Dendermonde is a city in the Belgian province of East Flanders . The city is located in the triangle of Ghent-Brussels-Antwerp , one of the most urbanized areas in the country. The city lies at the confluence of Dender and Scheldt and has about 46,000 inhabitants, who are called Dendermondenaars.

The symbol of Dendermonde is the Ros Carillon . The city logo therefore names Dendermonde as “Ros Beiaardstad”.

Sights

The Grote Markt with both medieval buildings and mansions in neo-traditional style was made completely car-free, redesigned and inaugurated in July 2004. A bronze palm tree with the name “Coconut for Dendermonde” was added a year later.

The town hall in Gothic style with belfry was built in the fourteenth century cloth hall. The Belfry Tower was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999 . The Vleeshuis from 1461 with a corner tower is located between the Grote Markt and the Kerkstraat. It houses the archaeological museum with a collection focusing on the folklore of the city. In addition, there is also pottery from the Gallo-Roman period, finds from a Merovingian burial field (from the sixth and seventh century) and objects from the early Middle Ages to the twentieth century. There are also fossils and a complete skeleton of a mammoth that lived here 28,000 years ago.

Other places of interest are:

• The Sint-Alexius Begijnhof with 61 seventeenth-century houses and a chapel from 1927 was recognized as a world heritage site in 1998 .
• The Gothic Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk with a central part from the thirteenth century, which, in addition to other art treasures, also contains two paintings by Antoon van Dyck and a Romanesque baptismal font .
• The statue for Pieter-Jan De Smet , Jesuit and missionary to the Indians in the Rocky Mountains in the United States.
• The nineteenth-century Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul with a neo-Gothic church from 1902.
• The 1927 court of justice at the beginning of Kerkstraat is located on the site of the medieval castle of the lords of Dendermonde.
• The Guild Giants (Mars, Indian and Goliath) and the Ros Carillon were recognized as World Heritage Sites in 2005 .
• The eighteenth-century Saint-Gilles-Binnenkerk with a fifteenth-century tower.
• The Mechelen and Brussels gate from 1822.
• The Cistercian Abbey of Zwijveke from the eighteenth century with a colonnade from 1690.
• The medieval fortresses with bastion system and earthen walls.
• The Brussels Forts are a remnant of the former defense belt around the city center. Now this 5 hectare pond, which is located in a green environment, is used by anglers. A footpath runs along the banks.
• The old Denderloop through the historic center.

The other monuments:

• The 1825 arsenal .
• The former gendarmerie barracks and garden district with 22 gendarmes’ houses from 1879.
• The prison building from 1863, built according to the Ducpétiaux model.
• The infantry barracks from 1830.
• The neo-gothic monastery of the Black Sisters on the Vlasmarkt from 1923.
• The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the Dijkstraat in art deco .
• The former art deco merchant’s bank .
• The civil cemetery with original cemetery wall, entrance gate and tombs.
• Kerkstraat, Koningin Astridlaan and Statieplein with mansions in neo-traditional style.
• The station building in modernist style.
• The city park, built on part of the former military fortifications.
• The alleyway in the Weldadigheidstraat.
• The former fish market.
• ‘t Ros Beiaard, statue by Jan Desmarets

Heritage 

• List of immovable heritage in Dendermonde

Dendermonde has an extensive architectural heritage. Highlights are the Lakenhalle (City Hall) and the Vleeshuis ( Meat House Museum ) on the Grote Markt. Other historic buildings are the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk and the Hollandse Kazerne.

The latter building, built in 1827-1830 and located on Noordlaan, has been in decline for years. Its physical condition is poor, although in Belgium it is a rare example of military architecture from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , of which Belgium was a part from 1815 to 1830 . However, the city of Dendermonde can not bear the enormous restoration costs that result from seeping water on its own.

Cycle routes

• Roaring cities
• Ros Carillon Route
• Giant Route

Events 

Dendermonde

• Ros Carillon Ommegang: Every 10 years the Ros Carillon is carried through the city. The Ros Beiaard is preceded by a medieval walk with extras, acrobats and floats that tells the local version of the historical saga of the Ros Beiaard and the Vier Heemskinderen . In 2005, the Ros Carillon of Dendermonde and the three guild giants Indian, Mars and Goliath were included in the UNESCO World Heritage .
• Traditional Reuzenommegang or Katuit : in a folkloric evening procession, the guild giants Indian, Mars and Goliath are preceded by mainly historical or folk scenes with floats, music bands, flag throwers and extras and torch bearers. Popularly people go to Katuit to see the giants dance (see city ​​giants ). This ommegang concludes the Dendermond fair week, as well as the summer season, and takes place annually on the last Thursday of August.
• Honky Tonk Jazz pub crawl
• Folk festival M’Eire Morough (last Friday and Saturday in July).
• Large International Folk Art Festival of Volkskunstgroep Reynout (5-yearly festival)
• Park happening
• The Four Sister Cities
• Beguinage parties: the last parties took place in 2005
• Marktrock Dendermonde
• Denderpop : annual rock festival in the city park
• Scouts barbecue: every year the third weekend of September on the scouts square

Culture

The city has a Cultural Center , Belgica. Dendermonde houses a documentation center for jazz and blues music: the Jazz Center Flanders . Thematic exhibitions about jazz take place here.

From May to August 2018, an exhibition of paintings by the Dendermond painter Franz Courtens took place in the ‘t Sestich room . These were portraits and landscapes, from private collections.

The Dendermond flan is traditionally made for a fair or family visit. Since 1997, the abbey beer Dendermonde has been brewed in Peizegem under license from the Benedictine fathers .