De Vlietenkelder

About

De Vlietenkelder is one of Mechelen’s most intriguing underground spaces, a restored cellar beneath the IJzerenleen that reveals the city’s long relationship with water. In the early 13th century, this area was an open vliet, a tidal watercourse connecting the River Dijle with other streams that once criss‑crossed the centre. Over time, the waterway was partially covered, later fully enclosed, and eventually transformed into a hidden subterranean channel. The cellar gained new roles across the centuries, serving as a place where fish from the nearby market were cleaned and, during the Second World War, as a shelter for residents. After periods of closure due to moisture damage, the Vlietenkelder has been carefully renovated and reopened for guided visits, allowing visitors to step beneath the modern street and experience a rare fragment of Mechelen’s layered past.

Mechelen Belgium

Location

De Vlietenkelder is located beneath IJzerenleen in the heart of Mechelen’s historic centre, at Vlietenstraat near Bruul, 2800 Mechelen, a 13th-century underground chamber once part of the city's network of vlieten streams linking the Dijle River to the old fish market. Accessible via guided tours like “Water in the Streets,” it stands steps from Grote Markt with its town hall and St. Rumbold’s Cathedral, Vismarkt square and cafés, Grootbrug bridge, Dijlepad riverside path, Bruul shopping street, Church of Our Lady of Leliendaal, Museum Hof Van Busleyden, Korenmarkt eateries, and landmarks including Standbeeld Opsinjoorke, Heilige Geestkapel, and paths to beguinages—all in the pedestrian-friendly old town.