The Butchers Hall, Antwerpen

Debbie photographed The Vleeshuis. It's the 500 year old gothic building sandwiched between the other two buildings. Literally translated Vleeshuis means 'Meat House', however everyone in Antwerpen knows it as the Butcher's Hall and it's one of the oldest surviving buildings in Antwerp.
The original Butchers Hall was built in 1250 and functioned as a meat market where butchers sold their merchandise but by the beginning of the 16th century Antwerpen had become Europe's third largest city and was its most important trade center. The existing butcher's hall couldn't cope with the growing population and so the butcher's guild commissioned a new building that was completed in 1504.

It lost its prime function in 1810 when the French occupying forces abolished the guilds and it became a storage depot and theater during the 19th century. In 1899 the city acquired it and after restoration it reopened as a museum in 1919. It displayed a heterogeneous collection of historic objects, including pottery, drawings, lace, weapons and jewellery.

The museum is currently closed. A part of its collection will be moved to a new museum dedicated to the history of Antwerpen. The Butcher's Hall will reopen in the middle of 2006 as the City Sounds Museum, a museum of music.