Lier is only a 10 minutes drive from my hometown. A very beautiful town to visit also with a very interesting history.

Unspoiled by mass tourism, the small but beautiful city of Lier lies waiting to be discovered by those who love a friendly and pleasant atmosphere in a beautiful setting, rich in monuments. Lier lies inbetween the cities of Antwerp and Mechelen and at about 45 minutes from Brussels.
Already inhabited during the Roman period Lier had developed into a town near the river Nete, when in 1212 the Duke of Brabant granted city rights. The economic pillars where the cloth industry and the cattle market. During the first world war the city was heavily damaged but tastefully rebuilt afterwards.

One of the most impressive gothic churches in Northern Belgium is the Saint Gummarus church of Lier. The eye-catcher is the splendid late-gothic rood loft in the church, which is almost unique in Belgium. Famous is also the Zimmer tower with its astronomical clock from 1930.

The market place is surrounded by several beautiful old guild houses. In the center of the square stands the rococo town hall with the belfry tower from 1369. When leaving the center of the city you can visit one of the most beautiful beguinages of Belgium. Beguinages were all-female communities where the beguines lived. These organizations could be compared with monasteries, except that the beguines did not make vows like nuns did.

Archeological excavations (during which numerous coin-treasures were discovered ) have shown that a Gallo-roman habitat existed here thanks to its strategic situation on the confluence of the two rivers Nete (the large and the small Nete).

The city was first mentioned in official documents in the 12th century. In the 13th century the small city, with its fertile soil, received a city wall and a magistrate, as sign of its economic prosperity. In the course of the 14th century, the duke of Brabant granted Lier the right to organize a cattle market. By the end of the 1300's the cloth industry made the city so prosperous that a new city wall was constructed. In 1367 the new cloth hall became the visible sign of the importance and power of the corporation of the cloth traders.

Lier, however, missed its chance to become the most important intellectual center of the southern low countries. In 1425 duke Jan IV of Brabant, gave Lier the chance to choose between a sheep market and the installation of a university. Afraid of problems with students, the people of Lier turned down the offer of receiving a university and opted for the sheep market.(Since then, their nickname is "sheepheads" !). The city of Leuven, was less hesitant and opted for the university. Leuven has since then become the seat of the oldest catholic university in the world since 1425 (The Catholic University of Louvain).

Like many other cities in the low countries, Lier suffered many destructions and plunderings in the troublesome 16th century. In 1567, the troops of the Duke of Alva, pillaged the town. After the iconoclasm (the destruction of the gothic statues and paintings by protestants), the counter-reformation brought peace and a new intellectual development. An example of this can be seen in the presence of a Rubens painting in the Saint Gummarus church.

The surroundings of Lier are known for vegetable production, but nowadays the city is also known for the presence of industrial sites on the eastern bank of the river Nete. It is also a, although less-known, tourist spot on the road to Antwerp and the "Kempen" region

Things to see in Lier :

The Market square with the town hall and the Belfry

On the town square the visitor will spot some beautiful historic buildings. The town hall was built in Rococo-style and has a beautiful pediment which bears the coat of arms of the city. It was constructed from 1740 to 1745 by architect Van Baurscheit. The rococo style continues inside the building and is best shown by the extremely elegant staircase. Inside the town hall a few works of art make it worthwhile to pay a visit to the building. The visitor can admire several paintings, amongst others by Isidoor Opsomer, one of the most famous local painters.

Against the town hall stands the belfry tower. This important tower is the symbol of the power and the autonomy of the city (other important Flemish cities like Bruges, Ghent, Kortrijk, etc also have belfry towers). From the balcony of the tower the official city announcements were proclaimed. The tower itself dates from 1369, a time when the city of Lier became rather prosperous. Today, the belfry tower is the last remainder of what used to be the cloth hall, the symbol of the medieval economic expansion of the corporation of cloth workers. The tower is crowned with four little corner turrets. These turrets date only from 1911 and are an expression of the renovation style that was popular at the end of the 19th century, whereby old buildings were adapted to make them look genuinely old and medieval. Around the market square numerous beautiful houses complement these two buildings. Especially the house at nr. 36, the "Eyckenboomhuis" is very beautiful and displays nice renaissance columns from the 16th century.

The Prisoner's Gate

On the corner of the Zimmer square one can see the "Prisoner's gate", which dates from 1375. This was originally a gate of the city wall. It was built in gothic style but later adapted with classicist elements. This can best be seen on the side of the gate towards the market square, where a niche harbors a polychromatic statue of Saint Rochus. Also on the other side the gate has been decorated with a statue of Saint Margaret. As from the second half of the 16th century until 1930, the gate was used as a prison, hence its name.

The House "The Fortuin"

You cannot visit Lier without having spotted the "Fortuin" house. This very beautiful building has become one of the symbols of the city of Lier. It is situated on the "Felix Timmermansplein , 7". It was built with bricks and natural stone and then painted white. It probably dates from the 17th century, but was adapted in the 18th century. It used to be originally a storage place for wheat and grain. Later it became a place to store coal, a lemonade factory, a workshop and since its restoration between 1962 and 1965, a restaurant.

The Meat Hall

The Meat Hall dates from 1480 but has been rebuilt in neogothic style in 1920. Since a few years it harbors the cultural center of Lier. Already in 1834 a renovation had been undertaken, transforming the building into a classicist construction. After the first World War, G. Careels had the meat hall demolished and rebuilt in its original style. The two lions at the entrance, bearing the sign S.P.Q.L. originally decorated the entrance of the town hall, where they were removed in 1863.

The Saint Peter's Chapel

Behind the Saint Gummarus church, a less imposing, but no less important, religious building can be seen : the Saint Peter's Chapel. This chapel is probably the oldest still remaining construction in Lier. It was built around 1225 as part of a larger Romanesque church. This church replaced the older, wooden church that was erected here in 764 by Saint Gummarus. After the Saint Gummarus church had been completed, the Romanesque church was partially demolished, but a part of the choir, a part of the nave and the transept were preserved. During the First World War, the chapel was completely burnt down, but afterwards rebuilt by canon R.Lemaire.

One of the prides of Lier is the "Beguinage" (Dutch : Begijnhof). It dates from the 13th century and ranks among the largest and most beautiful beguinages in Belgium.

Beguinages were founded in most medieval cities of the low countries at the time of the crusades. A lot of women had lost their husbands and wanted to live in protected communities. Most of these women, however, did not want to join a convent or a monastery, where they had to make vows. In the beguinages, the ladies could live like nuns or sisters, without having to make vows that would tie them for the rest of their lives. The system of beguinages continued to exist in the low countries until this century. Most beguinages consisted of a group a small houses, which, together, formed a little separate village inside a city.

Like most other beguinages in Belgium, the beguinage of Lier is a quiet and peaceful place, extremely suited for a nice walk. The traffic free streets with their cobblestones take you back to old times. Most of the houses here date from the 17th century. Also the baroque entrance gate and the beguinage church date from that time.

The early beguinage of Lier received a lot of support from duchess Aleidis, wife of Henry III, duke of Brabant, which explains its fast growth into a major beguinage. It suffered several destructions from fire and plundering. The beguinage was closed down in the aftermath of the French Revolution, and only in 1814 the beguines were allowed to open it again. The entire beguinage occupies an area of two hectares and has a total of 162 houses, spread over eleven streets. Most houses were built in brick, with some sandstone here and there.

The beautiful church of the beguinage is an example of baroque architecture. The façade was finished in 1767, which explains why there is already an influence from the rococo style. The patron saint of the church is Saint Margaret.

For most Flemish people Lier is know as the city of "PALLIETER". Pallieter is the name of a joyous fellow who represents the good and happy Flemish life. He was immortalized by Felix Timmermans, one of the most popular Flemish writers of the middle of the twentieth century.

Lier, though a small city, boasts a number of famous artists that were born within its streets. Felix Timmermans is in Flanders the most known of them. He was born on 5 July 1886 in Lier. In 1916 he published his book "Pallieter" and.... became a legend in his own time. During the course of the years he turned into a popular and prolific writer who found most of his inspiration in the life of the city of "Lier from way back when.." The "Fe" as he was sometimes called, received numerous literary awards and died on 24 January 1947 in his house in Lier.

From the same generation as Felix Timmermans was the painter Isidoor Opsomer. Born in Lier in 1878, he studied at the Academy of Arts in Lier and Antwerp, where later he would become a teacher. Opsomer is mostly known for his portraits of the Belgian king Albert I and other famous politicians. He was knighted in 1940. Baron Opsomer died on 31 May 1967 in Antwerp, after a having led a full and rich life. He left us a legacy of more than 500 paintings.

The Timmermans-Opsomer House.

In a house of the 17th-18th century, called the "Groote Hofstadt" situated at the Netelaan 2-6, visitors can learn more about these two famous Lier artists. The house has belonged to several important citizens of Lier and in 1917 the city bought it and transformed it into a school. Since 1968 it is called the Timmermans-Opsomer house and functions as a cultural center for the different artistic aspirations of the people of Lier.