zoutleeuw visit 20.06.2026

hi all! short but sweet travel blog. today i visited Zoutleeuw, a large village or small city with 8,7K inhabitants. officially it has city rights. for me it's more of a town since the centre was so quiet and had no stores, aside from a few cafés and a restaurant. its name literally means "Salt Lion". i was surprised to learn it was one of the "good cities" of Brabant. during the medieval and early modern times, the Duchy of Brabant granted seven Brabantian cities special privileges and extra power. among much larger and economic vital cities of today like Antwerp and 's-Hertogenbosch, the nowadays tiny Zoutleeuw was chosen as well. it was given a monopoly on the trade via the Kleine Gete river which runs through it.

this gave the small city the funds to construct a few beautiful monuments. some have been lost, but its magnificent city hall, cloth hall (actually incorrect title; it was a commerce hall) and especially its Sint-Leonardus (St Leonard) church still stand today. this blog will be 90% that church because it's by far the most important and prominent monument of the town. enjoy the photos below!

(link if it doesn't load: https://i.postimg.cc/p2pgH81D/zoutleeuw1.png)

the modest skyline is pretty fairytale-esque if you ask me. a WWI memorial flanked by national flags set a somber, quiet tone. the centre is really really small, basically just the church and town hall with a few off-shooting streets. outside of this area are newer houses and stand-alone modern blocks that don't even try to fit in with the city layout. we arrived at noon so after fetching a city guide map at the tourist info we had lunch. i ate pancakes with 'kriek', a type of extra sweet-and-sour cherry that turns into jelly when you squish it. and a banana milkshake :) then we discovered a few streets. the last pic shows the old quays where goods were loaded and unloaded in medieval times. the large building on the left is an old 'hospital'; a sort of pre-runner of social care for the sick and poor.

(https://i.postimg.cc/2zVPDvXB/zoutleeuw2.png)

it didn't take long before it was time to visit the highlight of the town: the Sint-Leonardus kerk! it was mainly built from the 13th to the 16th century, making it partly romanesque and mostly gothic. what's most special about it, is its interior holdings. the region of current day Belgium suffered a lot throughout the centuries. some of the worst periods of destruction of architecture and art were the Beeldenstorm (Iconoclastic Fury) of 1566, the period of revolutionary French Republic occupation (1792-1815) and the first World War (1914-1918). and that's before the post-war modernisation years that leveled entire city blocks for highways and office towers. but this church survived all of those events! and thus, a lot of its relics, artworks, frescoes and architecture date from before 1566. a rarity for belgium, where the majority of churches were (re)built and (re)furnished after 1600. my favourite part here was an unexpected stairwell where i turned on a light switch and climbed to the top, where a tiny room (could barely fit a toddler) held old frescoes about the lamb (jesus) and chalices. i think historically the chalice was held here when not in service.

(https://i.postimg.cc/W2hQvrfd/zoutleeuw3.png)

in contrast to the busy red-and-white nave (main hall of the church), the ambulatory (easternmost point, the back of the church) was barren and quiet. i really appreciate a sober, natural church. the only decoration were sculptures of holy figures placed on simple pedestals. the artworks ranged from 12th century to 19th century figures, most being from the 14th-15th century. back in the nave and transept (the north-south connection overlain over the main nave) were beautiful paintings and frescoes. this triptich (bottom left) by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt stunned me in the depiction of the bodies; i could sense the warm skin and thick flesh. and there were late 15th century frescoes. frescoes!!! my favourite sight in historical buildings, and again pretty rare in belgium, whose churches often burned or were painted over white after the renaissance. this medium sized scene depicts a few saints.

(https://i.postimg.cc/81jqSW-nJ/zoutleeuw4.png)

we're not yet done 'cause there was much more!! a much larger fresco depicting the Final Judgement on the east wall, and above the really cool ceiling. inside a small medieval extension on the east side were lots of carved faces and figures with tasteful gold bands on the pillars. one of the main must-sees of the Leonardus church is here on the bottom left; the renaissance era Saint Anne Altarpiece. it combines painted doors, sculpted wooden scenery in the middle, sculpted and painted figures on top, four paintings in the predella (the bottom row), golden stars, AND a canopy!! the artist really said fuck it we're gonna do everything all at once for this one. and in the bottom right another truly unique and beautiful piece; a white-painted wooden dead jesus in a tomb, surrounded on two sides by paintings and a painted ceiling. again a stunning mix of techniques and 2D-3D. the diversity of this church is baffling. i've covered like a tenth of what's there to see, so visiting yourself is my message!

(https://i.postimg.cc/qkz9TnZ3/zoutleeuw5.png)

back to the Grote Markt (grand square) and its surroundings. top left is the partly gothic, partly renaissance town hall (white part on the left) and 'cloth' hall (lined building on the right). look at the awesome neo-medieval banners. they bring so much charm to the place. a shame that a busy asphalt road lined with parked cars runs over the so called square. top right is the Spiegelhuis (Mirrorhouse) which was very recently renovated. the yellow-ish decoration among the roof was reconstructed after it had been completely lost. great job on bringing it back to life! bottom left is me in front of the Grote Markt :) bottom right is the (partly reconstructed) remnant of a city gate. the oldest defensive wall from the 13th century enclosed a tiny portion of the town and ran literally right behind the cloth hall and town hall. those buildings were in fact built right against the defensive wall. in the pic here, is the backside of De Rode Leeuw (the red lion), a reconstructed monument of a once 16th century house.

(https://i.postimg.cc/WspB5xGW/zoutleeuw6.png)

and finally some last impressions. the staircase leading to the town hall which is carved from Belgian arduin (bluestone). one of the main rooms inside has a beautiful late art nouveau fresco from around 1914 by Maurice Langaskens. i climbed the town hall's tower and got mediocre views because the glass was stained and warped so no clear shots (except this one on the bottom left where i held my phone against a single light yellow pane). and a final look at the main church.

there are a few more sights in Zoutleeuw like old locks (on the river), chapels, and traces of medieval life in the surrounding nature, but the day was so hot and we were with his dog so we decided to call it. we intensely enjoyed the few main sights!

hope you all enjoyed this and don't be shy to comment ^^