Legend of the Flora Goddess statue

According to a legend, the daughter of the lord of Veltwijck, who owned a castle in the town of Ekeren, near Antwerp, Belgium, fell in love with a simple servant working in the gardens of the castle. The lord did everything to stop his virgin daughter to be deflowered by the servant and out of despair he imprisoned his daughter in one of the towers of his castle, he had the servant banned from coming near to the castle ever again.

But the love between the two was so intense that the daughter got very depressed. She missed her lover so much that she jumped out of her jailed window into the pond surrounding the castle to escape her unlucky destiny. Unfortunately, she drowned.

Picture by Harry Fabel

The lord was very remorseful and as a sign of mourning, he wanted to put a statue in the garden of his castle remembering his daughter. He didn't want the image of the statue to resemble the image of his daughter because out of shame he could not face her anymore. He got the idea to make a statue of the Goddess Flora. Because just like the Goddess Flora, his daughter loved flowers and she could spend hours walking by the flowerbeds of the castle.

The forever grieving father also wanted a procession to come through the park and castle every year walking past his daughter's statue. The procession did go through the park. When the procession stepped under the castle's gatehouse, the tower bell was sounded. The last time that the procession walked through the park was in 1966, after that year the father and his daughter were forever forgotten and their story turned into a legend.

But still now, sometimes when you walk thru the gatehouse you can hear the tower bell, all do it has been removed ages ago. Also, the Flora Goddess is still standing in the garden of the castle, looking like it's been searching for a long-lost love that went wrong.

Picture by Harry Fabel

Belgian kids got to drink beer during their school lunch

There are almost 800 different kinds of beer in Belgium. One kind was very popular till the70's, it was even given to kids at school during their lunch break. Beer to kids? You must be kidding! Well, let's go a bit further into this. The beers we are talking about were so-called table beers, a kind of beer that was specially made for people who can't drink alcohol. So it's was a kind of alcohol-free beer, a kind, because there was some alcohol in it. between 1 and 4 percent alcohol. The most popular table beer was Piedboeuf, it had 1.1 percent alcohol in it and there was a lot of sugar added to make it as sweet as Coca-Cola. A good marketing strategy made that it was well distributed in almost all schools in Belgium. The reason was that it would be very healthy for them, because of the natural ingredients and of course the sugar. It would make them grow fast and strong. It would even be good for pregnant women and for women that were breastfeeding their baby'

How the Belgians founded New York

In order to avoid any confusion in this story, it is important to know that in the sixteenth century, the Netherlands covered a part of northern France and Lorraine, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the present Netherlands. Its inhabitants were called the Belgians, and the maps represented the country in the shape of a lion: the "Leo Belgicus". Besides, numerous maps from the sixteenth century showed this territory under the name of Belgium. The latter failed into disuse for the benefit of the Netherlands and only reappeared in 1789 on the occasion of the first Belgian revolution. In 1831 Belgium became an independent country. Today Belgium is a lot smaller and is divided into two big regions mostly based on the language they speak in that particular region. In the north, there is Flanders where they speak Flemish (Dutch) and in the south, there is the Walloon part where they speak French. Almost in the center and between the two parts is the region of the capital Brussels.

A secret medieval street in Antwerp

The Vlaeykensgang is a unique small street in the center of Antwerp. Hidden between two busy Antwerp streets and close to the Cathedral. This medieval times street can easily be walked past unnoticed. Behind its meter-wide entrance, there is an oasis. A step into the passage with its quiet courtyards transports visitors back in time, back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Picture by Harry Fabel Previously, the street was the domain of shoemakers, who had to sound the alarm bell of the Cathedral, also some of the poorest people of the city lived in that very small street. Now you will find antique shops, art galleries, and an exclusive restaurant, Sir Anthony Van Dyck. There is a subdued atmosphere and the street is a popular place to listen to the cathedral's summer carillon concerts. At its heart, you find the Axel Vervoordt Gallery. Picture by Harry Fabel The "Vlaeykensgang" exists as a key piece of Antwerp’s architectural and sociological history, offering a

Amazing Belgium

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