Flemish Béguinages
The Béguines were women who dedicated their lives to God without retiring from the world. In the 13th century they founded the béguinages , enclosed communities designed to meet their spiritual and material needs. The Flemish béguinages are architectural ensembles composed of houses, churches, ancillary buildings and green spaces, with a layout of either urban or rural origin and built in styles specific to the Flemish cultural region. They are a fascinating reminder of the tradition of the Béguines that developed in north-western Europe in the Middle Ages.
La Grand-Place, Brussels
La Grand-Place in Brussels is a remarkably homogeneous body of public and private buildings, dating mainly from the late 17th century. The architecture provides a vivid illustration of the level of social and cultural life of the period in this important political and commercial centre.
Belfries of Belgium and France
Twenty-three belfries in the north of France and the belfry of Gembloux in Belgium were inscribed as a group, an extension to the 32 Belgian belfries inscribed in 1999 as Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia. Built between the 11th and 17th centuries, they showcase the Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles of architecture. They are highly significant tokens of the winning of civil liberties. While Italian, German and English towns mainly opted to build town halls, in part of north-western Europe, greater emphasis was placed on building belfries. Compared with the keep (symbol of the seigneurs) and the bell-tower (symbol of the Church), the belfry, the third tower in the urban landscape, symbolizes the power of the aldermen. Over the centuries, they came to represent the influence and wealth of the towns.List of Belfries:
- Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady
- Antwerp City Hall
- Herentals Former City & 'Laken'(Cloth) Hall
- Lier City Hall and Belfry tower
- Mechelen St. Rumbolds Tower of the cathedral
- Mechelen Old Cloth Hall with Belfry (now part of the City Hall complex)
- Bruges Hallentoren belfry and halls
- Diksmuide City Hall and Belfry
- Kortrijk Hallentoren Belfry
- Lo-Reninge (Lo) Town Hall with Belfry (at present a hotel)
- Menen City Hall and adjacent Belfry
- Nieuwpoort Stadshalle grain hall (market hall) with Belfry
- Roeselare City Hall, Stadshalle (market hall) and Belfry
- Tielt Hallentoren belfry, Cloth Hall and Aldermen's Chamber
- Veurne Landhuis ("country-house", former seat of the Viscounty of Veurne-Ambacht) and Belfry
- Ypres Cloth Hall with Belfry
- Aalst Aldermen's House with Belfry
- Dendermonde City Hall with Belfry
- Eeklo City Hall with Belfry
- Ghent Belfry, Cloth Hall and Mammelokker
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- Oudenaarde City Hall with Belfry
- Leuven St. Peter's Church and tower
- Tienen St. Germanus Church with Stadstoren (City Tower)
- Zoutleeuw St. Leonard's Church
- Sint-Truiden City Hall with Tower
- Tongeren Basilica of Our Lady with Stadstoren (City Tower)
- Binche Belfry of the City Hall
- Charleroi Belfry of the City Hall
- Mons Belfry
- Thuin Belfry
- Tournai Belfry
- Gembloux Belfry
- Namur Belfry
Historic Centre of Brugge
Brugge is an outstanding example of a medieval historic settlement, which has maintained its historic fabric as this has evolved over the centuries, and where original Gothic constructions form part of the town's identity. As one of the commercial and cultural capitals of Europe, Brugge developed cultural links to different parts of the world. It is closely associated with the school of Flemish Primitive painting.
Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)
The four major town houses - Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde, and Maison & Atelier Horta - located in Brussels and designed by the architect Victor Horta, one of the earliest initiators of Art Nouveau, are some of the most remarkable pioneering works of architecture of the end of the 19th century. The stylistic revolution represented by these works is characterised by their open plan, the diffusion of light, and the brilliant joining of the curved lines of decoration with the structure of the building.
Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex
The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a printing plant and publishing house dating from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Situated in Antwerp, one of the three leading cities of early European printing along with Paris and Venice, it is associated with the history of the invention and spread of typography. Its name refers to the greatest printer-publisher of the second half of the 16th century: Christophe Plantin (c. 1520–89). The monument is of outstanding architectural value. It contains exhaustive evidence of the life and work of what was the most prolific printing and publishing house in Europe in the late 16th century. The building of the company, which remained in activity until 1867, contains a large collection of old printing equipment, an extensive library, invaluable archives and works of art, among them a painting by Rubens.
Stoclet House
When banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet commissioned this house from one of the leading architects of the Vienna Secession movement, Josef Hoffmann, in 1905, he imposed neither aesthetic nor financial restrictions on the project. The house and garden were completed in 1911 and their austere geometry marked a turning point in Art Nouveau, foreshadowing Art Deco and the Modern Movement in architecture. Stoclet House is one of the most accomplished and homogenous buildings of the Vienna Secession, and features works by Koloman Moser and Gustav Klimt, embodying the aspiration of creating a ‘total work of art' (Gesamtkunstwerk). Bearing testimony to artistic renewal in European architecture, the house retains a high level of integrity, both externally and internally as it retains most of its original fixtures and furnishings.
Major Mining Sites of Wallonia
The four sites of the property form a strip 170 km long by 3–15 km wide, crossing Belgium from east to west, consisting of the best-preserved 19th- and 20th-century coal-mining sites of the country. It features examples of the utopian architecture from the early periods of the industrial era in Europe within a highly integrated, industrial and urban ensemble, notably the Grand-Hornu colliery and workers’ city designed by Bruno Renard in the first half of the 19th century. Bois-du-Luc includes numerous buildings erected from 1838 to 1909 and one of Europe’s oldest collieries dating back to the late 17th century. While Wallonia had hundreds of collieries, most have lost their infrastructure, while the four components of the listed site retain a high measure of integrity.
Shrimp fishing on horseback in Oostduinkerke
Twelve households in Oostduinkerke are actively engaged in shrimp fishing:
each has its own speciality, such as weaving nets or an extensive knowledge of
Brabant draft horses. Twice a week, except in winter months, the strong Brabant
horses walk breast-deep in the surf in Oostduinkerke, parallel to the
coastline, pulling funnel-shaped nets held open by two wooden boards. A chain dragged
over the sand creates vibrations, causing the shrimp to jump into the net.
Shrimpers place the catch (which is later cooked and eaten) in baskets hanging
at the horses’ sides. A good knowledge of the sea and the sand strip, coupled
with a high level of trust and respect for one’s horse, are the shrimpers’
essential attributes. The tradition gives the community a strong sense of
collective identity and plays a central role in social and cultural events,
including the two-day Shrimp Festival for which the local community spends
months building floats, preparing street theatre and making costumes. The
shrimp parade, and a contest involving hundreds of children being initiated
into shrimp catching, attract over 10,000 visitors every year. The shrimp fishers
function on principles of shared cultural values and mutual dependence.
Experienced shrimpers demonstrate techniques and share their knowledge of nets,
tides and currents with beginners.
Carnival of Binche
Events related to the carnival begin up to seven weeks prior to the primary celebrations. Street performances and public displays traditionally occur on the Sundays approaching Ash Wednesday, consisting of prescribed musical acts, dancing, and marching. Large numbers of Binche's inhabitants spend the Sunday directly prior to Ash Wednesday in costume.The centrepiece of the carnival's proceedings are clown-like performers known as Gilles. Appearing, for the most part, on Shrove Tuesday, the Gilles are characterised by their vibrant dress, wax masks and wooden footwear. They number up to 1,000 at any given time, range in age from 3 to 60 years old, and are customarily male.
Processional giants and dragons in Belgium
The processional giants and dragons (French: Géants et dragons processionnels) of Belgium and France are a set of folkloric manifestations which have been inscribed by UNESCO on the lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, originally proclaimed in November 2005.[1]Through these festivals and their giants, this concerns the set of gigantic manifestations specific to each country. In the case of Belgium, these are the festivities of Dendermonde (Ommegang van Dendermonde), Mechelen (Ommegang van Mechelen), Mons (the Ducasse de Mons, and the fight which is named the "Lumeçon"), Ath (the Ducasse d'Ath) and Brussels (the Meyboom). For France, these are the feasts at Douai (feasts of Gayant) and Cassel (carnival) and the totemic animals and their celebrations in Tarascon and Pézenas (Mardi Gras, inauguration of the Mirondela dels Arts on the first Sunday in July).
This proclamation allows for a valorisation of these popular festivals and their protection.
The processional giant is a gigantic figure that represents a fictitious or real being. Inherited from medieval rites, tradition has it that it is carried, and that it dances in the streets during processions or festivals. Its physiognomy and size are variable, and its name-giving varies according to the regions; among the Flemings, it is known by the name of Reuze, among the Picards it is called Gayant.
Belgium has nearly 1500 giants on its soil. Their appearance dates back to the 15th century; Goliath of Nivelles, which is mentioned as early as 1457, is the oldest known Belgian giant.[2] The Belgians also have the largest giant in Europe, Jean Turpin of Nieuwpoort, which exceeds 11 meters.
The Belgian cultural heritage includes the following events:
- Ducasse de Mons
- Meyboom of Brussels
- Ommegang van Dendermonde
- Ommegang van Mechelen
Really interesting to read about all these sites of Belgium.
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