1.
Louis Malle
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Louis Marie Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was later nominated multiple times for Academy Awards later in his career, Malle is also one of the few directors to have won the Golden Lion multiple times. Malle worked in both French cinema and Hollywood, and he produced both French and English language films, Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries, Nord, France, the son of Francoise and Pierre Malle. He initially studied political science at Sciences Po before turning to studies at IDHEC instead. He assisted Robert Bresson on A Man Escaped before making his first feature, a taut thriller featuring an original score by Miles Davis, Ascenseur pour léchafaud made an international film star of Jeanne Moreau, at the time a leading stage actress of the Comédie-Française. Malles The Lovers, which also starred Moreau, caused controversy due to its sexual content. In Jacobellis v. Ohio, an owner was fined $2,500 for obscenity. The decision was reversed by the higher court, which found that the film was not obscene. Malle is sometimes associated with the nouvelle vague movement, the second film earned Malle his first Academy Award nominations for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. In 1968 Malle visited India and made a documentary series LInde fantôme, Reflexions sur un voyage and a documentary film Calcutta. Malle later claimed his documentary on India was his favorite film, Malle later moved to the United States and continued to direct there. His later films include Pretty Baby, Atlantic City, My Dinner with Andre, Crackers, Alamo Bay, Damage and Vanya on 42nd Street in English, Au revoir les enfants and Milou en Mai in French. Just as his films such as The Lovers helped popularize French films in the United States. Towards the end of his life, Malle was interviewed extensively for The Times by cultural correspondent Melinda Camber Porter, in 1993, the interviews were included in Camber Porters book Through Parisian Eyes, Reflections On Contemporary French Arts And Culture. Malle was married to Anne-Marie Deschodt from 1965 to 1967 and he had a son, Manuel Cuotemoc Malle with German actress Gila von Weitershausen and a daughter, filmmaker Justine Malle, with Canadian actress Alexandra Stewart. He married actress Candice Bergen in 1980 and they had one child, a daughter, Chloe Francoise Malle, on 8 November 1985. He died from lymphoma at their home in Beverly Hills, California, at 63 on Thanksgiving Day 23 November 1995
2.
Municipalities of Belgium
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As such, only Antwerp, having over 500,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, a level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well. The municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants were grouped in so-called canton municipalities, in 1800, these canton municipalities were abolished again and the number of autonomous municipalities became 2,776. Not much changed during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, only a number of municipalities were merged. In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, New municipalities were created until 1928. There were 2,528 municipalities in 1850,2,572 in 1875,2,617 in 1900 and this also includes the municipalities of the East Cantons that were added to Belgium following the First World War. In 1961, the so-called Unitary Law, of which the chapter was dedicated to the territorial organisation of the municipalities, was adopted. The authority to abolish municipalities was entrusted to the branch for a period of 10 years. Municipalities could be merged on financial grounds or on grounds of a geographical, linguistic, economic, in 1964 and in 1969 and 1970, roughly 300 municipalities ceased to exist and were subsumed into other municipalities. The number of municipalities was reduced from 2,663 in 1961 to 2,586 in 1965, article 4 of the constitution states that each municipality must belong to only one of the four official language areas that were established in 1962–63. In the three officially unilingual language areas, a couple of municipalities in the vicinity of another language area must provide limited facilities for speakers of that other language. Lucien Harmegnies, Minister of the Interior in the government of Gaston Eyskens decided to continue the process of reorganization of Belgium. In 1971, the provisions of the Unity Law were extended and modified to apply to large agglomerations and it was another Minister of the Interior, Joseph Michel, who managed the process. On December 30,1975, the law regarding the merger of the municipalities was adopted, the merger became effective on January 1,1977. The merger of 1977 further reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium from 2,359 to 596, because of the specific nature of the reorganization in Antwerp, the law of December 30,1975 didnt enter into force for Antwerp until January 1,1983. The formerly independent municipalities were called districts and were given an advisory function, however, on January 1,2001 they were given an administrative function again. The Mayor is not only the head of the municipality, he or she is also the representative of the Regional, in that capacity, he or she is responsible for the execution of laws, decrees, ordinances and orders. The Mayor is also responsible for the maintenance of order in his or her municipality
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
5.
Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
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Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. For each of these types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country, in other words. The language areas were established by the Second Gilson Act, which entered force on August 2,1963. The division into language areas was included in the Belgian Constitution in 1970 and this is a schematic overview of the basic federal structure of Belgium as defined by Title I of the Belgian Constitution. Each of the entities either have their own Parliament and Government or their own Council, the language areas have no offices or powers and exist de facto as geographical circumscriptions, serving only to delineate the empowered subdivisions. The institutional communities are thus equally geographically determined, Belgian Communities do not officially refer directly to groups of people but rather to specific political, linguistic and cultural competencies of the country. There is no subnationality in Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each comprise five provinces. The Brussels-Capital Region is not a province, nor does it contain any, the three regions are further subdivided into 589 municipalities, which in general consist of several sub-municipalities. These sub-municipalities were independent municipalities in the past, but no longer serve an official purpose, the Federal State retains a considerable common heritage. This includes justice, defence, federal police, social security, public debt and other aspects of public finances, nuclear energy, the State is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs and they supervise the provinces, municipalities and intercommunal utility companies. In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specificities, each level can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers. Communities were created in 1970 as cultural communities with limited power, in 1980, more power was transferred from the federal state to these entities and they became simply communities. Both the Flemish and French Community have jurisdiction over the area of the Brussels-Capital Region, consequently, they do not have a defined number of inhabitants. The German-speaking Community is the community with an area over which they have sole jurisdiction as a community. It is located within the Walloon Region, which has transferred some regional powers to the German-speaking Community with regards to its area. The Flemish Region or Flanders occupies the part of Belgium. It has an area of 13,522 km2, or 44. 29% of Belgium
6.
Flemish Community
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The term community should then not be capitalized. State reforms in Belgium turned the country from a state into a federal one. Cultural communities were the first type of decentralisation in 1970, forming the Dutch, French, later on, in 1980, these became responsible for more cultural matters and were renamed to simply Community, the Dutch Community also being renamed to the Flemish Community. In the same state reform of 1980, the Flemish and Walloon Region were set up, in Flanders it was decided that the institutions of the Flemish Community would take up the tasks of the Flemish Region, so there is only one Flemish Parliament and one Flemish Government. Legally speaking, in the region of Brussel-Capital, the Flemish Community is responsible not for people but for Flemish institutions such as schools, theatres, libraries. The reason is no distinct sub-national status exists in Belgium. Yet, individuals living in Brussels can opt by their own choice for certain policies of the Flemish Community, Dutch is the official language of the Flemish Community. Minorities speak French, Yiddish, Turkish, Arabic, Berber, Italian, Spanish, English, though most of these groups are recent immigrants, since the Middle Ages, Jews have formed the oldest minority to retain its own identity. Compared with most areas in the Netherlands, the dialects of Flemish people still tend to be strong. In Dutch, these are often called tussentaal or, rather derogatorily, more recently, a number of local initiatives have been set up to save the traditional dialects and their diversity. In Brussels, the dialect is heavily influenced by French. Nowadays, most Flemings in Brussels do not speak the local dialect and this is due in part to the relatively large numbers of young Flemings coming to Brussels, after a long period of many more others moving out while French-speakers moved in. In certain municipalities along the border with the Walloon and the Brussels-Capital regions and these cover rights such as to receive official documentation in their own tongue. The community competencies there, are exercised by the two affected institutional communities, the Flemish Community therefore established a local elected council and executive to cater for intermediate-level decision making & public services. The VGC then recognised local, municipal institutions to care of the purely local public service in these community areas. Flanders has a radio and television broadcasting company, the Vlaamse Radio en Televisieomroep or VRT in Dutch. Since 1989, several companies for region-wide radio and television broadcasting have become established. There are also so-called regional broadcast companies of which the range is limited to smaller parts of the Flemish Region
7.
Flemish Region
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The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is simply referred to as Flanders. It occupies the part of Belgium and covers an area of 13,522 km2. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 470 inhabitants per square kilometer, immediately after its establishment in 1980, the region transferred all its constitutional competencies to the Flemish Community. Thus, the current Flemish authorities represent all the Flemish people, hence, the Flemish Region is governed by the Flemish Community institutions. However, members of the Flemish Community parliament elected in the Brussels-Capital Region have no right to vote on Flemish regional affairs, the Flemish Region comprises five provinces, each consisting of administrative arrondissements that, in turn, contain municipalities. Brussels city, the seat of the Flemish parliament, is located within the Brussels-Capital Region, Brussels contains both the Flemish Community and the French Community, both having their institutions in Brussels. Flanders is home to a modern economy, with emphasis put on research. Many enterprises work closely with local knowledge and research centres to develop new products, De Lijn serves as the main public transport company, run by the Flemish government. It consists of buses and trams, TEC is the equivalent company in Wallonia, and MIVB-STIB in Brussels. The railway network run by the NMBS, however, is a federal responsibility, the Flemish government is also responsible for about 500 kilometers of regional roads and about 900 kilometers of highways in the territory of the Flemish Region. Other types of roads are roads and municipal roads. Approximately 5,500,000 people live in the area, the official language is Dutch, sometimes colloquially referred to as Flemish. The main dialect groups include West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian, French may be used for certain administrative purposes in a limited number of the so-called municipalities with language facilities around the Brussels-Capital Region and on the border with Wallonia. Rim municipalities are Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel, Brussels was originally a Dutch-speaking city, but it was frenchified in the 19th and 20th century and is now largely French-speaking. A few municipalities in the Flemish agglomeration of Brussels are now also frenchified, municipalities with language facilities on the border with Wallonia are Bever, Herstappe, Mesen, Ronse, Spiere-Helkijn, Voeren. Communities and regions of Belgium Provinces of regions in Belgium De Vlaamse Leeuw Count of Flanders Flanders Flemish Flemish authorities, toerisme Vlaanderen French Flanders Frans-Vlaanderen The Flemish region reaches 6 million inhabitants
8.
Provinces of Belgium
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The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, the third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself. Many of the provinces evolved from earlier duchies and counties of the name and similar location. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant and these divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual. The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution, the provinces are subdivided into 43 administrative arrondissements, and further into 589 municipalities. These each had their own identities and governments, though in the modern period almost all the Belgian states became part of larger entities. Each of the provinces of Belgium takes its name from one of these predecessors. At the time of the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in 1830, the first article of the Belgian Constitution said, Belgium is divided into provinces. These provinces are Antwerp, Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, in 1839 half of the province of Limburg became part of the Netherlands, which consequently has its own province of Limburg. In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, during the second half of the 20th century, Belgium transitioned from a unitary state to a federal state with three Communities and three Regions. As part of the reforms, the province of Brabant was split in 1995 three ways, into two provinces and into the Brussels-Capital Region. The two new Brabant provinces became part of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region respectively, the remaining eight provinces became part of these regions as well, so the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each contain five provinces. The Provincial Councils are the bodies of the population of the provinces. This is the equivalent of the States-Provincial in the Netherlands, the numbers of seats in the Provincial Councils are proportional to the population of the province, the numbers were reduced in both Flanders and Wallonia, starting 2013. They are directly elected each six years, at the time of the municipal elections. Before 1994, the elections instead coincided with the national elections. Until then, the provincial councils also appointed Provincial Senators to the Belgian Senate, the executive branch was previously called the Permanent Deputation. In the Flemish Region it is now called the Deputation and it consists of the Governor
9.
Antwerp (province)
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Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on North Brabant province of the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp. It has an area of 2867 km² and with 1.8 million inhabitants it is the countrys most populous province, the province consists of 3 arrondissements, Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout. The eastern part of the province comprises the part of the Campine region. During the early Middle Ages the region was part of the Frankish Empire, the territory of the present day province belonged to several pagi of which the region around Antwerp belonged to the Pagus Renesium. The Pagus Toxandria stretched from North Brabant into the Campine region, to the south there was the Pagus Bracbatinse and the Pagus Hasbaniensis. In 843 the Carolingian Empire of Charlemagne was divided among his sons, in 974 Otto II established the Margraviate of Antwerp as a defence against the County of Flanders. In 1106, Henry V granted the Margraviate to Godfrey I of Leuven and his descendants would from 1235 onwards become the Dukes of Brabant and the region itself was the northern part of the Duchy of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchy became part of the Duchy of Burgundy until 1477 when it fell to the House of Habsburg. In 1713, at the end of the Spanish Succession War the region part of the Austrian Netherlands until 1794. On 1 October 1795 the former Austrian Netherlands were annexed by France under the French Directory, the modern province was created as the Department of the two Netes during the First French Empire. After the defeat of Napoleon, the became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as the province of Central Brabant, distinguishing it from North Brabant. In 1830, after Belgiums independence the province was renamed Antwerp, common with Flemish Brabant, North Brabant and Brussels, the local dialect is a Brabantian variety. The province of Antwerp has a council, elected every six years. The current governor is Cathy Berx, appointed in 2008 by the Flemish Government, the last elections were held on 14 October 2012. a, that each have 2 deputies. The three parties have a majority of 50 seats out of 72, highest point, Beerzelberg located in the municipality Putte. Most important rivers, Scheldt, Rupel, Grote Nete, Kleine Nete The province has a network of roads, railroads, canals, historically, the traffic infrastructure was an important element of connecting the Port of Antwerp with the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Both the Iron Rhine railroad and the E313 and E34 highway connect Antwerp with the Ruhr Area, the river Schelde, an important waterway, connects the Port of Antwerp with the North Sea
10.
Arrondissements of Belgium
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Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements and these may or may not relate to identical geographical areas. The 43 administrative arrondissements are a level between the municipalities and the provinces. Brussels-Capital forms a single arrondissement for all 19 municipalities in the region by that name, Belgium had 27 judicial arrondissements until April 1,2014. Until 1999 the electoral districts for the election of the parliaments were electoral arrondissements, the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital is not part of any province and consequently forms its own electoral district
11.
Arrondissement of Antwerp
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The Arrondissement of Antwerp is one of the three administrative arrondissements in the Province of Antwerp, Belgium. It is both an administrative and a judicial arrondissement, the territory of the Judicial Arrondissement of Antwerp coincides with that of the Administrative Arrondissement of Antwerp. The Arrondissement of Antwerp was created in 1800 as the first arrondissement in the Department of Deux-Nèthes and it originally comprised the cantons of Antwerp, Boom, Berchem, Brecht, Ekeren and Zandhoven. In 1923, the municipalities of Burcht and Zwijndrecht in the Arrondissement of Sint-Niklaas were added to the arrondissement. The Administrative Arrondissement of Antwerp consists of the municipalities
12.
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams
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Christian Democratic and Flemish is a Christian democratic Flemish political party in Belgium. The party has ties to both trade unionism and trade associations and the Farmers League. Until 2001, the party was named the Christian Peoples Party and it was traditionally the largest political party of Flanders, until it was overtaken by the New Flemish Alliance in the 2010s. CD&V participated in most governments and has generally the largest number of mayors, most Prime Ministers of Belgium and Ministers-President of Flanders have been CD&V politicians. Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014, is one of the politicians of CD&V. CD&V is a member of the European Peoples Party and Centrist Democrat International, the history of the CD&V dates back to the 19th century. It originated in the 19th century catholic party, or Parti conservateur, at the end of the century, the new fraction of the so-called Christian democrats shifted the focus of the party slightly to the left. In the interwar years the party was renamed Catholic Bloc, then, the Christian Social Party existed from 1945 until 1968. In 1968, the PSC-CVP was split into to the French-speaking Christian Social Party, in 2001 the CVP changed its name to the CD&V. The party was almost continually in power from its establishment until 1999, in 1999, the Flemish Liberals and Democrats became the largest party in Belgium, and formed a majority purple government of liberals, social democrats and greens. The same happened in the Flemish Government, but with the addition of Flemish nationalists, in 2003 CD&V again lost the federal elections which continuated the federal center-left coalition, but this time without the Greens. In 2004, Flemish elections were held and the CD&V once more became the largest political party by representation in the Flemish Parliament, after successful local elections in 2006, the party became the largest party in the Belgian Chambre of Representatives after the federal elections of 2007. The CD&V led the subsequent coalition talks, which repeatedly stalled, on the 20 March 2008, a new federal government was finally assembled, led by Yves Leterme. Kris Peeters subsequently became the next minister-president of Flanders, from 30 December 2008 till 25 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy led his first cabinet before becoming the first permanent president of the European Council. Afterwards, Yves Leterme led his second government, in June 2009, Flemish elections were held and the CD&V remained the largest party of Flanders. Kris Peeters stayed as Flemish minister-president, the party also remained the largest Flemish party in the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections. In 2010, the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats decided to out of the federal coalition. The federal elections of 2010 resulted in a loss of historic proportions for CD&V
13.
New Flemish Alliance
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The New Flemish Alliance is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium, founded in 2001. The N-VA is a regionalist and separatist movement that self-identifies with the promotion of civic nationalism and it is part of the Flemish Movement, and strives for the peaceful and gradual secession of Flanders from Belgium. In recent years it has become the largest party of Flanders as well as of Belgium as a whole, the main objective of the party is to work on Flemish independence by gradually obtaining more powers for both Belgian communities separately. Furthermore, it emphasizes its non-revolutionary and pro-European character in order to legitimize increased Flemish autonomy, the N-VA advocates free-market economics, and their manifesto proposes immediate tax reductions to stimulate the economy. They also advocate deepening ties with the European Union, the N-VA stems from the Peoples Union, a Belgian political party and broad electoral alliance of Flemish nationalists. Towards the end of the 20th century, with a steadily declining electorate and these experiments were opposed by the more traditional centre-right party base. Factions subsequently clashed multiple times, over the course of the party. A party referendum was held on the future of the party, the right wing gained a substantial plurality of 47% and inherited the party infrastructure. Since no faction got a majority, however, the name Volksunie could no longer be used. In the autumn of 2001, the New Flemish Alliance was founded, seven members of parliament from the Peoples Union joined the new party. The new party created a party manifesto and a statement of principles. The first party congress was held in May 2002, voting on a party program, the party participated in elections for the first time in the 2003 federal elections, but struggled with the election threshold of 5%. This threshold was reached in West Flanders, the constituency of Geert Bourgeois. With only one representative and no senator, the party lost government funding. They joined forces in the elections in 2004 and won. Both parties joined the new Flemish government, led by CD&V leader Yves Leterme, Geert Bourgeois became a minister, and Bart De Wever became the new party leader in October 2004. The cartel was briefly broken when the former right-wing liberal Jean-Marie Dedecker left the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats and entered the N-VA on behalf of the party executive. However, the party congress did not put Dedecker on the election list, instead preferring to continue the cartel with CD&V, Dedecker saw this as a vote of no confidence, and left the party after only 10 days, to form his own party, List Dedecker
14.
Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten
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Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats, commonly known as Open Vld or simply as the VLD, is a liberal and conservative-liberal Flemish political party in Belgium. The party was created in 1992 from the former Party for Freedom and Progress, the party led the government for three cabinets under Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 until March 2008. Open VLD most recently formed the Federal Government with N-VA, CD&V, in the Flemish Parliament, the VLD formed a coalition government with sp. a-Spirit and Christian Democratic and Flemish from after the 2004 regional election until the 2009 regional election. Ideologically, Open VLD started as a liberal, somewhat Thatcherite party under its founder. The VLD rapidly became more centrist and gave up much of its free market approach, Party chairman Bart Somers called in November 2006 for a revolution within the party, saying that a liberal party, like the VLD, can be only progressive and social. Several of its thinkers such as Boudewijn Bouckaert, president of Nova Civitas, in 2004 the VLD teamed up with the minority social-liberal party Vivant for both the Flemish and European elections. VLD-Vivant lost the elections to arch rivals CD&V and the Flemish Bloc, the VLD fell from second to third place among the Flemish political parties, slipping narrowly behind the sp. a-Spirit cartel. Internal feuds, the support for electoral rights for immigrants and an economic policy were seen as the main reasons for its election defeat. From 2007 the party kept having electoral difficulties, first due to competition from split-off List Dedecker and after 2010 from the liberal-conservative Flemish-nationalist party N-VA, under the presidency of current chairwoman Gwendolyn Rutten the Open-Vld took on a more rightwing socio-economic course again. As such the party is the oldest political party of Belgium. In 1846, Walthère Frère-Orban succeeded in creating a program which could unite several liberal groups into one party. Before 1960, the Liberal Party of Belgium was barely organised, the school pact of 1958, as a result of which the most important argument for the traditional anti-clericalism was removed, gave the necessary impetus for a thorough renewal. During the liberal party congress of 1961, the Liberal Party was reformed into the bilingual Party for Freedom and Progress and it is a central principle of Classical Liberalism that employers and employees do NOT have opposed long term interests. In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the tensions between the different communities in Belgium rose and there were disagreements within the movement as well. In 1972, the unitary PVV-PLP was split into separate a Flemish, willy De Clercq became the first chairman of the independent Party of Freedom and Progress. De Clercq, together with Frans Grootjans and Herman Vanderpoorten, set out the lines for the new party and this reform was coupled an Ethical Congress, on which the PVV adopted very progressive and tolerant stances regarding abortion, euthanasia, adultery, homosexuality and gender equality. In 1982, the 29-year-old reformer Guy Verhofstadt became the chairman of the party, Annemie Neyts succeeded him as chairman, becoming the first female party chairman. In 1989, Verhofstadt once more became the chairman of the PVV, in 1992, the PVV was reformed into the Flemish Liberals and Democrats under the impulse of Verhofstadt
15.
Campine
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Today the Campine is becoming a popular destination for tourists in search of a quiet and relaxing weekend. Old farms have been transformed into bed-and-breakfast hotels, the restaurant and café business is active. Part of the Campine is protected as the Hoge Kempen Nationaal Park and it is located in the east of the Belgian province of Limburg, between Genk and the Meuse valley and was opened in March 2006. Covering almost 60 square kilometres, it part of the Natura 2000 network. The area is heathland and pine forest. In May 2011 it was placed on UNESCOs Tentative List for consideration as a World Heritage Site, the name Campine / Kempen derives from the Latin Campinia or Campina, meaning region of fields. The inhabitants of the Campine region are known as Kempenaars, the region, described as a desolate flat land often appears in the books of the prominent Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience, who spent much of his childhood there. Another author who has written many novels playing in the Campine was Georges Eekhoud, in 1837 Victor Hugo made a journey through Belgium and visited the Campine and the cities Lier and Turnhout, and wrote about his journey. During the interbellum Felix Timmermans, Stijn Streuvels, Jozef Simons, the painters Jakob Smits and Frans Van Giel painted many Campine landscapes. The region is rich in tales, such as the stories about the Buckriders. The Museum Kempenland in Eindhoven has a considerable and historically important art collection of painters, draughtsmen, sculptors, blacksmiths, much of the architectural, agrarian and historical and cultural heritage of the Campine can be visited in the museum of Bokrijk. The old way of living and the Campine dialects have been the topic of scientific research, in the Roman era the name of the region was Toxandria or Taxandria. The Campine is an area in the Belgian provinces Antwerp, Limburg and the north of the province Flemish Brabant. It stretches from the east of the city of Antwerp and towards the west of Eindhoven, farther east the Campine is in the Groote Peel, a region which is geographically related to the Campine. The south border is formed by the river Demer, and the east border by the valley of the river Meuse, the Campine plateau is part of the Campine region. The Campine Basin, which extends from Belgium into the Netherlands, is formed by the Devonian, since it was a region with a poor sand soil, there are only a few old or large cities in the region. Most of those cities are located at the rim of the region, such as Hasselt, Diest, Aarschot, Lier, Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven, Maaseik. West of Turnhout clay was used for the production of barge, also the more central Herentals was an historical industrial center, thanks to its textile industry of which the Lakenhal on the main market place is a remaining monument
16.
Oostmalle
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Oostmalle is a village which is located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The village itself is part of the municipality of Malle, Oostmalle was an independent municipality until 1976. It has an area of 28.27 km² and in 2004 had 6,510 inhabitants. The most important curiosity of Oostmalle is the Renesse Castle, the Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at the Herentalsebaan, was built by Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies in 1837. In 1930 a Lourdes cave was added to the chapel, the Chapel of Saint Anthony in the hamlet Salphen dates from 1626. Oostmalle Airfield is located south on the territory of Oostmalle, close to the hamlet of Salphen, and this airfield is currently used for recreational purposes. There was some talk of using this airfield as an alternative for the Airport in Deurne should it have to close, each year the international Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle is organised in Oostmalle, which is part of the Cyclo-cross Gazet van Antwerpen. It marks the end of the Cyclo-cross season, on Sunday 25 June 1967 at 4,17 pm Oostmalle was hit by a tornado which destroyed the church and the centre of the village. Of the church, only the tower was rebuilt in its original state, more than half of the 900 houses in the village were damaged,135 houses were completely destroyed
17.
Westmalle
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Westmalle is a village in the Belgian province of Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle. Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, the Trappist monks operate a brewery and also make cheese. In addition, the Monasterium Magnificat of Westmalle is the monastery of the Annunciade Order in Belgium. Westmalle Castle dates back to 1100, the Scherpenberg windmill is still operational and is open to visitors. The statue of the Pedaalstompers commemorates the record of the longest bicycle. Martinus Dom, first abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle, francis Severeyns, nicknamed Cisse, football striker Seppe Smits, professional snowboarder Trappist beer Oostmalle Malle Pictures of Westmalle Land van Playsantiën
18.
Franks
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Some Franks raided Roman territory, while other Frankish tribes joined the Roman troops of Gaul. In later times, Franks became the rulers of the northern part of Roman Gaul. The Salian Franks lived on Roman-held soil between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, and Somme rivers in what is now Northern France, Belgium, the kingdom was acknowledged by the Romans after 357 CE. Following the collapse of Rome in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul in the 6th century, which greatly increased their power. The Merovingian dynasty, descendants of the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies that would absorb large parts of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish state consolidated its hold over the majority of western Europe by the end of the 8th century, developing into the Carolingian Empire. This empire would gradually evolve into the state of France and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, the term Frank was used in the east as a synonym for western European, as the Franks were then rulers of most of Western Europe. The Franks in the east kept their Germanic language and became part of the Germans, Dutch, Flemings, the Franconian languages, which are called Frankisch in Dutch or Fränkisch in German, originated at least partly in the Old Frankish language of the Franks. Nowadays, the German and Dutch names for France are Frankreich and Frankrijk, respectively, the name Franci was originally socio-political. To the Romans, Celts, and Suebi, the Franks must have seemed alike, they looked the same and spoke the same language, so that Franci became the name by which the people were known. Within a few centuries it had eclipsed the names of the tribes, though the older names have survived in some place-names, such as Hesse. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English and it has been suggested that the meaning of free was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation. It is traditionally assumed that Frank comes from the Germanic word for javelin, there is also another theory that suggests that Frank comes from the Latin word francisca meaning. Words in other Germanic languages meaning fierce, bold or insolent, eumenius addressed the Franks in the matter of the execution of Frankish prisoners in the circus at Trier by Constantine I in 306 and certain other measures, Ubi nunc est illa ferocia. Feroces was used often to describe the Franks, contemporary definitions of Frankish ethnicity vary both by period and point of view. According to their law and their custom, writing in 2009, Professor Christopher Wickham pointed out that the word Frankish quickly ceased to have an exclusive ethnic connotation. North of the River Loire everyone seems to have considered a Frank by the mid-7th century at the latest. Two early sources describe the origin of the Franks are a 7th-century work known as the Chronicle of Fredegar. Neither of these works are accepted by historians as trustworthy, compared with Gregory of Tourss Historia Francorum, the chronicle describes Priam as a Frankish king whose people migrated to Macedonia after the fall of Troy
19.
Celtic languages
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The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. Modern Celtic languages are spoken on the north-western edge of Europe, notably in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall. There are also a number of Welsh speakers in the Patagonia area of Argentina. Some people speak Celtic languages in the other Celtic diaspora areas of the United States, Canada, Australia, in all these areas, the Celtic languages are now only spoken by minorities though there are continuing efforts at revitalisation. Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as endangered by UNESCO, the spread to Cape Breton and Patagonia occurred in modern times. SIL Ethnologue lists six living Celtic languages, of four have retained a substantial number of native speakers. These are the Goidelic languages and the Brittonic languages, the other two, Cornish and Manx, died in modern times with their presumed last native speakers in 1777 and 1974 respectively. For both these languages, however, revitalisation movements have led to the adoption of these languages by adults and children, taken together, there were roughly one million native speakers of Celtic languages as of the 2000s. In 2010, there were more than 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages, shelta, based largely on Irish with influence from an undocumented source. Some forms of Welsh-Romani or Kååle also combined Romany itself with Welsh language, beurla-reagaird, Highland travellers language Celtic divided into various branches, Lepontic, the oldest attested Celtic language. Anciently spoken in Switzerland and in Northern-Central Italy, from the Alps to Umbria, coins with Lepontic inscriptions have been found in Noricum and Gallia Narbonensis. Celtiberian, anciently spoken in the Iberian peninsula, in parts of modern Galicia, Asturias, La Rioja, Aragón, Cantabria, Old Castile, the relationship of Celtiberian with Gallaecian, in the northwest of the peninsula, is uncertain. Gallaecian, anciently spoken in the former Gallaecia, northwest of the peninsula, Gaulish languages, including Galatian and possibly Noric. These languages were spoken in a wide arc from Belgium to Turkey. Brittonic, including the living languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh, before the arrival of Scotti on the Isle of Man in the 9th century, there may have been a Brittonic language in the Isle of Man. Goidelic, including the living languages Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic, scholarly handling of the Celtic languages has been rather argumentative owing to scarceness of primary source data. Other scholars distinguish between P-Celtic and Q-Celtic, putting most of the Gaulish and Brittonic languages in the former group, the P-Celtic languages are sometimes seen as a central innovating area as opposed to the more conservative peripheral Q-Celtic languages. In the P/Q classification schema, the first language to split off from Proto-Celtic was Gaelic and it has characteristics that some scholars see as archaic, but others see as also being in the Brittonic languages
20.
Cambrai
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Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-prefecture of the department, Cambrai is a town which had 32,518 inhabitants in the Census of 2009 and it is in the heart of the urban unit of Cambrai which, with 47,138 inhabitants, ranks as 7th largest of the department. Its urban area, an extensive range, included 65,986 inhabitants in 2009. With Lille and the towns of the former Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin, towards the end of the Roman Empire, Cambrai replaced Bavay as the capital of the land of the Nervii. The bishopric had some limited power and depended on the Holy Roman Empire until annexation to France in 1678. Fénelon, nicknamed the Swan of Cambrai, was the most renowned of the archbishops, the fertile lands which surround it and the textile industry gave it prosperity in the Middle Ages, but in modern times it is less industrialised than its neighbours of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Cambrai was the Duke of Wellingtons headquarters, for the British Army of Occupation, occupied and partly destroyed by the German army during World War I, Cambrai saw unfold in its vicinity the Battle of Cambrai where tanks were massively and successfully used for the first time. A second Battle of Cambrai took place between 8 and 10 October 1918 as part of the Hundred Days Offensive, World War II was followed by reconstructions and a rapidly developing economy and population, abruptly reversed by the 1973 oil crisis. Cambrai today is a city and, despite the past destruction. Cambrai is affirmed as the centre of Cambrésis. Its economic life is strengthened by its position on the local highway. The town of Cambrai is located in the south of the Nord Department, the regional capital of Lille is 52 kilometres away. Cambrai is not very far from several European capitals, Brussels is 108 kilometres, Paris is 160 kilometres, the city was born and developed on the right bank of the Scheldt river. Locally known as the Escaut, the river has its source in the department of Aisne, the Saint-Quentin canal, the Canal du Nord, the A1, A2 and A26 autoroutes all borrow all this passage between the basin of the Seine and the plains of the Nord department. The chalky subsoil allowed, as in medieval cities, the digging of a network of cellars, tunnels. The poor quality of the Cambrai chalk was reserved for use in the manufacture of lime or filling, for prestigious buildings, stone from the nearby villages of Noyelles-sur-Escaut, Rumilly or Marcoing was used. The city is bordered in its part, as well as to the north. Cambrai is built on the bank of the Scheldt
21.
Toxandri
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The Toxandri were a people living at the time of the Roman empire. Their territory was called Toxandria, Toxiandria or Taxandria, a name which survived into the Middle Ages and it was roughly equivalent to the modern Campine geographical region of northeastern Flanders and southern Netherlands. In modern terms this covered all or most of North Brabant, the east of Antwerp Province, and their name is also preserved in modern placenames such as Tessenderlo, which is in the modern Belgian province of Limburg where it borders upon the provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant. Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia reported that they were divided into various peoples with many names and he placed them at the extreme edge of Gallia Belgica, beyond the River Scaldis which apparently separated them from the Menapii. This means that the Toxandria were either within, or very close to, the part of the river delta area of Belgic Gaul. One is the Civitas Tungrorum, the civitas of the Tungri, the modern town of Tongerloo, named after the Tungri, is very close to Tessenderlo, but actually further from the city of the Tungri which is modern Tongeren. The relationship between the Tungri and Toxandri is unclear, prior to Pliny, the Toxandrians were not mentioned by Julius Caesar or Strabo in their reports of the region. The name of the Eburones is based on the Celtic word for a yew tree, before the takeover of Rome in this region, in Julius Caesars commentary tribal boundaries in the area where the Toxandri are later found are left unclear. It is generally described as low forest and marshy lowlands, northwards of main populations of the cisrhenane Germani. At one point Caesar specifically says that the cisrhenane Germani bordering the Menapii were the Eburones, in one isolated passage, Caesar did apparently describe a tribe in the area of the later Toxandri, the Ambivariti. But this tribe is never mentioned by any other known classical source, in the middle of the 4th century, the area of Toxandria became very de-populated, and was exposed to constant raiding from tribes across the Rhine, outside the empire. Having been amongst the worst raiders, the Salian Franks were eventually settled as foederati in Toxandria, julian the Apostate had at first fought against Saxons and Franks, including the Salians, but then allowed this one group descended from the Franks to settle in Toxandria in 358. But they had come under attack from Saxons, who were this time raiding Roman from the sea, the Salians then became Roman allies and provided troops for the imperial army, in the very period that Roman influence in the area was weakening. Toxandria therefore eventually became the name of a Frankish county in early medieval Lower Lotharingia, Germanic peoples List of Germanic peoples Campine Tungri Taxandriamuseum
22.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
23.
Roman roads
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They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials, and civilians, and the inland carriage of official communications and trade goods. Roman roads were of several kinds, ranging from local roads to broad, long-distance highways built to connect cities, major towns. These major roads were often stone-paved and metaled, cambered for drainage and they were laid along accurately surveyed courses, and some were cut through hills, or conducted over rivers and ravines on bridgework. Sections could be supported over marshy ground on rafted or piled foundations, at the peak of Romes development, no fewer than 29 great military highways radiated from the capital, and the late Empires 113 provinces were interconnected by 372 great roads. The whole comprised more than 400,000 kilometres of roads, in Gaul alone, no less than 21,000 kilometres of roadways are said to have been improved, and in Britain at least 4,000 kilometres. The courses of many Roman roads survived for millennia, some are overlaid by modern roads, livy mentions some of the most familiar roads near Rome, and the milestones on them, at times long before the first paved road—the Appian Way. Unless these allusions are just simple anachronisms, the referred to were probably at the time little more than levelled earthen tracks. Thus, the Via Gabina is mentioned in about 500 BC, the Via Latina in about 490 BC, the Via Nomentana, in 449 BC, the Via Labicana in 421 BC, and the Via Salaria in 361 BC. There is hardly a district to which we expect a Roman official to be sent, on service either civil or military. They reach the Wall in Britain, run along the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates, and cover, as with a network, a road map of the empire reveals that it was generally laced with a dense network of prepared viae. Beyond its borders there were no paved roads, however, it can be supposed that footpaths, there were, for instance, some pre-Roman ancient trackways in Britain, such as the Ridgeway and the Icknield Way. For specific roads, see Roman road locations below, the Laws of the Twelve Tables, dated to about 450 BC, specified that a road shall be 8 Roman feet wide where straight and twice that width where curved. Actual practices varied from this standard, the Tables command Romans to build roads and give wayfarers the right to pass over private land where the road is in disrepair. Roman law defined the right to use a road as a servitus, the ius eundi established a claim to use an iter, or footpath, across private land, the ius agendi, an actus, or carriage track. A via combined both types of servitutes, provided it was of the width, which was determined by an arbiter. The default width was the latitudo legitima of 8 feet, Roman law and tradition forbade the use of vehicles in urban areas, except in certain cases. Married women and government officials on business could ride, the Lex Iulia Municipalis restricted commercial carts to night-time access in the city within the walls and within a mile outside the walls. Such roads led either to the sea, or to a town, or to a public river and these roads bear the names of their constructors
24.
Utrecht
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Utrecht is the capital and most populous city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the corner of the Randstad conurbation and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of 330,772 in 2014. Utrechts ancient city centre features many buildings and structures several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages and it has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. It lost the status of prince-bishopric but remains the religious center in the country. Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its position within the country, it is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport. It has the second highest number of events in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world’s unsung places, a series of such fortresses was built after the Roman emperor Claudius decided the empire should not expand north. To consolidate the border the limes Germanicus defense line was constructed along the branch of the river Rhine. These fortresses were designed to house a cohort of about 500 Roman soldiers, near the fort settlements would grow housing artisans, traders and soldiers wives and children. In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simply Traiectum, Traiectum became Dutch Trecht, with the U from Old Dutch uut added to distinguish U-trecht from Maas-tricht. In 11th-century official documents it was Latinized as Ultra Traiectum, around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square. From the middle of the 3rd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories, around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border and Utrecht was abandoned. Little is known about the next period 270–650, Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left. Under the influence of the realms of the Franks, during Dagobert Is reign in the 7th century. In ongoing border conflicts with the Frisians this first church was destroyed, by the mid-7th century, English and Irish missionaries set out to convert the Frisians. The pope appointed their leader, Willibrordus, bishop of the Frisians, the tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 723, the Frankish leader Charles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht, from then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands
25.
Bavay
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Bavay is a French commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The city is the capital of the canton also called Bavay, the inhabitants of the commune are known as Bavaisiens or Bavaisiennes Bavay is located some 20 km east by south-east of Valenciennes and 10 km west of Maubeuge. Main access is on the D649 highway between two towns which passes through the commune just north of the town. Many roads radiate from the town, the D305 north-west, the D84 north-east, the D932 east by north-east, the D961 south-east, the D932 south-west, the D942 west by south-west, and the D2649 west. A disused railway runs to the commune from Maubeuge and there is an abandoned railway station south-west of the town. Apart from the town the commune is entirely farmland, the Hogneau or Bavay river runs through the commune to the west joined by several streams in the commune. The Riez Raoult rises in the north of the commune and flows north while the Ruisseau du Louvion rises nearby, the Ruisseau dAviette rises in the east and flows east from the commune. The Ruisseau des Pres comes from the south-east and forms part of the border before joining the Bavay river. The Ruisseau de Mecquignies comes from the south and also flows to the Bavay river, according to Wauquelin, seven roads, dedicated to the planets Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, the Sun, and the Moon, left from seven temples in the city. The introduction of an elective monarchy signaled the decline of the city of Belges and this episode has been considered a fable by most historians since the 19th century and even more so the bloody infighting which opposed the reign of Belges Queen Ursa by the former King Ursus. The columnist and historian of Hainaut, Jacques de Guise was simply called Belgis, the birth of Bavay after the conquest was the result of the reorganization of the territory by Augustus. The parts of Gaul conquered by Caesar were then divided into three provinces, the region between the Seine and the Rhine was Gallia Belgica and its capital was at Reims. It was divided into cities —administrative districts which were headed by a chief town, living in this district were some of the fiercest people of Northern Gaul and they occupied a vast area between the Scheldt, the Sambre, and the Meuse, the Nervii. As the centre of the junction, Bavay was an obligatory passage between Germania and the naval port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, a bridgehead to Britain. Other routes, seven in total, connected the city of the Nervii to the capital cities of neighbouring peoples. Its position was strategic, but soon these military routes were used for commercial purposes. From the Claudian period and especially under the Flavians in the late 1st century the city grew, excavations in the Roman Forum resulted in the discovery of ceramics from the 9th and 10th centuries. The history of the town during this period is unclear and reference is necessary to the lines of history of the County of Hainaut
26.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
27.
Duchy of Brabant
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The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. Today all the former territories, apart from exclaves are in Belgium except for the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was historically divided into four parts, each with its own capital, the four capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and s-Hertogenbosch. Before s-Hertogenbosch was founded, Tienen was the fourth capital and its most important cities were Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda, s-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The modern flag of Belgium takes its colors from Brabants coat of arms, probably first used by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is documented in a 1306 towns seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Up to the present, the Brabant lion features as the charge on the coats of arms of both Flemish and Walloon Brabant, and of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The regions name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. In earlier Roman times, the Nervii, a Belgic tribe and they were incorporated into the Roman province of Belgica, and considered to have both Celtic and Germanic cultural links. At the end of the Roman period the region was conquered by the Germanic Franks, in 959 the East Frankish king Otto I of Germany elevated Count Godfrey of Jülich to the rank of duke of Lower Lorraine. In 962 the duchy became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, the counts of Leuven rose to power, when about 1000 Count Lambert I the Bearded married Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and acquired the County of Brussels. About 1024 southernmost Brabant fell to Count Reginar V of Mons, in 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lower Lotharingia. By that time the title had lost most of its territorial authority, according to protocol, all his successors were thereafter called Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the Duchy of Limburg, in 1354 Duke John III of Brabant granted a Joyous Entry to the citizens of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, in 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to s Hertogenbosch, the subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Eighty Years War brought the parts under military control of the northern insurgents. The southern part remained in Spanish Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands and it was transferred to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg monarchy in 1714
28.
Breda
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Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark, as a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance. Breda had a population of 180,420 in 2014, the area had a population of 324,812. In the 11th century, Breda was a fief of the Holy Roman Emperor. The city of Breda obtained a charter in 1252. After that Breda had the rights to build fortifications, the city constructed brick walls and Roman-style gates. In 1327 Adelheid of Gaveren Breda sold Breda to Duke Johannes III of Brabant, in 1350, the fief was resold to Johannes II of Wassenaar. In 1403 the heiress of his line, Johanna of Polanen, thus, the baron of Breda was also count of Nassau, Germany, prince of Orange and stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. Breda remained part of the barony Breda until it was taken by French revolutionary forces in 1795, the acquisition of the city by the House of Orange-Nassau marked its emergence as a residentiestad. The presence of the Orange-Nassau family attracted other nobles, who built palatial residences in the old quarters of the city. The most impressive one, built by the Italian architect Thomas Vincidor de Bologna for the first Dutch prince, was the first renaissance-style palace built north of the Alps, in the 15th century the citys physical, economic and strategic importance expanded rapidly. A great church was built in Brabantine Gothic style with a gallant 97-metre-high tower, in 1534 Henry III of Nassau-Breda rebuilt the modest medieval fortifications in impressive style. In 1534 a fire destroyed over 90 percent of the city, close to 1300 houses, churches and chapels, only 150 houses and the main church remained. In July 1581, during the Eighty Years War, Breda was captured by surprise by Spanish troops then under the command of Claudius van Barlaymont, although the city had surrendered upon the condition that it would not be plundered, the troops vented their fury upon the inhabitants. In the resulting mayhem, known as Haultpennes Fury, over 500 citizens were killed, the so-called Spaniards Hole marks the spot where the peat-boat allegedly lay, although this has not been historically proven. After a ten-month siege in 1624–25, the city surrendered to the Spaniards under Spinola, in 1637 Breda was recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange after a four-month siege, and in 1648 it was finally ceded to the Dutch Republic by the Treaty of Westphalia. The Treaty of Breda was signed in the city, July 31,1667, during World War II the city was under German occupation. It was liberated following a successful outflanking manoeuvre planned and performed by forces of 1st Polish Armoured Division of Gen. Maczek on October 29,1944
29.
Duke of Brabant
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The Duke of Brabant was formally the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, the Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant. This was an Imperial fief which was assigned to Count Henry III of Leuven shortly after the death of the preceding Count of Brabant, Count Palatine Herman II of Lotharingia. Although the corresponding county was quite small its name was applied to the country under control of the Dukes from the 13th century on. In 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lotharingia, formerly Lower Lotharingia, this title was now practically without territorial authority, but was borne by the later Dukes of Brabant as an honorific title. In 1288, the Dukes of Brabant became also Duke of Limburg, the title fell to the Dukes of Burgundy in 1430. Counts of Leuven, Counts of Brussels and Landgraves of Brabant, Henry III, already Count of Leuven and Brussels from 1078. The oldest Son/daughter becomes automatically the duke/duchess of Brabant when his/her father becomes King of the Belgians, when the Duke of Brabant loses his father, or when he abdicates, his title goes to the next in line, and he becomes the new King of the Belgians. Unlike the office of King of the Belgians, you do not have to reach the age of 18 to become Duke of Brabant, however, if a Duke of Brabant does not reach the age of 18, he cannot ascent to the Throne of Belgium. When the prince becomes duke of Brabant, this takes precedence of the other titles. When the Duke of Brabant marries legally, after permission of the King, the last Duke of Brabant became King in 2013, and passed the title to his oldest child. The current Duchess, Crown Princess Elisabeth was in 2013 only 12 years old when she became duchess, Leopold II Leopold, son of Leopold II - the only prince who died a Duke of Brabant. Leopold III Baudouin Philippe Elisabeth Coat of arms of Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant Dukes of Brabant family tree Charters of the Duchy of Brabant Counts of Louvain, genealogical note
30.
Westmalle Castle
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Westmalle Castle is located in the village of Westmalle, which is part of the municipality of Malle in the Campine region of Flanders, Belgium. Westmalle Castle is situated at an elevation of 29 meters, the origin of Westmalle Castle goes back to a large fortified farm, the Mansus de Trisco around 1100 and it stayed that way until 1449. The farm was the residence of the representatives of the Dukes of Brabant, in 1449 the estate was sold by the Duke of Brabant to Henri van der Moelen, who was a member of the city council of Antwerp. In 1505, his son, the knight Hendrik van der Moelen and his son Peter van der Moelen succeeded him and it was his grandson, Evrard de Cottereau, who obtained the estate in 1530. The estate passed to the De Cottereau family by marriage, in 1695 the last of the Cottereaus was deeply indebted to his creditor, Pierre Farisau, and later to his heir Filips Robijns. In 1702 the castle was claimed by the creditors, but the courts returned the property to lady Moytray, the widow of de Cottereau. In 1738, her brother inherited the castle and sold it to the heirs of Filips Robijns who sold it again to Jacques Benoit Pauwens in 1743, in 1829, Baron de Norman restored the castle. His children sold it to the Bovie family from Antwerp, between 1848 and 1874 the castle was owned by an Antwerp diamond-dealer, Lord Bovie. He altered and restored the castle, and a garden was created by the landscape architect Koelich, from 1874 until 1878, the castle belonged to Louis Geelhand. Baron de Turck de Kersbeeck bought it in 1878, restored the building, since 1914 the castle has been owned by the van der Straten Waillet family. List of castles in Belgium Malle history
31.
Henry I, Duke of Brabant
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Henry I of Brabant, named The Courageous, was a member of the House of Reginar and first Duke of Brabant from 1183/84 until his death. He was possibly born in Leuven, the son of Count Godfrey III of Louvain and his wife Margaret and his father also held the title of a Landgrave of Brabant, Duke of Lower Lorraine and margrave of Antwerp. Henry early appeared as a co-ruler of his father, in 1179 he married Matilda of Boulogne, daughter of Marie of Boulogne and Matthew of Alsace and on this occasion received the County of Brussels from his father. He acted as a regent while Count Godfrey III went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from 1182 to 1184, in 1183 Henry took the title of a Duke of Brabant. Upon the death of his father in 1190, King Henry VI confirmed the elevation of Brabant, Duke Henry sought to expand his power and soon picked several quarrels with the Count Baldwin V of Hainaut. He also was in opposition to the German king when his brother Albert of Louvain was elected Bishop of Liège and murdered shortly afterwards. Further conflicts with Duke Henry III of Limburg and Count Otto I of Guelders followed, here he acted as regent until the arrival of the new King, Amalric II. He fought against Philips seconders Count Dirk VII of Holland and Count Otto of Guelders, however, he switched sides in 1204, in 1208, after the assassination of Philip, Henry was proposed as successor by King Philip II. In the war followed, he finally reached a reconciliation with Emperor Otto IV. Together they fought against King Philip in the 1214 Battle of Bouvines, in 1213, Duke Henry also suffered a heavy defeat against the Bishopric of Liège in the Battle of Steppes. From 1217 to 1218 he joined the Fifth Crusade to Egypt, under Henry I, there was town policy and town planning. Among the towns to which the duke gave city rights and trade privileges was s-Hertogenbosch, in 1235 the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II appointed Henry to travel to England to bring him his fiancée Isabella Plantagenet, daughter of King John Lackland. Unfortunately, Henry fell ill on his way back and died at Cologne and he was buried in St. Peters Church at Leuven where his Late Romanesque effigy can still be seen
32.
Abbot
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Abbot, meaning father, is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as a title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The word is derived from the Aramaic av meaning father or abba, in the Septuagint, it was written as abbas. At first it was employed as a title for any monk. The title abbot came into general use in western monastic orders whose members include priests. An abbot is the head and chief governor of a community of monks, the English version for a female monastic head is abbess. In Egypt, the first home of monasticism, the jurisdiction of the abbot, or archimandrite, was, sometimes he ruled over only one community, sometimes over several, each of which had its own abbot as well. Saint John Cassian speaks of an abbot of the Thebaid who had 500 monks under him, by the Rule of St Benedict, which, until the Cluniac reforms, was the norm in the West, the abbot has jurisdiction over only one community. Monks, as a rule, were laymen, nor at the outset was the abbot any exception, for the reception of the sacraments, and for other religious offices, the abbot and his monks were commanded to attend the nearest church. This rule proved inconvenient when a monastery was situated in a desert or at a distance from a city, the change spread more slowly in the West, where the office of abbot was commonly filled by laymen till the end of the 7th century. The ecclesiastical leadership exercised by abbots despite their frequent lay status is proved by their attendance, thus at the first Council of Constantinople, AD448,23 archimandrites or abbots sign, with 30 bishops. The second Council of Nicaea, AD787, recognized the right of abbots to ordain their monks to the inferior orders below the diaconate, abbots used to be subject to episcopal jurisdiction, and continued generally so, in fact, in the West till the 11th century. The Code of Justinian expressly subordinates the abbot to episcopal oversight, in the 12th century, the abbots of Fulda claimed precedence of the archbishop of Cologne. It has been maintained that the right to wear mitres was sometimes granted by the popes to abbots before the 11th century, but the documents on which this claim is based are not genuine. The first undoubted instance is the bull by which Alexander II in 1063 granted the use of the mitre to Egelsinus, abbot of the monastery of St Augustine at Canterbury. Of these the precedence was yielded to the abbot of Glastonbury, until in AD1154 Adrian IV granted it to the abbot of St Albans, next after the abbot of St Albans ranked the abbot of Westminster and then Ramsey. Of course, they always and everywhere had the power of admitting their own monks, the power of the abbot was paternal but absolute, limited, however, by the canon law. One of the goals of monasticism was the purgation of self and selfishness
33.
Villers Abbey
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Villers Abbey is an ancient Cistercian abbey located in the town of Villers-la-Ville, in the Walloon Brabant province of Wallonia, one piece of the Wallonias Major Heritage. Founded in 1146, the abbey was abandoned in 1796, most of the site has since fallen into ruins. In 1146,12 Cistercian monks and three lay brothers from Clairvaux came to Villers in order to establish the abbey on land granted them by Gauthier de Marbais, after establishing several preliminary sites, work was finally undertaken in the 13th century to build the current site. The choir was constructed by 1217, the crypt by 1240, the church itself took 70 years to build and was completed by the end of the century. During this period, the reached the height of its fame. Contemporary accounts suggest that roughly 100 monks and 300 lay brothers resided within its walls, the lands attached to the abbey also expanded considerably, reaching some 100 km² of woods, fields, and pasturage. Decline set in during the 16th century, tied to the troubles of the Low Countries. Spanish tercios, during the campaign of 1544, did damage to the church and cloister. In the early 17th century, Crisóstomo Henríquez wrote the history of the abbey, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the abbeys fortunes continued to diminish. The number of monks and the abbeys wealth dwindled, and it was abandoned in 1796 in the wake of the French Revolution. In 1893, the Belgian state purchased the site and launched a conservation effort, since 1992, the site has been maintained by the Association pour la Promotion Touristique et Culturelle de Villers. The church, although in ruins, is an example of Cistercian architecture, with imposing vaulting, arches. BROUETTE Emile, Abbaye de Villers à Tilly, in Monasticon belge, Province de Brabant, 4/2, Liège, Centre national de recherche religieuse,1964, construction, configuration et signification d’une abbaye cistercienne gothique, Brussels, Racine, Brecht, Cîteaux. Commentarii cistercienses,2000,622 p. COOMANS Thomas, Labbaye de Villers, DE MOREAU Edouard, Labbaye de Villers en Brabant aux XIIe et XIIIe s. Histoire religieuse et économique du monastère, in Annales de la Société archéologique de lArrondissement de Nivelles, revue trimestrielle de labbaye, Villers-la-Ville, asbl Abbaye de Villers-la-Ville, 1996- Villers Abbey official website Catholic Encyclopedia
34.
Monastery
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A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone. A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, a monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary. These may include a hospice, a school and a range of agricultural and manufacturing such as a barn. In English usage, the monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics, historically, a convent denoted a house of friars, now more commonly called a friary. Various religions may apply these terms in specific ways. The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, in England the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular, however, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster. Westminster Abbey was for a time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation. They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St Georges Chapel, in most of this article, the term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism, there is a more specific definition of the term. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara, viharas may be occupied by males or females, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple, in Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a monastery is called a wat, in Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung. A Christian monastery may be an abbey, or a priory and it may be a community of men or of women. A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order, in Eastern Christianity, a very small monastic community can be called a skete, and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra. The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the life of an anchorite. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha, mandir, koil, or most commonly an ashram, jains use the Buddhist term vihara
35.
Hemiksem
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Hemiksem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Hemiksem proper, on January 1,2010 Hemiksem had a total population of 10,166. The total area is 5.44 km² which gives a density of 1,868 inhabitants per km². It is renowned in Flanders for its Casa Blanca festival, witch at its peak had more than 80.000 visitors over three days. The most notable sight in Hemiksem is the 13th century St. Bernards Abbey, media related to Hemiksem at Wikimedia Commons Official website
36.
Berchem
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Berchem itself consists of three quarters, Oud Berchem, Groenenhoek and Nieuw Kwartier. Berchems total surface is over 1,500 acres, and it is inhabited by more than 40,000 citizens, after the decentralization of Antwerp in 2000, Berchem became a semi-independent district with its own legislative body, the so-called Districtsraad, and its own executive college. The District Council includes 25 members, directly elected for six-year terms by popular vote, the executive college comprises five Aldermen, including a District Mayor, who are installed by the District Council. The Zurenborg area hosts a concentration of Art Nouveau and other fin-de-siècle style townhouses. The main streets of interest are Cogels-Osylei, Transvaalstraat, and Waterloostraat, after the area was entitled for demolition in the 1960s to be replaced with a business and office complex, demolition could be prevented while the area got monumental status in the 1980s. In recent years, the became an attraction for architecture-minded visitors. The Driekoningenstraat - Statiestraat is the shopping and commercial area of Berchem. Though suffering competition from shopping centers, the retail highstreet still has an interesting mix of Belgian, local. The highstreet has recently been refurbished, giving space to pedestrians. The railway station of Antwerpen-Berchem, located within the district, is the second largest station in the city of Antwerp, with a few exceptions, such as the Thalys high-speed train, almost all trains stopping in Antwerp have a stop at Antwerpen-Berchem station. As of 2016 the Taiwanese airline EVA Air provides shuttle bus services to and from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from Berchem, the service is co-operated with Reizen Lauwers NV. Berchem District Official Webpage Greater Antwerp Official Webpage
37.
Renesse Castle
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The Castle de Renesse is a castle located in the village of Oostmalle, in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp. It is currently owned by the municipality of Malle, in 1374 Jan van Harduemont sold his domain in Oostmalle to Costijn van Berchem, a descendant of Arnoldus Berchthout, who lived near Antwerp. Willem van Berchem, who lived at Wommelgem, built a castle at Oostmalle between 1431 and 1464. He was married to Mechtildis Cock van Werdenborgh, in 1459 his daughter Elisabeth married Wouter van Hamal, who thereby inherited the Oostmalle domain, and added vast property in Limburg and Liege. On 30 November 1501, their daughter Anna van Hamal married Frederik van Renesse, descendant of a Diederick VI, 12th count of Holland and he was Drossaard of Diest and Breda, Councilor of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and stadtholder of the Netherlands, Zeeland and Friesland. After his death in 1538, he was succeeded by his son Jan van Renesse who married Elisabeth van Nassau, a daughter of Hendrik van Nassau. In 1542, William Duke of Guelder rose against Emperor Charles V and his troops were led by Maarten van Rossum, notorious for his pillage of the Campine region. The village of Oostmalle and most of the castle were burned to ashes, only the main tower of the castle and the church tower of Oostmalle remained intact. A new castle was built after the destruction of the original van Berchem castle, the remaining tower was incorporated in the horseshoe-shaped service buildings, and a bridge connected the neerhof with the opperhof. The main building of the castle was built as a square with four towers at each corner, the roof was covered with tiles and the towers with gold coloured slate. Some famous guests who stayed at the castle were emperor Charles V, Margaret of Parma, Lamoral, Count of Egmont and his wife, William I of Orange-Nassau, on 28 July 1561, Frederik van Renesse succeeded his father as Lord of Oostmalle, he married Helena Torck. The struggle between the Protestant north of the Netherlands and the Spanish-controlled Southern Netherlands, left its marks on the region, the occupation of the castle during the Eighty Years War by soldiers did no good to the state of the castle. Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba even confiscated the property of Frederik van Renesse for a while, willem van Renesse, married to Margaretha van der Aa van Renesse, son of Frederik, was the last occupant of the castle. After he died in 1630, the moved to Elderen in Limburg. In 1700, Count Francis Hyacinthus van Renesse, allowed secretary Peter De Jonghe to live in the service building, around 1730 Frans Lambrechts van Renesse married Carolina van Breidbach Burrescheim. Over the years, the building decayed slowly, because of a lack of funding for maintenance. In 1729, N. Spirlet became scout, stadtholder and steward of Oostmalle, Spirlet did his best to manage the property as well as possible, but eventually, without success. In 1793, the building of the castle was demolished
38.
Feudalism
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Feudalism was a combination of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour, since the publication of Elizabeth A. R. There is no commonly accepted definition of feudalism, at least among scholars. Since the publication of Elizabeth A. R, outside a European context, the concept of feudalism is often used only by analogy, most often in discussions of feudal Japan under the shoguns, and sometimes medieval and Gondarine Ethiopia. The term feudalism has also been applied—often inappropriately or pejoratively—to non-Western societies where institutions, the term féodal was used in 17th-century French legal treatises and translated into English legal treatises as an adjective, such as feodal government. In the 18th century, Adam Smith, seeking to describe systems, effectively coined the forms feudal government. In the 19th century the adjective feudal evolved into a noun, the term feudalism is recent, first appearing in French in 1823, Italian in 1827, English in 1839, and in German in the second half of the 19th century. The term feudal or feodal is derived from the medieval Latin word feodum, the etymology of feodum is complex with multiple theories, some suggesting a Germanic origin and others suggesting an Arabic origin. Initially in medieval Latin European documents, a grant in exchange for service was called a beneficium. Later, the term feudum, or feodum, began to replace beneficium in the documents, the first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one-hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, the most widely held theory is put forth by Marc Bloch. Bloch said it is related to the Frankish term *fehu-ôd, in which means cattle and -ôd means goods. This was known as feos, a term that took on the meaning of paying for something in lieu of money. This meaning was then applied to itself, in which land was used to pay for fealty. Thus the old word feos meaning movable property changed little by little to feus meaning the exact opposite and this Germanic origin theory was also shared by William Stubbs in the 19th century. Another theory was put forward by Archibald R. Lewis, Lewis said the origin of fief is not feudum, but rather foderum, the earliest attested use being in Astronomuss Vita Hludovici. In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious that says annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant, another theory by Alauddin Samarrai suggests an Arabic origin, from fuyū. Samarrais theory is that early forms of fief include feo, feu, feuz, feuum and others, indeed, the first use of these terms is in Languedoc, one of the least Germanic areas of Europe and bordering Muslim Spain
39.
Van Renesse
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Van Renesse is an old Dutch aristocratic family that stems from the town of Renesse in Zeeland. There is some debate regarding the origin of the family, some claim that they are the Renesse family was a branch of the German Sayn dynasty. The family played an important role as lords and guardians of the Castle of Moermond in Zeeland, the oldest members of the van Renesse family appeared in the 13th century. In the course of Dutch history, the played a prominent role. The Walloon branch van Renesse van Elderen and a German branch von Renesse survived until modern times, the Renesse coat of arms is depicted in the medieval Gelre Armorial. Camille of Renesse-Breidbach, Belgian writer and entrepreneur, robbert van Renesse, computer science researcher Genealogy of the Renesse family
40.
Charles II, Duke of Guelders
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Charles II was a member of the House of Egmond who ruled as Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1492 until his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catharine of Bourbon and he had a principal role in the Frisian peasant rebellion and the Guelders Wars. Charles was born either at Arnhem or at Grave, Netherlands and raised at the Burgundian court of Charles the Bold and he fought in several battles against the armies of Charles VIII of France, until he was captured in the Battle of Béthune in 1487. King Maximilian subsequently managed to acquire the Burgundian lands for the Habsburgs by marriage, in 1492, the citizens of Guelders, disenchanted with Maximilians rule, ransomed Charles and recognized him as their Duke. Charles was supported by the French King, but in 1505, Charles had to accompany Philip to Spain to attend Philips coronation as King of Castile but at Antwerp, Charles managed to escape. Shortly afterwards, Philip died in Spain and by July 1513 Charles had regained control over the whole of Guelders. In his conflict with the Habsburgs, Charles also became a player behind the scenes of the Frisian peasant rebellion. After the tides turned against the rebels, Charles stopped his support, the Duke, who at the time did not have any children, delayed signing the treaty. Another battle ensued, after which the passage was removed from the treaty, in 1536 there was finally peace between Guelders and Burgundy with the Treaty of Grave. Charles died at Arnhem, and is buried in the St. Eusebius Church there, in 1519, Charles married young Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Charles however fathered several illegitimate children and his only legitimate sister, Philippa, survived him and died during the reign of her great-grandson, Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
41.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Charles V was ruler of both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. He voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556, through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four square kilometers and were the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets. Charles was the heir of three of Europes leading dynasties, the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg, and Trastámara and he inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited Austria and he was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, the personal union, under Charles, of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire resulted in the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious. France recovered and the wars continued for the remainder of Charless reign, enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios. The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in Hungary and the Mediterranean, after seizing most of eastern and central Hungary in 1526, the Ottomans’ advance was halted at their failed Siege of Vienna in 1529. A lengthy war of attrition, conducted on his behalf by his younger brother Ferdinand, in the Mediterranean, although there were some successes, Charles was unable to prevent the Ottomans’ increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary Corsairs. Charles opposed the Reformation and in Germany he was in conflict with the Protestant Princes of the Schmalkaldic League who were motivated by religious and political opposition to him. Once the rebellions were quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule, Charles’s Spanish dominions were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec, Castillian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast expansion of territory and the flows of South American silver to Castile had profound long term effects on Spain. Charles was only 56 when he abdicated, but after 34 years of rule he was physically exhausted and sought the peace of a monastery. Upon Charles’s abdications, the Holy Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother Ferdinand, the Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and Italy, was inherited by Charles’s son Philip II. The two empires would remain allies until the 18th century, Charles was born in 1500 as the eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile in the Flemish city of Ghent, which was part of the Habsburg Netherlands. The culture and courtly life of the Burgundian Low Countries were an important influence in his early life and he was tutored by William de Croÿ, and also by Adrian of Utrecht. He also gained a decent command of German, though he never spoke it as well as French, a witticism sometimes attributed to Charles is, I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse
42.
Maarten van Rossum
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Maarten van Rossum was a Dutch military tactician who became field marshal in the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders. Van Rossum was born in Zaltbommel and his parents, Johan van Rossum, lord of Rossum and Johanna van Hemert probably married before 1478 and were part of the lower nobility around Bommelerwaard. During his life Maarten acquired the titles of lord of Poederoijen, Cannenburgh, Lathum, Baer and Bredevoort, field marshal of Guelders and he is known to have been an experienced commander and is renowned for actions while serving Charles of Guelders in his Guelders Wars against Charles V. He is also known for his participation in the sack of The Hague in 1528, after the Duchy of Guelders was defeated, he simply switched sides, and started working for Charles V, his former enemy. In the spring of 1555 he became ill, possibly infected with the Black Death or typhus in the city of Charlemont. He died in Antwerp on June 7,1555, and his body was buried at his birthplace and he featured as an antagonist in the 1960s Dutch TV series Floris. Verzameld verleden by Els Kloek, published by Verloren in 2004
43.
Eighty Years' War
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The Eighty Years War or Dutch War of Independence was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces against the political and religious hegemony of Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. After the initial stages, Philip II deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebelling provinces, under the leadership of the exiled William the Silent, the northern provinces continued their resistance. They eventually were able to oust the Habsburg armies, and in 1581 they established the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, after a 12-year truce, hostilities broke out again around 1619 which can be said to coincide with the Thirty Years War. An end was reached in 1648 with the Peace of Münster, in the decades preceding the war, the Dutch became increasingly discontented with Habsburg rule. A major cause of discontent was heavy taxation imposed on the population, while support. At that time, the Seventeen Provinces were known in the empire as De landen van herwaarts over, the presence of Spanish troops, under the command of the Duke of Alba, brought in to oversee order, further amplified this unrest. Spain also attempted a policy of religious uniformity for the Catholic Church within its domains. The Reformation meanwhile produced a number of Protestant denominations, which gained followers in the Seventeen Provinces and these included the Lutheran movement of Martin Luther, the Anabaptist movement of the Dutch reformer Menno Simons, and the Reformed teachings of John Calvin. This growth lead to the 1566 Beeldenstorm, the Iconoclastic Fury which saw many churches in northern Europe stripped of their Catholic statuary, in October 1555, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire began the gradual abdication of his several crowns. The balance of power was heavily weighted toward the local and regional governments, Philip did not govern in person but appointed Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy as governor-general to lead the central government. When Philip left for Spain in 1559 political tension was increased by religious policies, not having the liberal-mindedness of his father Charles V, Philip was a fervent enemy of the Protestant movements of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Anabaptists. Towards the end of Charles reign enforcement had become lax. Philip, however, insisted on rigorous enforcement, which caused widespread unrest, the new hierarchy was to be headed by Granvelle as archbishop of the new archdiocese of Mechelen. The reform was unpopular with the old church hierarchy, as the new dioceses were to be financed by the transfer of a number of rich abbeys. Granvelle became the focus of the opposition against the new governmental structures, after the recall of Granvelle, Orange persuaded Margaret and the Council to ask for a moderation of the placards against heresy. Philip delayed his response, and in this interval the opposition to his religious policies gained more widespread support, Philip finally rejected the request for moderation in his Letters from the Segovia Woods of October 1565. This Compromise of Nobles was supported by about 400 nobles, both Catholic and Protestant, and was presented to Margaret on 5 April 1566, impressed by the massive support for the compromise, she suspended the placards, awaiting Philips final ruling. The first half of the Eighty Years War between the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic was fought between 1566 and 1609, when the Twelve Years Truce was signed in 1609, ending this first phase of war, the northern Netherlands had achieved de facto independence
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Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
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Habsburg Spain
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Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. The Habsburg rulers reached the zenith of their influence and power and this period of Spanish history has also been referred to as the Age of Expansion. The Habsburg years were also a Spanish Golden Age of cultural efflorescence, in some cases, these individual kingdoms themselves were confederations, most notably, the Crown of Aragon. Isabella and Ferdinand were bestowed the title of Most Catholic Monarchs by Pope Alexander VI in 1496, the Habsburg period is formative of the notion of Spain in the sense that was institutionalized in the 18th century. Her husband Philip I was the Habsburg son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, shortly thereafter Joanna began to lapse into insanity, though how mentally ill she actually was the topic of some debate. In 1506, Philip I was declared jure uxoris king, but he died later that year under mysterious circumstances, possibly poisoned by his father-in-law, Ferdinand II. Since their oldest son Charles was only six, the Cortes reluctantly allowed Joannas father Ferdinand II to rule the country as the regent of Joanna, Spain was now in personal union under Ferdinand II of Aragon. He also attempted to enlarge Spains sphere of influence in Italy, as ruler of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and the Republic of Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. The war was less of a success than that against Venice, Ferdinand would die later that year. Ferdinands death led to the ascension of young Charles to the throne as Charles I of Castile and Aragon and his Spanish inheritance included all the Spanish possessions in the New World and around the Mediterranean. Upon the death of his Habsburg father in 1506, Charles had inherited the Netherlands and Franche-Comté, in 1519, with the death of his paternal grandfather Maximilian I, Charles inherited the Habsburg territories in Germany, and was duly elected as Holy Roman Emperor that year. At that point, Emperor and King Charles was the most powerful man in Christendom, the accumulation of so much power by one man and one dynasty greatly concerned Francis I of France, who found himself surrounded by Habsburg territories. In 1521 Francis invaded the Spanish possessions in Italy and Navarre, the war was a disaster for France, which suffered defeats at Biccoca, Pavia, and Landriano before Francis relented and abandoned Milan to Spain once more. Charless victory at the Battle of Pavia surprised many Italians and Germans, Pope Clement VII switched sides and now joined forces with France and prominent Italian states against the Habsburg Emperor, in the War of the League of Cognac. Henry VIII of England, who bore a grudge against France than he held against the Emperor for standing in the way of his divorce. Although the Spanish army was defeated at the Battle of Ceresole, in Savoy Henry fared better. The Austrians, led by Charless younger brother Ferdinand, continued to fight the Ottomans in the east, with France defeated, Charles went to take care of an older problem, the Schmalkaldic League. The Protestant Reformation had begun in Germany in 1517, the German Peasants War broke out in Germany in 1524 and ravaged the country until it was brutally put down in 1526, Charles, even as far away from Germany as he was, was committed to keeping order
France: Saint-Savin
Germany: Heusenstamm
Poland: Zakrzówek, Lublin Voivodeship
United Kingdom: Hartley Wintney
Malle
