All self-respecting medieval princes needed a prestigious chivalric order that they could bestow to their friends and allies – the best known of these is the Order of the Garter, bestowed by the English monarchs. The Dukes of Burgundy, for their part, had the Order of the Golden Fleece (below left, the chain of theContinue reading “The Golden Fleece – still kicking”
Tag Archives: Belgium
The faded glories of Spa
The Belgian town with many mineral springs – known already to the Romans – has given its name to all spas in English. In the 19th and the early years of the 20th century, it was the leading resort of its type, where aristocracy and crowned heads came to take the waters. Besides cures for the body,Continue reading “The faded glories of Spa”
Art in Antwerp
After 11 years of works, the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts (officially Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, or KMSKA for short) has reopened its doors. Mind you, in the Belgian context that time is nothing – scaffolding has surrounded the Palais de Justice in Brussels for more than 40 years – and counting. InContinue reading “Art in Antwerp”
Rails: Building the Peking–Hankow railway
When imperial China wanted to construct the first major domestically-oriented railway line from Peking to Hankow (a city that in 1927 merged with Wuhan on the other side of the Yangtze river), they turned to a Belgian company. Why? In the turn of the 20th century, as part of its modernisation efforts, China wanted to connectContinue reading “Rails: Building the Peking–Hankow railway”
Worlds: Teutonic Knights in the Belgian countryside
The Teutonic Order (aka Deutschorden, or officially Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem) was founded in 1190 to help pilgrims to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. From 1220 onwards it set to conquer and convert the southern coast of the Baltic. So, what was it doing inContinue reading “Worlds: Teutonic Knights in the Belgian countryside”
Rails, wines, worlds 