Habsburg capital Pest: expansion and axial interventions

The Hungarian capital Budapest was created by the incorporation in 1837 of three much older cities: Buda, Pest and Obuda. The name for this new city reflects this as it is a conjunction of the two largest cities of the three. An alternative form was written as Buda-Pest. Of the three urban cores Obuda is the oldest. There was a roman settlement and military camp here from 29 AD called Aquincum. At the heart of Pest and further north near Margetsziget a small roman fort was built on the bank of the Danube.

Pest is first mentioned in 1148 as the trade city opposite the castle on Buda-Hill (Budavári Hégy). As is often the case the church freedom is located on the old roman fortress. A settlement grew along two parallel roads on the floodplain of the Danube. It is unclear when this settlement was fortified with walls. The first fortifications from the eleven hundreds were most likely a raised bank with a paling on top. Most walled fortifications were constructed from the 13th century onwards. The well known semicircular shape with a high wall and 4 large gates was probably constructed under King Mathias Corvinus in the 15th century. After the recapture of the city from the Ottoman Turks by the Habsburg Emperor in 1686 the city lay in ruins and had to be rebuilt and resettled. Reconstruction adhered to the older medieval layout.

In 1704 Pest received the charter of Imperial Free City of the Habsburg Emperor. The construction of the Invalid Hospital (now the City Hall) between 1725 and 1735 resulted in a break of the medieval walls to create a better connection to existing roads and the market fields beyond the walls. By 1730 the area within the old walls has been completely repopulated and filled in. This quickly lead to the development of suburban settlements beyond the walls. In an effort to guide the spatial development and regulate the supply of fitting residential areas new suburbs were designed encircling the walled city during the second half of the 18th century, much like what was done in Vienna and Munich.

Again along the Germanic model, these suburbs were named after royal patrons. In 1777 Térezváros (Theresiënstadt) was named for Queen Mary Therese who had visited the area in 1751. The Alsó-Külváros (Lower Suburb) was renamed Józsefváros (Josefstadt) in 1the same year to honour Emperor Joseph II. In 1790 the northern suburb is (re)named Lipótváros (Leopoldstadt) in honour of king Leopold II. In 1838 a large flood destroys large parts of this and the other suburbs and it is rebuilt on a grid layout. In 1792 the development of a new suburb started in the south. It was named in honour of King Francis I of Hungary as Ferencváros (Franzstadt)  In 1882 a section of Térezváros was renamed in honour of the popular Queen Elisabeth (Sisi) as Erzsébetváros (Elisabethstadt).  

By 1780 more people were living in the suburbs than within the old city. This development required better communications. There had been no bridge across the Danube, but in 1761 a barge bridge was constructed linking Pest and Buda. The first bridge constructed was the Széchenyi Lánchid (Chain Bridge) opened in 1849.

As part of the planned suburbs wide radial streets were laid out that ended at the old city gates. On the north side several squares were laid out along a wide street from 1812 onwards. Before large market fields for livestock and horses were located here. The poor connectivity between the old city and the suburbs created congestion and traffic problems, so a rethink along the lines of Hausmann with large boulevards was planned. The initiative came from count Gyula Andrássy, the then Prime-Minister, who proposed a new boulevard belt road and radial in 1870. This plan included a small boulevard ring (Kiskörút) that replaced the former city defences, a large boulevard ring (Nagykörút), a new radial (Sugárút) and two new bridges on either end of the large semicircular ring road.

In 1900 a very Hausmannian intervention was proposed, with a new boulevard running straight through the old city centre from the east station across a new bridge towards a new square on flat terrain between Castle Hhill and Gellért Hill. This would materialise as the Kossuth Lajos út and the Erzsébet híd (Elisabeth Bridge). The boulevard was angled such that it avoids the medieval church of Mathew. At the same time most buildings around this church were torn down. The old central square was thus greatly enlarged, but lacks a clear spatial definition.

The axial interventions superimposed on the historic core of Pest. The seminal structure was a roman fortress located underneath the central square and church freedom (A). The second urban core was centred around a former abbey - now a university (B). To the north of this walled city on the market field the Erszébet tér (E) and Vörösmarty tér (V) were laid out. The Bajcsy Zsilinszky út (1) was built as a wide thoroughfare along the edge of Lipótváros. In similar fashion the Rákóczi út (2) and Üllöi út (3) were constructed. The National Museum (M) of 1849 predates the ring boulevard that was built over the former city walls. This Kiskörút connects indirectly to the Széchenyi Lánchid (H1 - 1849), and directly to the Szabadság híd or Liberty Bridge (H3 - 1896). The central Erzsébet híd (H2 -1903) connects to the new central boulevard.

Budapest is still very much a twin city with the hills of Buda in the west and the flat city of Pest in the east. Of the 5 bridges connecting this "inner city" span the wide Danube, 4 are part of the historic ring boulevard structure impose on the expanding capital of Hungary in the 19th century. Nowadays the city centre has expanded beyond the old walled city, but also includes parts of the planned suburbs within the 1877 Nagykörút.

The spatial structure of Budapest is dominated by the physical landscape and the 19th-century interventions. The double semicircular boulevard belt roads are the most prominent feature.This structure is mainly located in Pest (P) and avoids the hilly terrain of Buda (B), Budavári (V) and Gellért Hill with the Citadel (C). The flat "Watercity" Víziváros (Vv) is also avoided.The old city of Pest is encircled by planned suburbs starting with Lipótváros in the north via Térezváros (T), Erzsébetváros (E) and Jószefváros (J) to Ferencváros (F) in the south. Two large urban spaces, Vörösmarty tér (1) and Erszébet tér (2), form a buffer between the grid suburb of "Leopoldcity" with its central garden square (3) and the old city. At the edge of this suburb the parliament building (4) was built. Andrassy út (A) with the Opera HOuse (6) forms the back bone of "Theresiacity" beyond the outer belt boulevard. It culminates in Hörök tére (Heroes Square - H) on the edge of the City Park (Városliget - VL). Both railway stations (north station - 5 and east station - 7) are located on the edge of the planned suburbs near an important junction of radial roads. There are no formal ensembles along the boulevards! The National Museum (8) and the Corvinus University (9) are located directly adjacent to the inner boulevard. The 5 bridges started with the central Széchenyi Lánchid (h1) and was followed by the Margit híd (h2 - 1876), Szabadság híd (h3), Erzsébet híd (h4) and finally the Petöfi híd (1933), thus completing the circuit.  

Axial interventions: the avenues of electoral Berlin and beyond

Following the growth of the Twin City Berlin-Cöln as a result of the growing importance of Prussia within the German Realm the capital city of Berlin grew rapidly from the 16th century onwards and several suburbs sprang up outside of the cities defences. In 1618 The Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia where joined cementing the pivotal position of the Elector of Brandenburg within the Holy Roman Empire.

Directly next to Cölln the electoral suburb of Friedrichswerder, which received town freedoms in 1662, was developed. The regular layout was aimed at enhancing the beauty of this new town as the first planned expansion. The new town was located on low-lying ground between the city walls of Cölln and the Spree Canal. In 1668 Friedrichswerder was incorporated into the city defences of the capital of Brandenburg, although it remained a separate settlement. Thus in 1678 a new town hall was built on the central market square.

In 1670 Elector Frederick William gifted the Kleiner or Cöllner Tiergarten (a swampy fenced-off hunting estate directly adjacent to the Spree river and the old city) to his wife Sophia Dorothea. Joachim Ernst, the Overseer of Fortifications, was responsible of the layout based on a strict grid of streets. This new extension of the city received town privileges in 1674 and was aptly named Neustadt before it was renamed Dorotheenstadt in 1681. It was secured by an extension of the city defences with an outer moat, earth banks and walls.

Electoral Berlin with the multitude of axial interventions and grid additions around the old Twin City of Berlin-Cölln with the city of Berlin (1) north and the city of Cölln (2) south of the Spree river The later was expanded with the addition of Neu-Cölln (3) and Friedrichswerder (4). Further west we find Dorotheenstadt (5) and Friedrichstadt (6).These were located adjacent to Luisenstadt (7) and the Grosser Tiergarten (8).

The grid of Dorotheenstadt was aligned parallel to the hunting avenue of Unter den Linden (literally: underneath the lime trees) that had been built in 1573 to link the Residence with the Kleiner Tiergarten and was extended to the edge of the Grosser Tiergarten in 1647. This axial intervention was done according to Dutch examples and planted with lime trees and walnut trees. In 1695 the avenue was extended for several miles to the Charlottenburg Palace and cut right through the large hunting pleasance. At one third of its length a large roundel was created within the Tiergarten with 8 avenues radiating out: the Grosser Stern. This design was based on Dutch examples of hunting forests, so-called Sterrenbossen, but on a much grander scale.  A second roundel was built at two thirds of the length of the axis, without the star shaped avenues radiating from it, but incorporating pre-existing roads.

After the death of the Elector Frederick William in 1688 his son Frederick III, the later King Frederick I of Prussia, had a new city built on the fields west of Cölln. The work on this third expansion of the city started in 1691 and was designed by a team of architects and engineers on a formal, geometric layout based on a grid with several open spaces of distinct shapes (square, rectangle, octagon and circle) and axial streets. The central axis was an extension from the Dorotheenstad north of Unter den Linden. The eponymous Friedrichstadt was entered from this point via the Friedricher Tor, a city gate. In the west the new city was bound by the Leipziger Landwehr, a defensive earthwork. It was also governed as a separate city with its own charter until all three electoral suburbs, Berlin and Cölln were incorporated as boroughs within the new city of Greater Berlin in 1709. After Prussia had been elevated to a kingdom in 1701 the importance of Berlin as a German Capital City rivalling Düsseldorf, Hanover, Dresden, Munich and Vienna increased steadily.

The first series of axial interventions was concentrated on the west side of the old city. The former hunting avenue of Unter den Linden (U) connects the Lustgarten (G) in front of the Hohenzollern Residence with the Brandenburgerplatz (B) with the well known Brandenburger Tor, a ceremonial gate. This splendid street also formed the central line of the Forum Fridericianum (F). The main axis of the new grids sits at a right angle to the original axis and was extended north across the river and south towards the round Hallesche Tor Platz (H). A secondary axis (Leipzigerstrasse) connects Friedrichswerder via the Leipziger Tor with the octogonal Leipziger Platz (L). The small oval Potsdammer Platz lay beyond the Potsdammer Tor. From here an axis (2) towards Schloss Bellevue (3) cuts through the Tiergarten. It crosses the extended axis of Unter den Linden with the Grosser Stern (1). A separately positioned axial intervention is related to the Reichstag Building (4). It follows the basic orientation of the Raczynski Palace that stood here before.

Whilst the development of Friedrichstadt was regulated and planned by royal appointment by Oberbaudirektor Philipp Gerlach, the suburb southeast of Cölln developed in a rather ad-hoc manner along pre-existing rural lanes and roads. This Cöllnische or Köpenicker Vorstadt fell prey to the ravages of the Thirty Years War and was completely destroyed by fire. Between 1734 and 1736 the Berliner Zollmauer (Customs and Duties Wall) was built around the city and its suburbs. The famous Brandenburger Tor on the axis through the Tiergarten is a remnant of this structure that had no military purpose. In 1802 the Köpenicker Viertel within was renamed Luisenstadt in honour of Luise the wife of Frederick William III.

Immediately after his ascension to the throne in 1840 King Frederick William IV commissions the famous landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné to redesign Luisenstadt and execute an extension of this Borough towards the Flossgraben or Landwehrkanal ,a drainage canal that was dug in 1705. At the centre of the new design is a new drainage canal linking Spree and Flossgraben: the Luisenstadtischen Kanal that was opened in 1852. Lenné designed an axial composition inspired by Hausmannian interventions in Paris with several axes over a basic  grid layout, but incorporating older streets. The new canal forms part of the main axis that culminates in a church and starts at a wide lock. The brilliance of his design shows in the canal that curves away from the central axis leaving room for a secondary axial composition whilst widened sections of the canal served as spatial devices within the side axes with "water squares" at the crossing points.

The Luisenstadt is a contorted grid with several parallel axial streets. Of these only the central axis from the Canal Lock (1) via the Oranienplatz (2) on the main transverse axis towards the Church of St. Micheal (Michaelkirche - 3). The transverse axis connects two squares (one round, one square) on parallel axes. The Moritzplats (4) enforces the junction of the transverse axis with the Prinzenstrasse. The Heinrichplatz (5) signifies a secondary axis that ends with the Church of St Marianne (6) with the Bethanienkloster (7) at an angle of 90 degrees, thus emphasizing the curve in the Luisenstadkanal.

Brandenburg on the Havel, expansion by going across the river

The city of Brandenburg is an old city on the banks of the Havel that lent its name to the medieval Bishopric of Brandenburg, the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the present-day German State of Brandenburg. Although of great historical significance for north-eastern Germany, the city has been eclipsed in importance by the neighbouring cities of Postdam and off course Berlin.

The first historic mentions of a settlement in this riverside location date back to 948 (as Brendanburg) and 967 (as Brennaburg). The old place name doesn't refer to the Irish Saint Brendan, but is most likely of Germanic origin combining the words branda (fuel or firewood) and burg (secure place, later fort or castle). An alternative explanation links the prefix to the Germanic word brendh meaning well or rising water. Both are equally possible as both tie in with the original landscape of a wooded river valley. The Slavic tribe Stodorani had a stronghold (a ring fort) on an island in the Havel, that was conquered by Henry the Fowler (König Heinrich der Erste) in 929. In 948 (or possibly not until 965) the Bishopric of Brandenburg was founded here. After the recapture of the fortress by Slavic forces in 983, the Bishop went into exile in Magdeburg for the next 170 years whilst Brandenburg was ruled by the Prince of the Hevelli. These princes ruled from the fortress with the Chapel of Saint Peter (Petrikapelle) on what is now the Dominsel (Cathedral Island). After the death of the last Slavic prince Pribislav in 1150 the land fell to Margrave Albert I (Albrecht der Bär). The land of Brandenburg was raised to a Margraviate (Mark Brandenburg) in 1157. By that time a service settlement had come into existence further west called Parduin. Before 1147 White Canons had settled near the Church of St Godehard in this trade settlement north of the river. The moved to the fortress in 1165 where they founded an abbey at the same time the decision was made to erect a cathedral (Dom in German). In 1170 the trade settlement was granted city status by Margrave Otto I. The smaller trade settlement of Luckenberg (named after a hill now called Marienberg) around the Church of St Nicolas wasn't granted these privileges and dwindled to a small village in de the decades that followed. The city of Brandenburg however grew quickly.

A tentative reconstruction of the earliest Brandenburg (B), consisting of a ring fort (in green) with two small villages on the northern river bank of the Havel Parduin (P) and Leckenberg (L) along an old trade route. As Parduin served as a service quarter for the burgh it had a place of worship (dedicated to St. Godehard - G) and a market square (M). Where later the Neustadt would be built only a large farmstead (Bauhof - H) stood.

In 1196 the city was enlarged, not by adding a wider encircling wall and city moat, but by the foundation of a completely new city on the other side of the river directly south of the old fortress. The Court of the Margraves was transferred to a location in the south of this new city. This new city (literally called Brandenburg Neustadt)  was granted separate city rights and had a large market square at its centre next to the Church of St. Catherine. The three component parts Cathedral Island, Old City and New City were seen as separate entities. Together this Greater Brandenburg was an important trade centre. In 1314 and 1315 respectively the Old and New City joined the Hanseatic League. In 1431 The double city became part of the city alliance with Cöln, Berlin (together a twin city on either side of the Spree), Salzwedel and Frankfurt on the Oder. Thus rectifying an older alliance of 1307 within the new reality after 1412 when viscount Fredrick of Nuremberg became the first ruler of Brandenburg in the House of Hohenzollern. In 1598 the city lost its status as the seat of the Elector (the margrave of Brandenburg was one of the four worldly members of the collage of seven within the Holy Roman Empire) was moved to Berlin. The two cities were united in 1715. The cathedral island was added only in 1928. The twin city was never expanded until the age of industrialisation at the end of the 19th century.

With the growth of the twin city the fortifications of the old Burgh became obsolete, and a dam (D) was made through the low-lying floodplain of the Havel to connect the Dominsel to the Neustadt. A bridge still connects the Neustadt and Altstadt. Each city had a market; (Ma) Altstädtische Markt and (Mn) Neustädtische Markt each with a town hall. Both cities had their own fortifications consisting of a moat and wall with gates: Plauer Tor (1), Rathenower Tor (2), Altstädtischer Mühlentor (3), Wassertor (4), Neutor (5), Neue Tor (6), Neustädtischer Mühlentor (7), Neustädtischer Wassertor (8), Annator (9), Steintor (10) and Grabentor (11, a small passage towards the river). On the City Canal, that secures the new city on the south side, a watermill (W) was built. Further south outside the city walls the Hospital (H) stood along the main road to Magdeburg. The oldest place of worship is the Petrikapelle (C1) on the former burgh. Other churches are: Sanct Gotthardkirche (C2), Sanct Nicolauskirche (C3), Sanct Johannis (C4), Domkirche Sanct Peter und Paul (C5), Sanct Katherinenkirche (C6), Heilge Dreifaltigkeitkapelle (C7) and Sanct Paulikloster (C8). This last monastery used to be the Margravial residence. The residence of the Bishop (B) was located in the Old City near the bridge.

A special feature of cities in Brandenburg and Pomerania are so-called Kietze. These were service settlements near a castle, fortified town or river crossing that sprang up all over north-eastern Germany during the middle ages. Historically a Kietz was settled by Slavic people who were serfs of the local ruler. They appear for the first time in the Mark Brandenburg during the 14th century. No charters relating to their foundation are known. They should be compared to regular suburbs, but with a distinct ethnic population. The city of Brandenburg boasted no less than 4 such Kietze: Altstädtischen Kietz (K1), Neustädtischen Kietz (K4), Großen Domkietz (K2)  and Kleinen Domkietz (K3). All are located directly against the former ring fort or on a river crossing.

Lierre, joining church and commerce

The city of Lierre (Lier in Dutch) is known as the Gate of the Campine and is one of the best-preserved historic water cities of the Low Countries. The earliest history of the city is shrouded in mystery and many fanciful tales, that have subsequently been presented as factual, have been written down about this. What is known is that there was a presence around the area in Roman times. Little of this survives and is all located away from the present city. The earliest mention of Lierre is in 870 as Ledi, a cognate of Leet that signifies a man-made watercourse or an improved natural stream. The much quoted connection with Allier (as Ald-Lier) near Emblem further upstream along the Kleine Nete (Lesser Nethe) being the original settlement should be dismissed! Allier is more likely derived from aa-liedere, again a reference to a man-made watercourse (liede), this time near a natural stream (aa). If Allier was ever to be located opposite Lier, than both settlement have been moved, as present-day Alliers is about a mile (1.6 km) further upstream from Lierre. The core of the story with two donken on either side of the Nethe, each with their own settlement is however congruent with the natural landscape.

This tentative reconstruction of pre-urban Lierre shows clearly the floodplain of the Nete river at the point where the two branches meet with some local elevations of stable sandy soil (so-called donken). The oldest route crosses a ford on the Kleine Nete befor it joins the Grote Nete. The Chapel built by the Saint Gummarus stand on the edge of higher land (Nivesdonk) surrounded by rivulets. On the other side several routes converge on a donk (Oudendonk). This is where the trade settlement would develop. Further south stood a hunting lodge.

The Franconian nobleman Gummarus who lived at Emblem retreated to a pious life after his marriage failed and became a hermit at Nivesdonk, a sandy elevation in the floodplain of the Nethe rivers. He established a place of worship here where he was also buried after his death around 714. On his grave a small chapel was erected. This chapel gradually became a place of pilgrimage after Gummarus had been sanctified in 754. As a result the chapel was enlarged and a service district with lodgings and relics sprang up around it. This meant that the ford linking the Oudendonk with the Nivesdonk became more important. On the high bank of the Nethe a small trade settlement grew as the river was navigable by small vessels. These two separate settlements would grow rapidly during the 11th and 12th centuries. A new shorter connection with a wooden bridge will also have been built during this period. It has been suggested that the mention of Lierre as oppidum in 1194 must have meant that some form of defensive structure had been created around the trade settlement. A moat with a paling is very possible as most of the market square occupies the Oudendonk, but no evidence of this has been found. Shortly after, in 1212, the Duke of Brabant elevates Lierre to city. The city limits were pegged out in 1213 and included the so-called Kuip (literally: barrel) the low-lying floodplain and the Bijvang (catchment) that included the villages of Kessel, Nijlen, Emblem, Hagenbroek, Lachenen, Mijl and Bevel.

It is around this time that a canal is dug linking the Kleine and Grote Nete (Greater Nethe) north of the twin city thus better dividing the flow of water and decreasing the risk of flooding. In 1244 work starts n formal city defences consisting of a moat, walls and gates. Around the commercial settlement on the Oudendonk the existing arm of the Kleine Nete is dammed and a new outer moat is dug in a wide arc around the marketplace used as an outer moat. This moat is called Vest. The old main branch of the Kleine Nete is later known as Brouwersvliet (Brewers Fleet - Bv). The northern rivulet of the Grote Nete is known as Vredebergvliet (Vv). Around the clerical settlement a similar Vest is dug. This moat simply joins on to the existing man branch of the Grote Nete. This stream is also dammed and a new canal Minnevliet (Mv) is dug to redirect water to the Brouwersvliet. The rivulet of Sint Pietersvliet (Pv) joins onto this Minnevliet. With this a Wharf is created along the bank of the Nete. The works are completed around 1317 when a fortified bridge is built replacing the old ford. This St Jansbrug linkes the city wall on each side of the river. The twin city has become a single entity. In 1388 a water mill is built on the dammed branch of the Grote Nete, that is henceforth known as Kerkhofmolenloop (Kl).

 

The city of Lierre  before 1400 with its two centres encircled by a defensive moat and wall. The religious centre has at its heart the Chapel of St. Peter (C1) and the Church of St Gummarus (C2). On the other side we find the large Market Square with the Cloth Hall (L-Lakenhal). Nearby stands the Chapel of St. Jacob with almshouses. The two centres were connected with the Bridge of St. John (1) and the High Bridge (2). The religious centre on Nivesdock was expanded with the addition of the Hospital of Our Dear Lady (3), Table of the Holy Ghost (4), St Anthony Almshouse (5) and the Court Beguinage (6) with the Chapel of St. Margaret (C4). The Lisper Windmill (7) that belonged to the Convent of Nazareth on the Kleine Nete at Lisp, stood outside the first city, as did the Hermitage Chapel (C5). The city had 5 gates: Eikelpoort (8), Mechelse Poort (9), Antwerpse Poort (10), Lisperpoort (11) and Berlaarpoort (12). A water mill (13) stood near the cemetery on the Old Nete.

During the course of the 14th century the city of Lierre expanded rapidly due to the cloth making industry and trade. As a result a cloth hall (1367) with a fortified belfry (1369) was built on the central market square. This building doubled up as city hall. In the 1370s the city gates are completed. Behind the cloth hall the trade settlement founded its own chapel with almshouse in 1383. This coincided with the acquisition of the Strypensveld (Stripes Field) east of the city by the council. Here streets are laid out and a housing quarter is built. This quarter with the existing Bril Quarter is the counterpart of the Quay Quarter (Kaaiwijk) and Brewers Quarter on the other side of the river. In front of the 5 gates (of which only 1 gives access to the religious centre on the east bank) suburbs develop.

To pre-empt future development it is decided to expand the city even further. In 1389 a new, wider, urban envelope is approved. Work starts with the acquisition of land and the strengthening of the embankments of the Nete within the old city by erecting river walls at the wharf and quay. Also work started on 7 new gates. A new moat was dug encircling the old city on both sides. At regular intervals bulwarks were built along the outer moat known as Stadsvesten. The old moat was renamed according to the functions nearby; for instance Gasthuisvest after the Gasthuis (hospital) or Kolveniersvest (named after the Culverin Guild that had a shooting range nearby). Within this new city moat walls were raised. To improve the drainage situation and better control water levels within the city a new canal was dug called the Binnennete (n). To improve water management even further, a large flushing sluice (Groot Spuihuis 1508) was built where this canal joined the moat. A second flushing sluice (Klein Spuihuis 1518) was built where the old Nete joined the moat, thus ensuring a better water level for the fulling mill (built 1421) on the old Vest.  The city florished and attracted many religious institutions, merchants and artisans. The demise of the cloth trade and the religious turmoil that followed in the 15th and 16th centuries halted the development of Lierre, so that large areas remained rural. The city had a short resurgence under the patronage of Isabella of Austria around 1610. New religious institutions were founded, the markets were enlarged and breweries sprang up around the city that became famous for its caves beer. This development was situated within or directly adjacent to the old city so most of the land within the city walls was used for market gardening, raising pigs and poultry and orchards.  It wasn't until the 1900s that a plan was made to develop the Sionsbeemden (SB), Gasthuisbeemden (GB, Molse Beemden (MB) and the Kartuizerveld (KV).

The urban area was more than tripled in the 15th century. The infrastructure for trade was expanded with the Meat Hall (Vleeshuis-V) a Wharf (W) and Keys (K). The number of institutions expanded: Convent Black Sisters (1), Cellites Monastery (2), Monastery of Sion (3), St Barbara Almshouse (4), Orphanage (5), Monastery of the Dominican Preachers (6), Jesuit Monastery (7), Carthusian Monastery (8), Vredeberg Convent (9), Theresian Monastery (10), Almshouses of St Joachim and St Anna (11) and Ursulin Convent (12). Later the St Elisabeth Hospital (13) was added. The enlarged city had several gates: Begijnepoort (14), Mechelse Buitenpoort (15), Antwerpse Buitenpoort (16), Boschpoort or Lisper Buitenpoort (17), Waterpoort (18), Groot Spuihuis (19), Klein Spuihuis (20), Leuvensepoort (21) and Molsepoort (22). A second water mill was built on the Nete  for fulling wool (23). A third (double) water mill for pressing oil and sawing planks (24) was built off the Molsepoort  on the city moat. Finally a second wind mill was added at Pettendonk (25).