Hotels in Aalst, Belgium

A little about Aalst...

Aalst is a city and municipality on the Dender River, 19 miles northwest from Brussels. It is located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, Erembodegem, Gijzegem, Herdersem, Hofstade, Meldert, Moorsel, and Nieuwerkerken . The current mayor of Aalst is Ilse Uyttersprot, from the CD&V (Christian-Democrats) party. The town still has a feud against Dendermonde (situated north along the same river), which dates back from the Middle Ages.

The textile industry is still vibrant in Aalst in part because of the French occupation. Aalst produces not only the textiles themselves but manufactures many of the needed machines. The more rural regions are noted for their production of hops which are sold to the old breweries there.

Events:
Aalst is famous for its carnival festivities, celebrated every year in February. A Prince Carnaval is elected, who is allowed to "rule" the city for three days. A big parade crosses the city on Sunday, with about 70 groups of costumed volunteers and parade cars. Carnaval Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday (by tradition, the day before Ash Wednesday), is known as the day of the 'Voil Jeannetten' (literally: "the Dirty Jennies"), i.e. men dressed as women. The festivities tradionally end with the "Burning of the Doll", happening on Tuesday evening.

Sites of Interest:
The famous St. Martin's Collegiate Church, in Gothic style, dates back to 1480. It contains a famous painting by Rubens, "Saint Roch beseeching Christ to terminate the Plague at Aalst".
Aalst is also proud of a beautiful tabernacle (dated 1605), which features sculptures made by Hieronymus Duquesnoy the Elder.
The belfry in the town hall, one of the oldest and most handsome of Flanders, contains a 52-bell carillon. Together with the adjacent Aldermen’s House, it was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999.
The statue of Dirk Martens (1446-1534), first bookprinter in the Netherlands.