Culture

The extraordinary Art Nouveau winter garden of the Ursuline nuns

05 April 2019

Near Mechelen, the vast complex of school and cloister buildings of the Ursuline Institute of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, founded in 1840, reveals a remarkable combination of styles as varied as neo-class

One Belgian among candidates selected for the Queen Elisabeth competition

25 March 2019

From 29 April, 71 violinists will compete against each other in the Queen Elizabeth competition. One of them is Sylvia Huang.

Magritte, a different view of reality

22 March 2019

Ten years after it opened, the Magritte Museum is the most visited museum in the country, with 300,000 visitors a year, 80% of them from overseas.

A Belgian touch at the Oscars

15 March 2019

The illustrious Oscars were held on 24 February. You have no doubt already heard or read about it, it was difficult to miss Marvel's superhero, Black Panther, among the major winners.

Wallywood, we're shooting!

08 March 2019

Wallywood", dedicated as much to the general public as to film lovers, is an application for finding out about the filming locations of films shot in Wallonia.

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 Pierre-Paul Rubens, Pierre Brueghel, 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 le Moussaillon), Willy Vandersteen (Bob et Bobette) and many more!

Today, many Belgian talents are making a name for themselves. This is particularly the case on the international music scene with Stromae, 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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