Editing Mechelen (section)

===19th century and beyond===
The city entered the industrial age in the 19th century. In 1835, the first railway on the European continent linked [[Brussels]] with Mechelen, which became the hub of the Belgian railway network.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trainworld.be/en/collections/history-of-the-belgian-railways/2-belgium-on-track-19th-century|title = 2. Belgium on track (19th century) - Train World}}</ref> This led to a development of metalworking industries, among others the central railway workshops which are still located in the town today. During the [[Second World War]], the extensive Mechlinian<ref group ="n" name="cityname"/> railway structure had caused the [[Nazi]] occupation forces to choose Mechelen for their [[Mechelen transit camp|infamous transit camp]]. Over 25,000 [[Jews]] and [[Romani people|Roma]] were sent by rail to [[Auschwitz-Birkenau]] extermination camp from Mechelen. The site of the transit camp and a purpose-built complex across the public square, now house the [[Kazerne Dossin Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights]].

Several famous meetings on the Christian religion are connected to the name of the city. One in 1909 is thought to have inaugurated the [[Liturgical Movement]]. Between 1921 and 1925, a series of unofficial conferences, known as the [[Malines Conversations]],<ref group ="n" name="cityname"/> presided over by [[Cardinal Mercier]] and attended by Anglican divines and laymen, including [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax]], was the most significant of early attempts at the reconciliation between the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] and Roman Catholic Churches.