De Haverwerf, a historic quay along the River Dijle in Mechelen, has been associated with the oat trade since at least 1301, when the city’s mercantile privileges made it a key distribution point for grain along inland waterways. By the seventeenth century, as river commerce brought prosperity, the quay became lined with ornate Baroque houses that reflected the wealth of their owners and the city’s artistic ambitions.
Among the best preserved are Het Paradijske (‘Little Paradise’), a corner house distinguished by reliefs depicting the ‘Earthly Paradise’ and ‘The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil’; De Duiveltjes (“The Little Devils”), noted for its carved wooden façade and a relief of ‘The Prodigal Son’, named for the devil-shaped pillars that flank it; and Sint-Jozef, whose relief shows St Joseph holding the Christ Child. This part of the quay also adjoins Steenstraat — later renamed Van Beethovenstraat — where the composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s great-grandfather, the musician Michiel van Beethoven, once lived, linking the street’s mercantile and architectural history to an enduring musical legacy.
