Kortrijk is a historic town that went down in history with the battle of 1302, known as the Battle of the Golden Spurs. It has a well-preserved Old Town with several hundred historic tenement houses. The beffroi belfry and the Beguinage, entered on the UNESCO list, are located here.
Built on the ruins of a Roman settlement, Kortrijk has been one of the most important centers of flax and cloth production in Flanders since the Middle Ages. It went down in history most strongly thanks to the battle of 1302, in which, armed with pitchforks and axes, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages defeated an exquisite French cavalry. After the battle, over 700 gold spurs were collected, which gave the nickname of the clash. Today, these events are remembered by the modern multimedia museum Kortrijk 1302 and the Groeninge Monument.
The historic center of Kortrijk suffered heavily during World War II and the bombing raids. This is why, within the Big Square in Kortrijk and in its vicinity, historic, gothic and renaissance tenement houses are intertwined with new buildings. However, the 16th-century town hall and the belfry in Kortrijk, called beffroi, have been preserved. Along with a dozen other buildings of this type from Flanders and France, it is entered on the UNESCO list.
The most important attraction and the main point of visiting Kortrijk is the Beguinage. It is a residential and sacred complex, with three chapels and several dozen beguine houses, entered on the UNESCO list. Beguines belonged to the secular movement derived from the Franciscan traditions. There were widows and single women who devoted themselves to prayer and works of charity. Today the complex is open to the public. There is also a multimedia museum presenting the life of beguines.
Other attractions of Kortrijk include the Church of Our Lady, where the painting of van Dycke's Raising the Cross is kept, and the Gothic Church of St. Martin with numerous works of Gothic and Renaissance art, the Broel Towers guarding the bridge over the Leie River, the Brel Museum and the Rose Garden.
