Lier Favorites

Favorite thing: Take a walk around the outer city wall ring on the "Timmermanspad".
There are several statues along the route.

One of the statues is called "Cadetje" located at the Davidsvest opposite the Dungelhoeff barracks, the former Army School of Cadets.

The statue was made by officer Officier Micheline van Sevenant, guided by sculptor Roland Rens.

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Favorite thing: This is a picture of the Saint Gumarus church in Lier.
It is a very nice and historical church you can visit (if you pay admission).
It has the most beautiful and biggest organs in Belgium and I once had the honour to be up there to hear and see the young organist playing.

But that was not what I was intending to explain here.

I wanted to tell you about the tower. The tower you see here in the first picture is namely not the tower of the church! It is the city tower and thus belongs to the city.
The spire of the church you can see on the second picture and it is much smaller.

The city tower is said to have been originally 2 meters higher then Our Ladies Cathedral in Antwerp (really???) making it the biggest tower but... it got hit several times by lightening and caught fire turn on turn. The people of Lier got tired of it and made the tower shorter again and the pointing spire got replaced by a rounded one.

People say it looks like a pepperbus and that is how it is called De Peperbus.

Favorite thing: This very old chapel dates from when the Spanish were here.
They came to conquer us and beat out the Protestants out of Lier.
In Lier there was quite some resistant from the Geuzen and the city got severely punished for it. Many ppl got killed by the Spanish.
Afterwards they build this chapel and it is one of the stops you have to pass by when you go to Santiago de Compostela for pelgrimage.

Favorite thing: You can find the tourist information centre of Lier at the city hall. If you are facing this beautiful building then you have to take the entrance at the right side of the building.


Opened:
1st November till 31 March:
Monday - Friday: 9 am- 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm till 5 pm

1st of April till 31 October:
Daily from 9 am till 12:30 pm and from 1:30 pm till 5 pm

tel +32(0)3 8000 555
fax +32(0)3 488 12 76
e-mail: toerisme@lier.be

Fondest memory: You can arrange even groups visits from 15 on. Some places like the city hall and the beguinage church are only opened when you go there with a city guide.

Have a look at the Lier website.

Favorite thing: Legend has it that St Gummarus built a chapel here in 764. But the city of Lier was first mentioned in the 9th century.
Archeologic digs however found coins that prooves it to be inhabited in the Roman times.

In the 13th century Lier received a city wall and a magistrate. In the course of the 14th century, the duke of Brabant granted Lier the right to organize a cattle market. (see the sheepheads tip.......)
The cloth industry made the city so prosperous that a new city wall was constructed at the end of the 1300's.
Lier suffered many destructions and plunderings in the troublesome 16th century. Today the surroundings of Lier are known for vegetable production, and the city is also known for the presence of industrial sites on the eastern bank of the river Nete.

Favorite thing: Lier is a charming town with a lot of beautiful houses. The most of these old houses can be found around the Grote Markt and near the Lesser Nete that goes straight through the city. Just walk around and you can't miss them.

Fondest memory: What I especially liked about the interior of the Saint Gummarus church was the sun pouring through the many beautiful stained glass windows and giving a special effect of dark and light. Don't miss it on a sunny day.

Fondest memory: It is so nice to stroll along the Lesser Nete. One moment, I thought I was in Brugge and the next moment when I came across a bridge with people bicycling over it, I though I was in Amsterdam. Isn't it great to be in three cities at the same time.