Given short shrift by certain media outlets in recent years, Molenbeek may come as a surprise in terms of its architectural quality, despite the snide remarks it sometimes – indeed all too often – attracts. In fact, traces of a rich past can be found throughout the municipality. Testimony to the evolving economic and social fabric of the city, whiplash-style houses, often surprising, remind us of how the craze for Art Nouveau architecture swept across the Belgian capital, even in less fashionable areas. Other examples include a school designed by an Art Nouveau master, with its telltale organic shapes, and the Vaartkapoen building in the Vienna Secession style spearheaded by Paul Hankar. Sgraffito panels, often barely visible on an apron wall, are a reminder of how this popular and once inexpensive art form was universally appreciated.