Culture

First ever Belgian beach flower making championship in Knokke-Heist

24 August 2023

Self-made flowers made of crepe paper are exchanged for a handful of shells in countless shops on Belgian beaches in August.

Is René Magritte's wife hidden under his painting The Fifth Season?

10 August 2023

Infrared reflectography revealed that The Fifth Season (1943) by the great Belgian surrealist René Magritte (1898-1967) hides the portrait of a woman under the top layer.

Ring ring... there's the starling!

10 August 2023

No less than 23 bird species flutter between the Cape buffaloes in the Antwerp zoo. They are trained to come to their caretakers on command. Each species responds to a separate sound signal.

Smallest booklet in the world auctioned for € 3,500

29 June 2023

It’s impossible to do with the naked eye. You need a strong magnifying glass to decipher the tiny print of the 5 by 5 mm prayer booklet.

Repurposing of Vilain XIIII castle estate

01 June 2023

At its core, the Vilain XIIII castle of Leut dates back to the 13th-14th centuries.

A country of legends and thrills

The constant contact with other peoples and cultures hasn't been without its effects in terms of art and culture, both in the past and the present day. A true crossroads of the major influences of art, Belgium has always been home to a large number of artists and frequently establishes itself as the place for innovation for new movements.

Belgium has preserved much evidence of the greatest architectural and artistic movements. The Middle Ages saw cathedrals and belfries spring up, monuments that still grace the Belgian cities of art. Countless châteaux pepper the countryside and Belgium is the country with the most châteaux per km². As for Brussels, in the 20th century, it became the capital of Art Nouveau. All this explains the country's incredible architectural wealth.

The splendid works of the old Flemish painters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Pieter Bruegel, Jan Van Eyck, Antoine Van Dyck, along with more recent artists like Paul Delvaux or René Magritte, are now exhibited in museums all over the world.

The ultimate hub for comics, Belgium is home to the largest concentration of comic book authors in the world. They continue the tradition of Hergé (Tintin), Peyo (Les Schtroumpfs), Edgar P. Jacobs (Blake et Mortimer), Morris (Lucky Luke), Bob De Moor (Barelli, Cori de scheepsjongen), Willy Vandersteen (Suske en Wiske) and many more!

Today, many Belgian talents are making a name for themselves. This is particularly the case on the international music scene with Angèle, Milow, Selah Sue and Hooverphonic. On the big screen, a new generation of directors and actors are frequently recognised with awards including the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Oscars in Hollywood.

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