2928, 3281 BELGIUM (Brussels) - Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (UNESCO WHS)

2928 Stairway of Hôtel Tassel

Victor Horta was born in Ghent, Belgium in 1861 and lived for several years in Paris before returning to Belgium to work as an architect in 1880. He achieved rapid success, working on several prestigious buildings and receiving a number of official posts including a position at the Free University of Brussels. From 1892, Horta began working in the new Art Nouveau style, being credited as the first to introduce the style to architecture from the decorative arts. Four of his buildings - Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde, and Maison & Atelier Horta - were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

3281 Maison & Atelier Horta
Closeup of the skylight

The stylistic revolution represented by these works is characterised by their open plan, diffusion and transformation of light throughout the construction, the creation of a decor that brilliantly illustrates the curved lines of decoration embracing the structure of the building, the use of new materials (steel and glass) and the introduction of modern technical utilities. Through the rational use of the metallic structures, often visible or subtly dissimulated, Victor Horta conceived flexible, light and airy living areas, directly adapted to the personality of their inhabitants.

3224 BELGIUM - Belgian Royal Family

3224 From the left to the right: Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte
of Luxembourg; Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg; Queen Fabiola
of Belgium; King Baudouin of Belgium; Princess Paola and
Prince Albert dancing polonaise (cca 1984)

When Belgium became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a constitutional monarchy as the form of government, and on 21 July 1831 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was designated as King of the Belgians under the name Leopold I (r. 1831-1865). Next followed Leopold II (r. 1865-1909), Albert I (r. 1909-1934), Leopold III (r. 1934-1951), Baudouin I (r. 1951-1993), and Albert II (r. 1993-2013),  since 2013 being king Philippe I. Now (2017), the heir apparent to the Belgian throne is Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (born 25 October 2001), the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.

3072 BELGIUM (Brussels) - Postcrossing Meetup, Brussels, 20 May 2017

On the postcard's background is the map of Brussels Metro, which covers a total of 40 km, and consists of four conventional lines (M1, M2, M5, and M6) and three premetro lines. It dates back to 1976, but underground lines known as premetro have been serviced by tramways since 1968. Over the map are overlapped five representative pictures for the capital of Belgium. I don't know if they are placed correctly on the map or unrelated to it.

2993 BELGIUM (Liège) - Stavelot

2993 Stavelot: 1. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps;
2. The Museum of the Racing Circuit in the Abbey of Stavelot;
3.  Amblève river.

Stavelot, a Walloon municipality located at the confluence of the rivers Amblève and Eau Rouge in the Belgian Ardennes, grew up around the Abbey of Stavelot, founded ca 650, out of what had been a villa, by Saint Remaclus, a Benedictine missionary bishop. It was for a long time, by its abbey, the chief place of a small abbey principality which disappeared in the political changes that followed the French Revolution. In 1830 it became part of Belgium. During the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive campaign of WWII, the city was the scene of severe fighting.

ALBANIA / AUSTRIA / BELGIUM / BULGARIA / CROATIA / GERMANY / ITALY / ROMANIA / SLOVAKIA / SLOVENIA / SPAIN / UKRAINE - Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (UNESCO WHS)

This transboundary property stretches over 12 European countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion across a whole continent is related to the tree's adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

2878 BELGIUM (Brussels) - Stoclet Palace (UNESCO WHS)

2878 Stoclet Palace in Brussels

The Stoclet Palace is a mansion in the Woluwe-Saint-Pierre area of Brussels, built between 1905 and 1911. When banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet commissioned this house from one of the leading architects of the Vienna Secession movement, Josef Hoffmann, he imposed neither aesthetic nor financial restrictions on the project. The result was Hoffman's masterpiece, one of the most refined and luxurious private houses of the 20th century, which austere geometry marked a turning point in Art Nouveau, foreshadowing Art Deco and the Modern Movement in architecture.

2874 BELGIUM (West Flanders) - The Belgian coast

2874 The Belgian coast

Belgium has only 70 km of coast on the North Sea, on which are located 15 seaside resorts in 10 coastal towns, each with its own character and unique atmosphere. It is a diverse region with all kinds of nature, culture, beachlife and recreational opportunities. The sandy beaches are ideal for children. Sunbathers have found that they acquire a healthier tan here than in southern Europe, thanks to the iodine and salt in the air.

2865 BELGIUM (Brussels) - René Magritte Museum

2865 René Magritte Museum

The Belgian René Magritte (René François Ghislain Magritte; 1898-1967) was one of the most important Surrealist artists, well known for his witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art. Contemporary artists have been greatly influenced by René Magritte's stimulating examination of the fickleness of images.

2534 BELGIUM (Antwerp) - Rubenshuis in Antwerp

2534 Rubens - Self-portrait with big hat (1628-1630)

Now a museum, Rubenshuis (Rubens House) is the former home and studio of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the famous Flemish Baroque painter. Rubens designed the building himself, based on studies of Italian Renaissance palace architecture that also formed the basis of his Palazzi di Genova, and spent most of his lifetime in this palace. The layout included his home, studio, a monumental portico and an interior courtyard. The courtyard opens into a Baroque garden that he also planned.

2440 BELGIUM (Brussels) - Manneken Pis

2440 Manneken Pis in Brussels

Manneken Pis ("Little man Pee" in Dutch) is a landmark small bronze sculpture (61cm) in Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin, designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619. It is dressed in costume several times each week, according to a published schedule. His wardrobe consists of several hundred costumes, many of which may be viewed in a permanent exhibition inside the City Museum.

2391 BELGIUM (Brussels) - Expo 58

Held from 17 April to 19 October 1958, Expo 58, also known as the Brussels World's Fair, was the first major World's Fair after WWII. The site is best known for the Atomium, a giant model of a unit cell of an iron crystal (each sphere representing an atom). More than 41 million visitors visited the site, which was opened with a call for world peace and social and economic progress, issued by King Baudouin I.

2324 BELGIUM (Limburg) - Bocholt

2324 Bocholt

Located 25 km north-west of Maaseik, on the border with the Netherlands, the municipality of Bocholt is best known for Martens brewery, the second highest production capacity in Belgium at 360 million liters per year, established in 1758. The settlement was mentioned for the first time in 1162, and its name was probably derived from Bucolt, which means "beech forest". The lords of Bocholt lived in the Damburg, a fortified manor located in the center of the village.

2301 BELGIUM - Au revoir, Sabena!

2301 Au revoir, Sabena!

The airplane has long ceased to be just a means of transport. It changed not only our lives, but also our way of thinking, and has shaped deeply our culture. We can reach in places of which we even didn't dreamed before its appearance, we can get things that didn't even know that exists. It is therefore part of our daily lives, in one way or another, and airlines are an important vector in this regard.

2264 BELGIUM - Moules-frites and beer

2264 Moules-frites and beer

Belgian cuisine is widely varied with significant regional variations while also reflecting the cuisines of neighbouring France, Germany and the Netherlands. It is sometimes said that Belgian food is served in the quantity of German cuisine but with the quality of French food. Moules-frites is a popular main dish of mussels and fries originating in Belgium but also popular in France and in Northern Europe. It is sometimes considered the national dish of Belgium.

2183 BELGIUM - Beer culture in Belgium (UNESCO ICH)

2183 Beer culture in Belgium

Brewing in Belgium dates back at least to the age of the first crusades in the 12th century. Making and appreciating beer is part of the living heritage of a range of communities throughout this country. It plays a role in daily life, as well as festive occasions. Under the Catholic church's permission, local French and Flemish abbeys brewed and distributed beer as a fund raising method. The relatively low-alcohol beer of that time was preferred as a sanitary option to available drinking water. In nowadays, the Belgians drink on average 84 litres of beer each year, which is not much, considering that Czechs, for example, drink about 150 litres.

2152 BELGIUM (Antwerp) - Antwerpen-Centraal railway station

2152 Antwerpen-Centraal railway station

Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp Central) is the main railway station in Antwerp, the most populous city in Flanders. In 2009 the American magazine Newsweek judged Antwerpen-Centraal the world's fourth greatest train station, and in 2014 the British-American magazine Mashable awarded it the first place for the most beautiful railway stations of the world, even if the extraordinary eclecticism of the design had led to a difficulty in assigning it to a particular architectural style.

1924 BELGIUM (West Flanders) - Hallentoren belfry and halls in Bruges - part of Belfries of Belgium and France (UNESCO WHS)

1924 Hallentoren belfry and halls in Bruges

This belfry is one of the 56 belfries of Belgium and France, inscribed by UNESCO on the list of World Heritage Sites as Belfries of Belgium and France about which I wrote here. Added to the Market Square around 1240, when Bruges was prospering as an important centre of the Flemish cloth industry, the belfry of Bruges, or Belfort, is one of the city's most prominent symbols. It formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other danger. In the middle of the Market Square stands a statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, historical figures from Flanders' past.

1646, 1661 BELGIUM - The map of the country

1646 Belgium - The map of the country (1)

Belgium is a federal monarchy in Western Europe, which shares borders with France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community (about 59% of the population), and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population (about 41% of the population). Its linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of government.

1661 Belgium - The map of the country (2)

Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries; it once covered a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. Brussels is the capital and largest city of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union (EU). The name Belgium is derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that before Roman invasion in 100 BC, was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings.

1636 FRANCE (Hauts-de-France) / BELGIUM - Belfries of Belgium and France (UNESCO WHS)

1636 Belfries of Belgium and France (UNESCO WHS)

 

The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, in recognition of an architectural manifestation of emerging civic independence from feudal and religious influences in historic Flanders and neighboring regions of the Duchy of Burgundy. UNESCO inscribed 32 towers onto its list of Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia in 1999, and in 2005, the belfry of Gembloux in the Walloon Region of Belgium and 23 belfries from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy regions in the northern tip of France were appended to the renamed list.

1601 BELGIUM (Antwerp) - Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp - part of Belfries of Belgium and France (UNESCO WHS)

1601 Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp

Antwerp, the most populous city in Belgium, is located on the river Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary. It has long been an important city in the Low Countries, both economically and culturally, especially before the Spanish Fury (1576) in the Dutch Revolt. The Cathedral of Our Lady was started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been completed. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. Its interior is an impressive sight, with sweeping Gothic lines and soaring vaults, all in gleaming white.