Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could meet some of your favorite figures in history, people you only read about in books? There’s no way that can happen now unless you hire a medium to summon the dead, or worse, you’re high. But there may be a next best option.

I am a huge fan of Victor Horta, the Belgian architect who revolutionised late 19th century architecture by applying the concept of Art Nouveau to building design. He passed away in 1947, but there’s one place I know where I can visit him anytime.

Tomb hunting around the Ixelles Cemetery

Horta is buried at the Ixelles Cemetery, one of the historic burial sites in Belgium. Hidden behind a massive bush in a discreet section of the cemetery, his grave isn’t easy to find. Almost as if the father of Art Nouveau architecture didn’t want to be disturbed by fans and members of the press.

For a man who left behind a glorious architectural legacy, Horta’s tomb is quite plain and unremarkable. Perhaps he wanted to keep it simple, and to be buried alongside fellow illustrious Belgians was enough of an honor in itself.

Where many of Belgium’s who-was-whos are buried

The cemetery of Ixelles is the final resting place of more than 60 distinguished Belgians and Brussels residents. Among them, the chemist Ernest Solvay, who founded the International Institutes for Physics and Chemistry, microbiologist and Nobel laureate Jules Bordet, painter and sculptor Constantin Meunier, praline inventor Jean Neuhaus II, media mogul Emile Rossel, and novelist Charles De Coster, who laid the foundations for native Belgian literature.

Several former mayors of the Ixelles municipality are also buried in the cemetery including Eugène Flagey, Fernand Cocq, and Adolphe Buyl. A section called Pelouse d’Honneur is dedicated to more than 400 soldiers and victims of the First World War.

A separate area called Parcelle des Anges is devoted to children while the Parcelle des Etoiles is reserved for infants lost during pregnancy. A burial ground for animals is located at the far end of the cemetery.

Dating back to 1877, the 15-hectare necropolis designed by Edmond Le Graive and Louis Coenraets is one of the oldest in the Brussels-Capital Region. More than a burial site, it is also a museum and a park. The tombs are clustered into several patches of land lined with trees and decorated with more than 700 monuments and sculptures made of bronze, blue stone, and marble.

As we remember our beloved departed on All Souls’ Day, this moment could also be an occasion to pay tribute to some of the icons of Belgian history. Visiting their grave is the closest you’ll ever get to being in their presence. 

If you have some time, why not do a little tomb hunting around the Ixelles Cemetery and say hi to some of the Belgian personalities you only read about in books? You can also visit other famous Belgians at the Brussels Cemetery in Evere, the Cemetery of Laeken, and the Dieweg Cemetery in Uccle.

The post Somewhere in BXL: The final resting place of many legendary Belgians appeared first on Brussels Express.

The post Do you know these secret streets in Brussels? appeared first on Brussels Express.

« It’s an extraordinary destiny, » says Khalid Zian, the alderman for Equal Opportunities for the City of Brussels, « because Andrée de Jongh became one of the very few women at the head of a resistance network at the time ».

Born in Schaerbeek in 1916, Andrée de Jongh was an ambulance trainer. She cured the allied soldiers hospitalized in Bruges during the Second World War. Is there that she decided to help British airmen trapped in the occupied country. Therefore, she launched the network « Comète » which helped these airmen to go home.

On January 15, 1943, she was arrested for her actions in the resistance and deported to Germany. Fortunately, she was able to survive. After the war, she continued to devote her life to the service of others. In particular, she took care of lepers in Congo. A life dedicated to others, until she died on October 13, 2007.

The post Street inaugurated in honor of Belgian female resistant Andrée de Jongh appeared first on Brussels Express.

The post Did you know of these alternative Belgian tourist attractions? appeared first on Brussels Express.

Remember, the Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch or Flemish, French, and German. The French-speaking and Dutch-speaking Belgians often monopolize our attention. So for once, let’s put the spotlight on the lesser-known and oft-forgotten German-speaking Belgians. Here’s the score.

How many are they?

Not a lot compared to the millions of French and Dutch-speaking citizens of Belgium. In fact, they are considered the smallest autonomous community in the whole European Union.

The German-speaking Community a.k.a. the Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft (DG) is composed of approximately 78,000 inhabitants, which is far below one percent of the total population of Belgium.

Where are they?

They could be all over Belgium for all we know. But the official territory of the German-speaking Community is located in the eastern part of Belgium along the country’s borders with Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

The region encompasses 854 square kilometers of land within the province of Liège and consists of nine municipalities.

What are they like?

Hard to speak for all 78,000 of them, but the « Belgians of the east » often describe themselves as people who “work Prussian but live French.” That’s because they live along the fault line between the Germanic and the Romanic cultures. Their character is said to be a mixture of influences coming from Germany, the Netherlands, Flanders, Wallonia, and Luxembourg.

How old is the community?

As old as the French-speaking and Dutch-speaking Communities which are officially 39 years old based on the institutional history of Belgium.

The three language communities were established in 1980 during the second constitutional reform in Belgium. But they were first created as cultural communities under the first constitutional reform of 1970. Dutch, French, and German were declared the official languages of Belgium in 1966.

How does the community fit into the overall Belgian structure?

As complexly as Belgian systems go. What is Belgium anyway if not the land of political and administrative complexities?

First, let’s remember that apart from the three linguistic communities, Belgium also has three regions: the French-speaking Walloon Region, the Dutch-speaking Flanders Region, and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.

The German-speaking Community is an autonomous legal entity with powers over cultural matters, people-related concerns, education, and inter-community and international cooperation. 

However, in regional concerns such as housing and rural planning, the German-speaking municipalities fall under the jurisdiction of the Walloon Region. And for provincial matters, the community is part of the Walloon Province of Liège. How’s that for complicated?

Just like the two other linguistic communities of Belgium, the German-speaking Community has its own government and parliament. But unlike the Francophones and the Flemish who are often embroiled in political battles and bureaucratic labyrinths, the Germanophones live in a more peaceful and more organized world of their own.

The post The lesser-known and oft-forgotten Belgians appeared first on Brussels Express.

The post Victor Horta’s houses listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites appeared first on Brussels Express.

On the occasion of the Heritage Days in Brussels, the exhibition IncarNations will be exceptionally free of charge on the 15th of September. The collector Sindika Dokolo shows his collection of contemporary and classical African art to a broad public. It is in this spirit – art for everyone – that BOZAR will open the doors of the exhibition wide open.

Guided tours in the Centre for Fine Arts
In addition, a guided tour of the Centre for Fine Arts, a masterpiece and emblematic figure of the Art Deco style, designed by the architect Victor Horta, will be organised on 14 and 15 September.

Registration here

The post Days of Heritage in Brussels: Free entry to IncarNations and guided tours in the Centre for Fine Arts appeared first on Brussels Express.

There is one place in Brussels where you can rediscover the life, works, and the world of Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch philosopher and theologian, and one of the most influential thinkers of the Renaissance.

The Erasmus House or Maison d’Erasme in Anderlecht transports you to another period in time. The moment you enter its rustic gates and walk into its cobblestoned courtyard, you’ll get a thick sense of Europe hundreds of years back, and the bustling modern life outside will feel like many worlds away.

The red brick mansion is one of the oldest Gothic-style buildings in Brussels. It has been around since the 15th century and reconstructed several times through the centuries. This is where Erasmus of Rotterdam lived for about six months in 1521. Back then, Anderlecht was just a village with around 300 inhabitants, and the building was a school managed by his friend Pieter Wijchmans.

While in Brussels, Erasmus worked on the third edition of one of his most significant works, the Greek translation of the Bible’s New Testament from early Latin and Greek manuscripts. The Novum Instrumentum omne by Erasmus was the first published New Testament in Greek. First issued in 1516, it became a turning point in the study of scripture and a challenge to old schools of theological thought.

Erasmus, the Prince of the Humanists

Erasmus was one of the principal figures of the humanist movement. He rallied for reform in the Catholic Church, an end to religious wars in Europe, religious and intellectual tolerance, and European cultural unity.

Humanism served as the intellectual foundation for the Renaissance or the period of political, economic, cultural, and artistic revolution that took place in Europe from the 14th until the 17th centuries. The humanist approach shifted the focus from religious traditions to human beings, triggering a transformation from a European society heavily controlled by the Catholic Church and medieval scholasticism to one centered around individuals and their freedom, dignity, and interests.

Humanist principles promoted education through the revival of interest in the classical arts, literature, and science. Through the humanist movement, the Renaissance brought Europe from the Middle Ages into modern civilisation.

Revisiting the world of Erasmus

Maison d’Erasme takes you to the intellectual universe of Erasmus. The museum displays a collection of 16th century humanist literature, paintings, sculptures, and furniture. Thousands of early printed books on Erasmus and the humanist movement are also available in the museum’s library.

Behind the house, two beautiful gardens await the visitors. The medicinal garden grows about 100 types of herbal plants that doctors prescribed for the various ailments that plagued the sickly Erasmus, such as migraine, kidney stones, and dysentery. The philosophical garden is a place of reflection, where you will find some of the Dutch philosopher’s words of wisdom floating on water.

The Erasmus House is at 31 Rue de Formanoir in Saint Guidon, the historic center of Anderlecht. The museum is open every day from 10 in the morning to 6 in the evening, except on Mondays.

The post Somewhere in BXL: The house where the great Erasmus lived appeared first on Brussels Express.

But what of his little sister?

The Jeanneke Pis, a bronze of a small naked girl squatting to pee, is situated in Impasse de la Fidélité just a three-minute walk from Grand Place, on the north-east side. Standing 50cm tall on a limestone base, she was designed and commissioned in 1985 by Denis Adrien Debouvrie. Known as the Godfather of the city’s centre, millionaire Debrouvie owned several nearby premises and had a vested interest in creating an attraction in the narrow alleyways the Jeanneke calls home. Debouvrie had his throat cut in 2008, in a case that continues to cause speculation, leaving a vast estate of prime but neglected property.

The Jeanneke Pis remains strangely little-known compared to her male counterpart. Whether this is because she’s perceived as a modern commercial creation, because she’s stuck behind protective bars up a dead-end alley, or because of associations with her creator’s dark fate, is anyone’s guess. Her brother has the advantage of centuries of history and is supposedly a symbol of the rebellious spirit of Brussels. Somehow though, the Jeanneke is more gloriously subversive.

The Manneken Pis, with his weirdly muscular arms, one hand casually on his hip, pot-belly, and angelic curls is clearly modelled on Cupid and does not really resemble a child at all. The Jeanneke, in contrast, is wonderfully life-like. Her hair in cheeky pig-tails, her hands on her knees, she’s doing something most women will have yearned to do at some point – and her blithe, satisfied smile says it all.

The post Brussels Hidden Gems: Jeanneke Pis – Is it time to bring Brussels’s pissing girl out of the darkness? appeared first on Brussels Express.

The post 33 proud Belgian belfries on UNESCO World Heritage List appeared first on Brussels Express.