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The ''Schepenhuis'' (Aldermen's House) of Aalst, Belgium, is a former 
The ''schepenhuis'' was depicted in the 1915 Wills's Cigarettes ''Gems of Belgian Architecture'' set. It is card number 31 of the 50 card set, originally published in the UK.
Het Oud-Schepenhuis 'Belfort van Aalst'
Aalst city website (retrieved 20 November 2006) {{coord, 50, 56, 18, N, 4, 02, 20, E, display=title, region:BE_type:landmark_source:nlwiki Bell towers in Belgium City and town halls in Belgium Buildings and structures in East Flanders Tourist attractions in East Flanders Aalst, Belgium
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, one of the oldest in the Low Countries. Dating originally from 1225, it was partially rebuilt twice as a result of fire damage, first after a 1380 war and again after a fireworks accident in 1879.
The belfry tower at one corner of the building was completed in 1460, and in the next year was equipped with a carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
built by master craftsmen from Mechelen
Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...
. The current carillon, the sixth installed since the original, has 52 bells. Inscribed on the tower are the Latin words ''nec spe, nec metu'' ("not with hope, not with fear"). This was the motto of Spain's Philip II, whose domain expanded into the Low Countries in 1555.
A small wing of late Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style, facing the market square and adorned with five life-size statues, was added in the 16th century. From this annex one can access the cellars, which originally served as torture chamber
A torture chamber is a room where torture is inflicted.
s.
The ''schepenhuis'' with its belfry is one of an ensemble of related buildings that together have received UNESCO World Heritage status (''the Belfries of Belgium and France'').
The ''schepenhuis'' was depicted in the 1915 Wills's Cigarettes ''Gems of Belgian Architecture'' set. It is card number 31 of the 50 card set, originally published in the UK.
See also
*List of carillons in Belgium
Carillons, musical instruments of bells in the percussion family, are found throughout Belgium. Several institutions maintain registries on the location and statistics of carillons. Some registries specialize in counting specific types of ca ...
References
Het Oud-Schepenhuis 'Belfort van Aalst'
Aalst city website (retrieved 20 November 2006) {{coord, 50, 56, 18, N, 4, 02, 20, E, display=title, region:BE_type:landmark_source:nlwiki Bell towers in Belgium City and town halls in Belgium Buildings and structures in East Flanders Tourist attractions in East Flanders Aalst, Belgium