Schepenhuis

A small but enjoyable museum located in one of the 3 old townhalls of Mechelen that dates back to the end of the 13^th century. And it’s free! The building itself is already worth a visit: it was originally the place where the town elders met, but it later became the location of the parliament of the Netherlands (when it was still 17 provinces together with Holland, Luxemburg and Northern France).
The museum has a small but exquisite collection of polychromed wooden statuettes of St Mary and saints dating to the 16^th century and a unique collection of beguinage art (the «hofkens» or «little gardens») — triptyches that were partly painted, partly decorated by the «beguines». Hard to explain and I didn’t have a camera with me!