St. Rumbold's Cathedral & Tower
Sint-Romboutskathedraal

You’ll have to make your way up 500+ steps for view at the top of the tower but it's well worth it. This 13th century cathedral is more than a pretty face too. It has tons of history to offer

You’ll see St. Rumbold’s Cathedral long before you get there. The cathedral towers over the rest of the city with its 97m (318ft) tower. It’s a real highlight of Mechelen and you literally can’t see the whole city unless you go there. When the sky is totally clear you might be able to see The Cathedral of Our Lady all the way over in Antwerp.

Everyone loves a great view, but we can’t ignore its ground floor either. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Rumbold, the patron of the city, who saved a child from drowning. You’ll see two great relics of his in the cathedral plus Anthony van Dyck's painting 'Christ on the Cross'.

• Sure climbing up over 500 stairs sounds like a lot. No lie it is. Thankfully, there’s seven rooms along the way to stop in to see more of the cathedral including the bell chamber.
• Don’t miss the Carillon Chamber further up the tower. The cathedral has a Carillon school and they often host concerts. If you’re lucky you might hear them playing
• On the ground floor of the cathedral you’ll see a wooden pulpit. Look carefully and you’ll see it shows the fall of Eden on one side and the crucifixion on the other
• You might’ve seen this cathedral in the news. In 2008, Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria and Count Rodolphe de Limburg Stirum got married here

The Moon Extinguishers Origins

A lot of cities in Belgium have nicknames for the people that live there. People in Mechelen go by Maneblussers (moon extinguishers). Hear us out - there’s a reason! It’s said in 1687 the people of Mechelen thought there was a fire in the tower, so they ran up the tower’s stairs to throw buckets of water inside. Then they realised it was the light of the moon rather than a fire. The more you know.

Psst! Beer lovers should go check out Het Anker brewery’s blonde beer Maneblussers