"Mechelen - Moon Extinguishers" a Mechelen Travel Page by edinka

According to legends, during the foggy night of January 27th in 1687, the moon projected a reddish glow on Saint Rumbold's Tower. A drunken man was going home and suddenly saw the extraordinary phenomenon, tought that the tower is on fire and awoke the whole city to estinguish the fire. But before the top of the tower was reached, the moon silently came through the fog and ... the Mechlians were astonished as they saw that they had been fooled by the Moon.
Many rhymes and jokes were told and even published, and these kept the story alive. Thus it came about that even in our times, the Mechlians are known by the name of "Maneblussers" (Moon Extinguishers).

The town of Mechelen (in French : Malines) is situated half-way between Brussels and Antwerp. It has about 75.000 inhabitants.

Although Mechelen suffered badly during the World Wars of the 20th century, a lot of interesting and beautiful old buildings have been preserved. To name but a few: the St. Rumbold's Cathedral, the former Palace of Margaret of Austria, the Town Hall, and several really beautiful and enchanting houses.