Culture

The Royal Library of Belgium accelerates digitisation

20 December 2021

Equipping itself with three automatic scanners means that many collections of Belgian books and periodicals can be digitised more quickly and then made available online.

Cheer to Belgicisms!

09 December 2021

The third edition of the "Dictionnaire des belgicismes" has just been published.

Don't get annoyed, it was just "zwanzer"!

08 December 2021

The Brussels word "zwanze" refers to a hoax, often a rather heavy one, which takes advantage of the victim's gullibility to get a laugh.

Grand Jojo, the great Belgian icon, has taken his final bow

02 December 2021

In Belgium, Grand Jojo was the guest of honour at all festive events.

When Charles Baudelaire inspires Yslaire

01 December 2021

Yslaire (Hislaire, Sylaire or iSlaire), Bernard Hislaire for the civil register, is a multidisciplinary artist whose name is important in the world of the "ninth art", with a body of work th

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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