episode in the history of the market is on 16th and 17th May 1940. The German air force destroyed all the houses, leaving only a few fronts standing. In order to keep the heart of the city its character, the people of Tournai rebuilt their Grand Place following the old styles. Only a few houses have chosen a contemporary style.

Architecture and Monuments

In front of houses well reconstructed like the Écu de France or the Cerf, one can see the entrance to the street des Maux. The latter is named after assemblies (malli who gave in French maux: ills) where justice was administered in the Carolingian period.

Another building of the Grand Place is the barn in which the Tournai abbey of Saint-Martin garnered the wheat that came from fees called "tithes (dimes)" raised on land that belonged to it, and were to be sold on the general Tournai market, hence its name of Grange des dimes de St. Martin. A niche houses atop the figure of St. Martin tearing his cloak to give half to a poor, a figure that is usually referred to as the Charité-Saint-Martin. Among the inscriptions on the facade that note, decorated with gold, is "PAX SIT HUIC DOMUI" which can be translated as peace be on this house. Another inscription and a coat of arms remind us that this house was built in 1663 by the abbot of Saint-Martin, Antoine de Roore (motto Omnia vanitas meaning all is vanity).

La Halle-aux-draps

It is in this space that merchants settled to sell linens and fabrics, hence its name the Halle-aux-draps. In the twelfth century, the Bishop of Tournai, Walter de Marvis, ordered to build a Halle on the Grand Place.

The town of Tournai was forced to convert a house called "al Treille" into a Halle after violating asylum in the cathedral chapter. It was made of wood. In 1606, a storm overturned it. Four years later, it was rebuilt in composite style by the mason-master of Tournai with the plans of the painter Jacques Van den Steen. The arches on the ground floor of the facade are reminiscent of the Gothic style, the first floor is of renaissance style and the gables are baroque.

The interior galleries yard built by Gérard Spelbault in 1616, imitate the Italian yards. In 1881, the building collapsed and was rebuilt exactly same to serve as a municipal museum.

The 1940 the firebombing did not save it and the Cloth Halle should had to be completely restored again. Recently (1998), its facade has undergone a renovation. It now hosts temporary exhibitions and is rented for eventual manifestations.

The Princess of Epinoy

The centre of the Grand Place is occupied by a bronze statue (1863) representing Christine de Lalaing, princess of Epinoy, wife of the governor of Tournai during the siege of the city in 1581 by the Spanish. A widespread legend in the nineteenth century gave her an important role in the defence of the city, which explains the honour paid to her.

Activity

Place of exchange, of fairs and events, the Grand Place gives its terraces, an aspect from another time. On sunny days, the heart of the city beats on the crowded restaurant terraces. All culinary desires can be satisfied: snacks, sweet treats or a typical meal with local beer.