Vleeshuis, Medieval guildhall in Dendermonde, Belgium

The Vleeshuis is a Gothic meat hall on the Grote Markt, built in light grey and brown stone. Its south facade has two storeys and ends in an octagonal corner tower with a dark slate spire and a wooden sundial showing hours from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. The steep slate roof carries four stepped stone dormers added in 1903, each with a lion statue and a shield.

A building is first recorded on this site in 1293, with the meat hall on the ground floor and the cloth hall above. It was rebuilt in 1460-1462 by architect Jan Gueteghem in Flamboyant Gothic style. From 1405 the upper floor served as a prison, and in September 1914 the building escaped the fire that destroyed much of central Dendermonde.

The ground floor housed the butchers' hall, while the upper floor served as the cloth hall from 1293. Later it became a covered vegetable market in 1862, and since 1895 it has housed the Oudheidkundige Kring's museum, opened in 1895. The building also displays items from the Sint-Joris, Sint-Andries and Sint-Gillis guilds and from past Ros Beiaard processions.

The building sits on the Grote Markt, the main public square of Dendermonde, making it easy to locate and reach on foot. Visitors can examine the exterior and architectural details at any time while exploring the historic center which has good walkability.

The south face of the octagonal corner tower carries a dark wooden sundial with copper bands, oriented south and marking the hours from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Four dates are cut at its base: 1639, 1898, 1927 and 1971, recording restorations of the dial, the hall and the tower.