Before we start the walk, we will get a short historical explanation of Hannelore on the Market of Ypres, just before the cloth halls (how impressive does that building look like?!). She knows the history of Ypres inside and out and we listen to her stories about how rich Ypres was in the Middle Ages. The Lakenhallen were the center of the cloth trade in the city. It was the symbol for the prosperity and autonomy of the city.
We just scan the first QR sign with our camera, no app is needed at all, and we get to see and hear the first story. Walter and Waelewijn, two sympathetic, West-Flemish tower guards take us to the Middle Ages. From their vantage point on the Belfort, Walter and Waelewijn talk about the cats that used to be thrown down from the Belfort. Apparently the people in the Middle Ages thought that the cats were possessed by the devil because they screamed so loudly, while they were actually just crols.
Nice first story, after which we continue walking in the city. We can follow the QR walk on a card on our mobile, but we choose to walk around and so to discover the signs. This way we continue to look around at the beautiful, old mansions and we do not stumble over the ‘stumbling keys’ in the footpath. We happen to discover them. It his keys with a name engraved from a burger who died during the First World War, in that house where the key is on the footpath. We notice that a family of 5, with a baby of 10 months, has been bombed there in that house. Very moving!
The next QR sign we see stand next to the Sint-Pieterskerk. Walter and Waelewijn tell us again in a playful way about the Sint-Pieterskerk and the Cathedral of the City. We already saw that Sint-Maartenkathedral when we walked to our B&B, so it’s nice to discover something about it now. It is about Gothic pointed arches and lion heads. We’re looking for that!
And from the lions with wings in the Sint-Pieterskerk, we arrive at the lion tower on the fortresses. It is wonderful to walk around the city. Now anyway. But the lion tower used to be a watchtower to protect the city.
We stroll a little further through the city and scan a number of medieval stories from Walter and Waelewijn, then end the day with a delicious dinner on the Ypres Market, in the shadow of the cloth halls.
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