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Heritage Stories

Heritage Stories

Colonial Lottery Ticket, Easter 1953, Jacques Richez - © Lottery Museum, Brussels

Take a chance

Games of chance have existed throughout history and across the globe, but modern lotteries were invented here. The oldest known lottery took place in Bruges in 1441. In the 16th century, you could win beautiful paintings and sculptures in lotteries. Governments also organized lotteries to raise funds: for example, in Antwerp they tried to

St. Martin's Church, Zaventem - © Photo by Eva Bruyninckx

Flirting at St. Martin's Church

A beautiful Baroque painting in a simple village church—you don’t see that everywhere. Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) was only twenty years old when he ended up in Zaventem. He was on his way to Italy, but fell in love with a woman who lived near the church: Isabella. To convince her father, he painted

Saint Dymphna, Goswyn van der Weyden, Dymphna, 1505 - The Phoebus Foundation - Wikimedia Commons

Saint Dimpna keeps your mind healthy

In Geel, Saint Dimpna is everywhere. In the church, in the Gasthuismuseum, in the names of hospitals and schools, and among the residents who open their homes to provide home care for people with mental health challenges. Dimpna was an Irish princess from the seventh century. She was the daughter of a

Procession in Knesselaere in Support of Mission Work in the Congo

Collecting silver foil

In the first half of the twentieth century, Flemish children collected the silver foil in which chocolate bars were wrapped. They took it to school, where it was collected to support missionaries in the Congo. The actual purpose of that silver foil is unclear. Did they ship that silver foil to the Congo, where it was used as a

A Three Kings' Day cake and the paper crown for whoever finds the bean in their slice - © Wikimedia Commons

Epiphany Cake

Ever since the Middle Ages, parents and bakers in Flanders have been baking a special cake for the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6, hiding a dried bean inside it. Whoever finds the bean in their piece of cake is crowned king or queen for a day. He or she receives a paper crown

Be-MINE in Beringen. The former mining buildings have been given a completely new purpose - Visit Limburg

MySite Beringen

At the Be-MINE mining site in Beringen, you’re more likely to encounter divers, climbers, and mountain bikers than miners these days. Yet the place still exudes the atmosphere of its industrial mining past. Like the other mines in Limburg, the Beringen mine has left a lasting mark on the region. Visit be-

The Zimmertoren in Lier with its astronomical clock - Wikimedia Commons, photo by Benoit Brummer

Tower Clocks of Lier

The city of Lier in the province of Antwerp boasts not one, but two remarkable timepieces. The Church of St. Gummarus is home to one of the oldest wrought-iron tower clocks in Europe. It was purchased in Maastricht in 1702 and, according to recent research, dates back to 1395. But Lier is also known for