Oudenaarde Town Hall, Late Gothic town hall in Oudenaarde, Belgium.
Oudenaarde Town Hall is a Brabantine late-Gothic building of pale grey-beige stone, symmetrical about a central six-storey belfry tower. The tower carries a round black clock with gold numerals and an open, pinnacled belfry, and is topped by a stone crown holding a gilded brass figure of Hanske de Krijger. Two rows of pointed-arch windows with stone tracery sit above a ground-floor arcade; the steep slate roof has dormers with red-and-white shields, gold finials and pierced cresting. The niches between the windows were designed for statues but stand empty.
Hendrik van Pede of Brussels built the Town Hall between 1526 and 1536, after the old Schepenhuis on the site was found in decay in 1525. His original U-shaped plan was cut to an L, and the right side wall along the Nederstraat was never finished; it still shows parts of the older building, including two bays of 1509-1510. The 14th-century Cloth Hall, altered in the 17th century, was kept and adjoins the rear. UNESCO listed the belfry in 1999.
The museum inside holds 23 Oudenaarde tapestries, or verdures; 13 hang permanently in the upper Cloth Hall. Oudenaarde was a leading tapestry centre from about the 15th to the 18th century, and its silversmiths' work fills the Silver Room. The Schepenzaal now serves as the wedding room, with paintings of past visitors such as Margaret of Parma.
The tourism office on the ground floor provides information about guided tours and local attractions year-round. This is a good starting point to plan visits to the building itself or explore the surrounding city.
The second floor features the Schepenzaal, a council chamber, and the People's Hall, linked by an ornately carved portal designed by stoneworker Pauwel van der Schelden. This portal represents exceptional examples of stone carving craftsmanship from that period.
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