Butcher's house

Until after the French Revolution, the Vleeshuis was the guild house of the oldest guild in Antwerp, the butchers. The original Vleeshuis was built around 1250. In 1501, at the beginning of Antwerp's Golden Age, the guild commissioned the construction of the larger, current Vleeshuis. The sales hall was put into use in 1504. The building was an impressive guild house consisting of a sales hall with 62 stalls, where butchers could sell their goods. The Vleeshuis towered high above the city and gave it much prestige. The late Gothic building is constructed from red brick, with white sandstone columns and string courses: the horizontal decorations on the facade. During the French Revolution, the French abolished the guilds. In the 19th century, the building was used as a wine storage facility, a theater hall, and a painter's studio. After renovation in 1913, the Vleeshuis became a Museum of Antiquities. In 2006, the Vleeshuis reopened as an interactive music museum that highlights six centuries of sound, music, and dance in Antwerp. From the 19th century onwards, the Vleeshuis district was one of the most densely populated areas in the city.

padre jeannot