The Grand-Place (Шаблон:IPA-fr; "Grand Square"Шаблон:Efn) is the main square and the centre of activity of Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium. The square has a triangular shape, owing it to the convergence of several ancient paths,[1] and it covers Шаблон:Convert.
As in many Belgian cities, there are a number of cafés and pubs on the Grand-Place. In the middle of the square there are a series of water fountains, while a circular staircase to the top of the city's Belfry can be climbed.[2][3]
On 16-17 May 1940, almost all the buildings in the center of Tournai, including the Grand Place, were destroyed by the German bombs.[4] They were rebuilt between the 1940s and the beginning of the 2000s, most of them in the same style.[5]
The Cloth Hall, a building originally constructed in 1610 in Renaissance style to replace a first 13th-century wooden hall. It was rebuilt identically in 1881 following its collapse.[7]
The Church of St. Quentin, a Catholicparish church in Romanesque style with Gothic elements, known to have existed since the 10th century. The current building was built around 1200, but has been altered several times throughout history. It contains important sculptures by the 15th-century sculptor Jean Delemer.