Brussels Gate

During the time of Margaret of Austria, the city center of Mechelen was surrounded by a city wall, which was constructed around 1300. "Where the ramparts are now, there was a wall with 12 city gates. Sometimes Margaret would ride through the gate towards Brussels, where she also had a palace." Although this gate is now called the Brussels Gate, it was actually a different one that Margaret used. "Back then, it was called the Overstep Gate and the Brussels Gate was located where today is the Old Brussels Gate Street."

In the mid-19th century, all city gates were demolished because they no longer had a military function. Only this one remained. And we owe this to Leopold I. "When he rode through this gate on his way to the inauguration of the statue of Margaret, he remarked that it would be a shame if it ever disappeared. So it stayed."

Behind the windows at the top of the gate, you can see the storage of Figurentheater De Maan. Below, the drawbridge stands out. "It would go down every evening when it got dark. Through this gate also passed the horse of the first postal connection on the European mainland. This was started in 1490 between Mechelen and Innsbruck. Margaret of Austria used it to communicate with her father Maximilian of Austria, who lived in Innsbruck. Each letter took about a week to arrive."

Margaret was very important as a regent for the Low Countries. One of her main achievements was the Ladies' Peace. "In 1429, she succeeded in negotiating a peace treaty between Francis I, the King of France, and Emperor Charles, her cousin, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The two were constantly at war, but Margaret spoke with the mother of Francis I and managed to establish a peace that lasted 7 years, even until 6 years after her death."

GVA - Gazet van Antwerpen