Monuments of Tournai
A walk through the city streets can take several hours, during which we will see beautiful churches, the oldest Romanesque houses, and the 13th-century bridge over the Scheldt River. and many other beautiful monuments and memorials. After visiting the two biggest attractions of Tournai, which are undoubtedly the magnificent Cathedral of Our Lady and the bell tower, which are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, it is worth staying at the market square main old town. Here you can see the interesting church of St. Quintyna and the Cloth Hall.
Church of St. Quintine
The nave of this church, built in the Romanesque style, dates back to the end of the 12th century. The transept and chancel, with their diagonal ribbed vaults, are an example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style. The chancel is surrounded by 17th-century marble balustrades. The central tower was built in the 13th century. Originally, the tower was decorated with a double triforium (in Romanesque and Gothic buildings, a window or opening divided into three parts by columns and closed with a triple arcade), but during World War II it was destroyed by German bombing. It was rebuilt in a slightly changed shape.
Two circular chapels are located in the corners formed at the junction of the nave and the transept. One of them contains the tomb of Jacques Castaigne, who died in 1327. In the second one, Pasquier Grenier is buried, who contributed to the restoration of the tapestries in Tournai. The organ in the church was made by Delmotte in 1986.
Church of St. Kwintyna, original photo. http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/herman/graphics.html
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Church of St. Quintyna, nowadays
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Cloth Hall
This building, located on the market square, was built of wood in the 13th century. However, after being completely destroyed in 1606, it was rebuilt in stone in 1610-1611. Different styles are combined here. The ground floor of the facade, decorated with triangular arches, is pure Gothic, the first floor is Renaissance, and the top is Baroque. The courtyard, with internal galleries, was built in 1616, modeled on Italian courtyards. Like most of the buildings on the market square, the Cloth Hall also suffered during the bombings in 1940. In 1998, the building's facade was renovated. Nowadays, exhibitions and important events take place here.
Behind the church of St. Quintyna on Rue Perdue street we will find two attractions:
The first is a monument to a girl named Martynka with a dog. These are characters from a comic book that was very popular in Belgium in the 1960s. It was drawn by two Belgian cartoonists, Marcel Marlier and Gilbert Delahaye.
The second is the Red Fort, a medieval building named after the color of its roof. It was built at the end of the 13th century from limestone. It has three levels, one of which is equipped with a projection room where you can watch a 10-minute film in the shadow of the defensive walls . The fort has a diameter of 12 meters. It was restored in 2003.
The first is a monument to a girl named Martynka with a dog. These are characters from a comic book that was very popular in Belgium in the 1960s. It was drawn by two Belgian cartoonists, Marcel Marlier and Gilbert Delahaye.
The second is the Red Fort, a medieval building named after the color of its roof. It was built at the end of the 13th century from limestone. It has three levels, one of which is equipped with a projection room where you can watch a 10-minute film in the shadow of the defensive walls . The fort has a diameter of 12 meters. It was restored in 2003.
Church of St. Jacob
Located on Rue Palais Saint-Jacques, the temple was built in 1167. The central nave, side aisles and transept date from the first half of the 13th century. They are an example of typical Gothic style. In 1368 the chancel was expanded, adding two side chapels. The ceiling of the chapel on the right is decorated with paintings of angels playing instruments. They were painted in 1405 and restored in 1895 by the painter Jules Helbig. In the presbytery there is a lectern with the figure of an eagle from 1411. It is one of the few works of art that managed to survive the iconoclast attack on the church in 1566.
Tournai Central Station
The building is located at Place Crombez. It was built in 1879. The plans were created by architect Henri Beyaert. King Leopold I of Belgium attended the station's grand opening ceremony. The station's 118-meter-long glass roof was destroyed during bombing raids on the city during World War II.
Pont des Trous
On the Andrei Sakharov Embankment (Quai Andrei Sakharov) there is a magnificent stone bridge from the 13th century. Pont des Trous , as that is its name, it is one of the three existing military river bridges. It is one of the most prestigious traces of medieval defensive architecture in Belgium. It was part of the so-called second defensive walls, which included 18 gates. Its task was to defend the passage to Tournai from the Scheldt River. The construction of the bridge took about 50 years. The Bourdiel Tower, standing on the left bank, dates back to 1281. The Thieulerie Tower, standing on the right, was built in 1304. It took another 25 years to raise the arches. Nowadays, barges and boats pass under the bridge.
Tenement houses from the 13th century
On the rue de Barre Saint Brice stand two magnificent buildings in the Romanesque style. They were built between 1175 and 1200. The windows are formed by two horizontal rows of stones, supported by a monolithic column. They are prototypes of Flemish stone architecture and are among the oldest residential buildings of this type in Europe. Next to it stands a tenement house in the Louis XIV style.
There is also a Gothic building from the 15th century on the same street. This tenement house uses architectural patterns that were already used in Romanesque-style houses. Other Gothic buildings can be found on Rue des Jesuites . They date from the 13th century.
