Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgium. Show all posts

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Belgium - L'Ardenne


Greetings From L'Ardenne.


Sent by Richard, a postcrosser from L'Ardenne, Belgium.


This is from Wikipedia : The Ardennes (DutchArdennen) is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian (Devonian) Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes department and the Champagne-Ardenne région), and geologically into the Eifel. In Wallonia, the word 'Ardenne' in the singular is commonly used for the Belgian part of the region and in the plural for the French one. Ardenne is the origin ofthe great industrial period of Wallonia, the second of the world (18th, 19th and 20th centuries). In France, the word 'Ardennes' in the plural, together with the definite article, is commonly used to refer to the French department of that name.

Much of the Ardennes is covered in dense forests, with the mountains averaging around 350–700 m (1,148–1,640 ft) in height but rising to over 694 m (2276.9028;ft) in the boggy moors of the Hautes Fagnes (Hohes Venn) region of south-eastern Belgium. The region is typified by steep-sided valleys carved by swift-flowing rivers, the most prominent of which is the Meuse. Its most populous cities are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mézières in France, both exceeding 50,000 inhabitants. The Ardennes is otherwise relatively sparsely populated, with few of the cities exceeding 10,000 inhabitants with a few exceptions like Eupen or Bastogne.
The Eifel range in Germany adjoins the Ardennes and is part of the same geological formation, although they are conventionally regarded as being two distinct areas.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Belgium - Mons - The Water Machine


The water machine that supplies drinkable water since 1871.

Sent by Jean, a postcrosser from Belgium.

"This industrial hall is all that remains of the “machine” that supplied Mons with drinkable water from 1871, the year when the river Trouille was diverted. Designed by the architect Hubert and the engineer Celi Moullan, this impressive machinery of pipes and mains was built in metal and glass and forced the water from the valley level up to the town water tanks in the castle place yard. The "water machine” still bears witness to the sanitary and hygiene concerns which arose in Mons in 1865-1870, it marks the transition from medieval water supply wells, springs and hand pumps, for operation of pumps suction and force.The water came from springs fed Mons de la Valliere and hole-to-mouse Spiennes Slutty using only force driving the hydraulic motor.

This progress at domestic level transformed the townspeople's way of life. They used to get water from wells or fountains, sometimes over a hundred yards from their homes. She has performed in the continuity of another urban project: the introduction in 1828 of city gas to illuminate new avenues and streets. These two changes are made possible by the demolition of the fortifications, which releases the land, and the diversion of Trouille including the strategic role of supply ditches was then passed.

The “water machine" was restored in the early 1990s and the building now hosts various cultural events.The machinery was dismantled.(Source)



Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Belgium - La Grand-Place, Brussels (2)


Market Place, Ommegang group, Flags of the Corporations.

Sent by Riitta, a postcrosser from Belgium.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Belgium - Belfries of Belgium and France (3)


The Statue of Brabo in the town square of Antwerp.

Sent by Kim, a postcrosser from Antwerp, Belgium.


Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Belgium - Greetings From The Pajottenland


Greetings from The Pajottenland.

Sent by Maja, a postcrosser from Belgium.

This is from Wikipedia : The Pajottenland (in English occasionally Payottenland) is a part of the Flemish Brabant province west of the Brussels Capital Region. The Pajottenland is predominantly farmland, with occasional gently rolling hills. The area has historically provided food and drink for the citizens of Brussels, especially Lambic beers, which are only produced here and in the Senne valley where Brussels is located.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Belgium - Ghent Flower Show


GHENT
The Ghent Flower Show

Sent by Piet, a postcrosser from Belgium.

"Once, every 5 years, the city of Gent bursts into bloom with the Gentse Floralien, The Ghent Flower Show/Floralies of Ghent, earning the city the nickname “City of Flowers.”

This area of Flanders is home to dozens of Europe’s finest gardens, medieval villages and world famous gourmet cuisine, chocolates and beers. We will sample a selection of the area’s best gardens, enjoy the special annual opening of the Royal Glasshouses and the gardens of Groot–Bijgaarden (one of the largest Spring flower displays outside of Holland) each only opened to the public for a few weeks each year.

There's the stunning spectacular that is Keukenhof and Holland’s famed bulb fields. We've the National Botanial Gardens of Belgium, Kalmthout Arboretum and several small, local gardens to discover plus the gems Leuven, Antwerp and Delft.

All of this plus the annual Keukenhof Flower Parade and a full day at the Ghent Flower Show, the Floralies. This certainly is a tour for garden lovers not to miss!"(Source)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Friday, January 7, 2011

Belgium - Belfries of Belgium and France (3)


BRUSSEL
Maison du Roi or King's House, within the enclavement of La Grand-Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Guido, a postcrosser from the Netherlands.


Friday, December 10, 2010

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Belgium - Belfries of Belgium and France (2)


MONS
St. Germain Square and Beffroi or Belfry of Mons, part of Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Jean, a postcrosser from Belgium.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Belgium - Belfries of Belgium and France (1)


Market Place and Brabo, part of Belfries of Belgium and France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sent by Tine, a postcrosser from Belgium.

Belfries are outstanding representatives of civic and public architecture in Europe. Through the variety of their 'functional' forms and the changes they have undergone they have been a vital aspect of civic architecture in Europe since the 13th century. They are unique constructions reflecting the development of civil authority that marked the history of Flanders (in its historical sense) from the Middle Ages onwards.
Referring originally to mobile wooden towers used in siege warfare, the term was later applied to the wooden watchtowers mounted on the palisades surrounding the portus or pre-urban centres. It was to be applied in particular to those housing bells or standing next to the bell tower. Palisades, bells and the right to possess bells are all closely associated with the development of urban life. The 31 belfries in Flanders and Wallonia and the 23 in north-eastern France, invariably found in an urban setting, are imposing bell towers of medieval origin, generally attached to the town hall and occasionally to a church. In addition to their outstanding artistic value, the belfries are potent symbols of the transition from feudalism to the mercantile urban society that played a vital role in the development of late medieval Europe. The belfries are both civic buildings and symbols, and highly significant tokens of the achievement of civil liberties acquired through the dissolution the abbeys that had remained sovereign since the high Middle Ages.
The early belfries of the 13th and early 14th centuries are strongly reminiscent of the seignieurial keep, from which they take their massive square form, elevations showing sparing use of openings, and rising storeys built on or designed for vaulting. The main shaft is topped by a wall walk and parapet running between bartizans: the central spire features a slate campanile roof and variations on a number of forms. The finials of the corner and central turrets are decorated with animals or symbolic characters protecting the commune. The 13th-century belfry of Ieper (Ypres) is a fine example of this type, although it forms part of the market hall complex later to include the town hall, construction of which continued down to the 17th century.
Most of the examples concerned cover the periods of the 14th-15th and 16th-17th centuries, thereby offering an illustration of the transition in style from Norman Gothic to later Gothic, which then mingles with Renaissance and Baroque forms. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the belfries abandoned the model of the keep in favour of finer, taller towers, such as those of Dendermonde, Lier and Aalst. The subsequent addition to the top of the shaft of a narrower, different shape to serve as the base for the campanile would give the desired monumental effect, and the roof itself would take on more bulbous, sometimes extended lines, as in the case of Veurne (17th century).
When the market halls and belfries grew too small to function as a meeting-place for the aldermen, a new type of building was required, the Hôtel de Ville (town hall), clearly designed in accordance with the administrative organization and, from the 15th and 16th centuries onwards, assuming an obvious representative role achieved by incorporating the symbolic belfry, as in the examples of Brussels and Oudenaarde.
Their construction often took place in several stages, but they have always been maintained in good overall order. Some, damaged by war, have been rebuilt, generally in identical form. All are listed as historic monuments, either in isolation or as part of an edifice, a square, or an urban site.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Belgium - Ghent


GHENT
Kraanlei or Graslei.

Sent by Claire, a postcrosser from Belgium.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Belgium - Brussels - Manneken-Pis


Manneken-Pis (1619).

Sent by zoeza from Belgium.

This is from Wikipedia : Manneken Pis (Dutch for little man urinating), also known in French as the petit Julien, is a famous Brussels landmark. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. It was designed by Jerome Duquesnoy and put in place in 1618 or 1619. It bears a similar cultural significance as Copenhagen's Little Mermaid.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Belgium - La Grand-Place, Brussels (1)


Market Place, Ommegang group, Flags of the Corporations.

Sent by Raquel from Belgium.

The Grand-Place is an outstanding example of the eclectic and highly successful blending of architectural and artistic styles that characterizes the culture and society of this region. Through the nature and quality of its architecture and of its outstanding quality as a public open space, it illustrates in an exceptional way the evolution and achievements of a highly successful mercantile city of northern Europe at the height of its prosperity.
The earliest written reference to the Nedermarckt (Lower Market), as it was originally known, dates from 1174. The present name came into use in the last quarter of the 18th century.
It is located on former marshland on the right bank of the River Senne, to the east of the castellum, a defensive outwork of the castle built around 977 by Charles of France, Duke of Lower Lotharingia. The marsh was drained in the 12th century. The present rectangular outline of the Grand'Place has developed over the centuries as a result of successive enlargements and other modifications, and did not take up its definitive form until after 1695. It has, however, always had seven streets running into it. In the 13th and 14th centuries the market-place was surrounded by haphazardly disposed steenen (the stone-built Cloth, Bread, and Meat Halls or Markets) and timber-framed houses, separated by yards, gardens, or ambiti (passages serving as fire-breaks). During the 15th century the houses on the south side were replaced by the east and west wings of the City Hall (1401-44) and its bell tower (1449). A new Bread Hall was built on the north side in 1405.
The Bread Hall was demolished in 1512-13 and replaced by a large building that was given the name 'the King's House' (La Maison du Roi). During the course of the 16th century many of the houses were rebuilt with new facades in Renaissance or Baroque style. On 14 August 1695 Louis XIV of France ordered Marshal Villeroy to bombard the city as a reprisal following the destruction of French coastal towns and ports by Dutch and English warships. Despite the severity of the bombardment, reconstruction was rapid, thanks to the action taken by the City authorities and the generous support of other towns and provinces. In a remarkable ordinance promulgated in 1697 by the City Magistrate, all proposals for the reconstruction of facades had to be submitted to the authorities for approval, so as to preserve the harmony of the square. In four years the Grand-Place had been completely restored to its original layout and appearance..
The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), which covers most of the south side of the Grand'Place, consists of a group of buildings around a rectangular internal courtyard. The part facing on to the square is from the 15th century, consisting of two L-shaped buildings. The entire facade is decorated with statues dating from the 19th century. The southern part of the complex is a restrained classical building that closes the U-shaped plan of the Gothic structures, built in the 18th century. Facing the City Hall across the square is its other main feature, the Maison du Roi (King's House), now used as the City Museum. In 1873 the City Council decided that its state of conservation was so bad that it should be demolished and rebuilt. The reconstruction was based on the original. The result is a three-storey brick building with an arcaded facade, saddleback roof and centrally placed tower with lantern.
Each of the houses around the Grand'Place, which vary considerably in size, has its own name: Les Ducs de Brabant, Le Roi de l'Espagne, Le Cornet, Le Cygne, the Maison des Brasseurs, Le Cerf, La Maison des Tailleurs. The degree of conservation of original features inside the houses around the Grand'Place is somewhat variable. In some cases almost no changes have been made since the early 18th century, whereas in others there has been radical conversion and modernization. In a number of cases the ground floors have been converted for use as shops, restaurants, or cafes.


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Belgium - Mapcard


This mapcard was sent by Theo from Belgium.

Thanks for the beautiful stamps.


Friday, February 26, 2010

Belgium - Leuven


Sent by Marie-Paule from Belgium. This one shows as written by her, all medieval buildings in mostly Gothic style.