Cloth Hall, Ypres
Belgium · Europe
About
The Cloth Hall (Dutch: Lakenhal or Lakenhalle) is a large cloth hall, a medieval commercial building, in Ypres, Belgium. The original structure was erected mainly between 1200 and 1304, in the Gothic style. It was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. At 125 metres (410 ft) in breadth, with a 70-metre-high (230 ft) belfry tower, it recalls the importance and wealth of the medieval trade city.
The hall lay in ruins after artillery fire devastated Ypres in World War I. Between 1933 and 1967, it was meticulously reconstructed to its prewar condition, under the guidance of architects J. Coomans and P. A. Pauwels. The building now houses the In Flanders Fields Museum. In 1999, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, in recognition of their unique architecture, role in the advancement of civil liberties, and their civic, not religious, influence.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.