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Heritage Stories

Heritage Stories

De Lang-Levenstraat in Elsene met vele Afrikaanse restaurants - Hemis/Alamy Stock Photo

Matonge

Matonge is a bustling neighborhood in Ixelles, bordering the Brussels Pentagonal District. It covers just a few streets and has been associated with the Congolese diaspora since the 1950s. But why do relatively few people of Congolese, Rwandan, or Burundian descent actually live in Belgium? Why are there

Hoofd van Otegoowgoow, zoon van een Nieuwzeelands stamhoofd, Thomas Chambers (naar Sydney Parkinson), 1773 - The Royal Society, London

Polynesian tattoos

In the late 19th century, a man from Samoa, an island in Polynesia, was in Brussels when he died of measles. The ULB’s medical school preserved his tattooed skin as a study specimen and a curiosity. (Today, there is a debate over whether it is ethical to continue to keep such human remains)

Een brandijzer uit gevangenis het Rasphuis in Gent, 18de eeuw - © Historische Huizen Gent, collectie Gravensteen

Regine Beer's Auschwitz Tattoo

Heel veel menselijke samenlevingen gebruikten permanente, onvrijwillige lichaamsversieringen om mensen te merken en uit te sluiten. In de Griekse en Romeinse oudheid kregen slaven of (krijgs)gevangenen tekens op hun lichaam gebrand of getatoeëerd. In Japan strafte men criminelen tijdens de Edoperiode (1603-1868) met de irezumi kei: moordenaars kregen

Engraving depicting a view of Herkenrode Abbey, by Remacle Leloup, ca. 1740 – Het Stadsmus, Hasselt

Fish on Friday

For centuries, the Catholic Church and the fishing industry have had a strong connection. Fishing was a dangerous profession, and fishermen often sought solace in their faith. Coastal residents, for example, frequently prayed to Mary, whom they called Our Lady of the Dunes. Conversely, the Church itself was actively involved in fish farming. This was certainly true of

The Cloth Hall of Ypres in a 16th-century woodcut - Ypres Museum

Weaving Prosperity

In the Middle Ages, one economic sector in particular drove the growing prosperity of Flemish cities such as Ypres, Bruges, and Ghent: the cloth industry. Wool was needed to make cloth. Initially, most of this wool came from sheep in the coastal region. Starting in the 12th century, the textile industry grew so large that

Stained-glass window depicting fishermen on horseback at sea, Frans van Immerseel, 1909–1978 – NAVIGO National Fisheries Museum – artinflanders.be, photo by Dominique Provost

Fishing with horses

In Oostduinkerke, you can witness a unique spectacle in the spring and fall. Around low tide, fishermen ride Brabant draft horses out into the waves. Along the coastline, they catch kilos of delicious shrimp with their trawl nets. Shrimp fishing, or “kruien,” has been practiced along the

The result of the massive herring catch of 1943 at a fishmonger's in Poperinge - © Westhoek Verbeeldt, private collection - westhoekverbeeldt.be

Herring galore

The herring boat first appeared in the 15th century. This model ship symbolizes the historically significant herring fishery along the Flemish coast, which emerged around the year 1000. Population growth and the rise of cities created a greater need for food. The solution? Fish! Because herring were plentiful