Turnhout - Belgium
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Turnhout - Belgium |
First Visit
My first visit to Turnhout happened a few months ago. The reason for this visit was, shopping. My relatives, who live in the Netherlands, took me there because, eventhough being abroad, it is the closest shopping area for them.
That time the rain was pouring, there was not much time to look around. We hopped from store to store to avoid the rain as much as possible. It wasn't until we sat down at a restaurant that I noticed the buildings. Turnhout has a broad collection of old and new buildings in every street. I knew I had to bring my camera next time.
The Name
So last week I did. I read a little about Turnhout too. It seems there are two theories about the origin of the name Turnhout.
First Theory
It originates from the Germanic words 'durnum hulta' which means thorn forest.
Second Theory
It originates from the word 'Tower'. A tower in the forest that grew into the center of a village over time.
The second one is more appealing to me, but who am I.
The Buildings
As stated above, old and new buildings side by side. I am more passionate about old buildings. Look at these images. What a great job they did back then.
At the left you can see a small part of a modern building, next to it, a beautiful old building with lots of details. Further down the street I found this building.
It is in desperate need of maintenance. At this moment it is empty. I hope it will find an owner who appreciates the building more than the former one.
A detail of an old drainage pipe.
We also came across this passageway that in my opinion could easily be used for a thriller or horror scene.
Churches
There are several churches and a mosque in Turnhout. A huge church is in the middle of townsquare. Due to activities related to the Soccer World Cup, this church was hidden behind a big stage. It was not possible to fit the whole church into a frame. Here are some shots of the surroundings.
In a street a little farther away from townsquare we found this smaller church.
It is one of those old and new combinations again. Next to it there is an appartment building, but there was a surprise hidden between the two.
Statues
These religious statues were not the only statues we came across during our walk. In Turnhout you can find pieces of art in many different styles.
The fountain ball is in the center of a roundabout, next to the church with the hidden statue garden. Okay, the last one is not a piece of art but it somehow reminded me of a minion so I included it anyway.
Lot to Do
There are 4 museums in Turnhout, and especially during summer there are all sorts of activities in this city, music, film, kids events
Friendly People
To me the people of Turnhout came across as friendly people. While taking pictures I more than once stood in weird places, in middle of the road, very close to the edge of the pavement, and such. Every time that happened people would stop, thinking I wanted to cross. One car even stopped to not cross my view while taking a picture from the other side of the road. Nice people!
Flowers
To break the grey in the street, there are flowers everywhere.
Check It Out
Go visit Turnhout. I didn't even tell you about the great food they serve. That will be something for another post.
Leuk zo'n kleine rondleiding door een stad.
Zelf was ik een half jaar geleden in Turnhout en we bezochten daar het speelkaartenmuseum.
Die "balfontein" herinner ik me ook.
Heb er toen ook een klein stukje over gepost op steemit:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@vjbasil/a-visit-to-a-very-nice-museum
Ziet er geweldig uit. Daar ga ik volgende keer ook even kijken.
Ja die bol is niet te missen :)
Om die foto te nemen stond ik dus op een mini tussenstukje stoep op het midden van de weg. Elke auto die daar de rotonde wilde verlaten, stopte om mij te laten oversteken. Maar ik was juist aan het wachten tot alle auto's weg waren :)
Aardige mensen.
Ja dat speelkaarten museum was echt geweldig; het bleek dat Turnhout jarenlang hét centrum is geweest van de productie van kaarten, maar het museum gaf een hele leuke en interessante kijk op de ontwikkeling van de druktechniek vanaf de misseleeuwen tot nu.
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