WESTERN FLANDERS 139THE LEGEND OF THE STEED BAYARD
Set in the times of Charlemagne, the legend of the steed
Bayard recounts the derring-do of four knights and a pow-
erful horse. The knights were the four sons of Aymon,
Lord of Dendermonde, and Aya, Charlemagne’s sis-
ter. One of them, Reinout, subdued the ferocious
steed Bayard. In a quarrel over the horse,
Reinout killed Charlemagne’s jealous son
Lodewijk, after which the brothers, riding
the mighty steed, defended themselves
from the emperor’s wrath. Finally, as a
condition of peace, Reinout agreed to kill
the steed Bayard. Seeing how Reinout had
rejected him, the valiant horse sacrificed
himself in the river. Dendermonde’s
famous pageant today, the Ros
Beiaardommegang, centres upon a
giant model of the horse ridden by
the Aymon brothers in full armour,
a role always taken by four real
brothers from Dendermonde.location throughout history,
even in 1914, when the town
was sacked by the Germans.
Today, it is a quiet commuter
town, famed above all for its
celebrated pageant of the
steed Bayard, which dates
back to the 15th century and
is performed every ten years.
Dendermonde’s attractive
Grote Markt is flanked by the
steepled turret and step-
gables of its 15th-century
Vleeshuis (Meat Hall),
which now contains a
museum. The Stadhuis
was originally built as
a cloth hall in the
14th century. It was
wrecked in 1914
and restored in the
1920s. Its belfry has
a carillon of 49 bells.
The town’s Onze-
Lieve-Vrouwekerk, built
between the 13th and 15th
centuries, has a remarkable
12th-century carved font
made of Tournai stone, and
two paintings by Anthony
van Dyck – the Adoration of
the Shepherds (c.1616) and
the Crucifixion (c.1628).
To the south of the River
Dender, in the beguiling St-
Alexiusbegijnhof, are rows
of attractive 17th-century
houses lining a triangular
green. Located here is a small
museum about the béguinage
as well as a folk museum.
Environs
Situated 15 km (9 miles) to
the west, Donkmeer is a
lakeland area famed as the
place to eat eel dishes such as
paling in’t groen (see p278).
There is also an agreeable
nature reserve known as De
Eendenkooi (The Duck Pen).
St-Niklaas f
39 km (24 miles) NE of Ghent.
Road Map C1. * 70,000. £ @
n Grote Markt 45; (03) 7609260.
( Thu. http://www.sint-niklaas.beThe sprawling town of
St-Niklaas is the commercial
centre of Waasland, an area
of drained marshes that have
become productive farmland.
St-Niklaas’s Grote Markt is the
largest market square in the
country. Surrounded by a
number of attractive 17th-
century buildings and
an elegant 19th-century
Stadhuis, the square
really comes alive on
market days as well
as in early September
when scores of hot-
air balloons gather
for the Vredesfeesten (literally,
Peace Festivities). The now
revamped Ste.M (StedelijkMuseum) is an intriguing
assortment that includes a
collection of music recording
machines – from musical
boxes to early gramophones –
historical hairdressing salons
(the Barbierama) and recon-
structions of life in medieval
times based around archaeo-
logical finds at the Boudelo
Abbey close by.
Set in a Neo-Classical town
mansion built over 1928 and
1929, the Salons voor Schone
Kunsten has elegantly fur-
nished rooms and a good
collection of paintings by
noted 19th-century Belgian
artists such as Jan Stobbaerts,
Henri de Braekeleer, Henri
Evenepoel, James Ensor and
Hippolyte Boulenger. The
great Renaissance map-maker,
Gerardus Mercator (1512–94),
creator of the familiar Mercator
Projection, was born nearby
at Rupelmonde. Dedicated
to him, the Mercatormuseum
explores his contributions to
the history of cartography.E Ste.M
Zwijgershoek 14. Tel (03) 7603750.
# 2–5pm Tue–Sat and 11am–5pm
Sun. &
E Salons voor
Schone Kunsten
Stationsstraat 85. Tel (03) 7781745.
# 2–5pm Thu–Sat and 11am–5pm
Sun. &
E Mercatormuseum
Zamanstraat 49. Tel (03) 7603783.
# 2–5pm Tue–Sat, 11am–5pm
Sun. &Sculpture at Grote
Markt, St-NiklaasA statue of the benevolent saint outside the Stadhuis at St-Niklaas
Statue of the steed
Bayard with three of the
Aymon brothers visible