Showing posts with the label Belgium

The 17th Century Astronomer Who Designed The First Steam-Powered Vehicle in History

Apr 20, 2022

On October 9, 1623 Ferdinand Verbiest was born in the town of Pittem (present-day Belgium). Of his early years it is only known that he stud...

The Lost Villages of The Port of Antwerp

Nov 21, 2020

In the middle of the Port of Antwerp, in Belgium, surrounded by an endless sea of shipping containers, stands an old church tower on a small...

Vinkensport: Belgium’s Competitive Bird Calling

Sep 4, 2020

In the Flanders region of Belgium, a favorite pastime among the old Dutch-speaking folks is raising and training the common chaffinch ( Frin...

Vennbahn: The Railway That Created a Peculiar Border Problem

May 14, 2020

Germany and Belgium’s border problem. Photo: gunnsteinlye/Flickr Along the German-Belgian border runs an old disused railway track, the ...

Hellburner: The 16th Century Weapon of Mass Destruction

Jun 29, 2019

In the age of sail, when ships were made of wood, fire was the number one enemy of sailors, and this fearsome tool was used in diabolic ways...

Cycling Through Water

May 8, 2019

Through a large pond in the De Wijers nature reserve in Limburg, Belgium, runs a cycling lane that goes right through the waters instead of ...

Ugly Belgian Houses

Apr 18, 2019

There is a near universal appeal among Belgians to build their own house, which is reflected in the popular saying—“every Belgian is born wi...

Gyrobus: The Flywheel-Powered Public Transportation

Feb 5, 2019

Back in the 1940s, Swiss engineers developed a new kind of zero-emission electric bus that used a large spinning flywheel to store energy ra...

The Mines of Messines Ridge

Oct 26, 2018

About 8 kilometers south of Ypres, in the middle of a farm, is a small green pond known as the “Pool of Peace”, but its creation was a rathe...

Damme Canal: The Canal That Napoleon Built To Avoid The British Navy

Oct 26, 2018

A popular way to see the beautiful city of Bruges in Belgium is from a boat cruising along the city’s many canals. The historic city center ...

The Horseback Fishermen of Oostduinkerke

Sep 18, 2018

On the western end of Belgium’s short coastline, about 20 km east of Dunkirk, France, is a place called Oostduinkerke (meaning “East Dunkirk...

Kattenstoet: The Cat Throwing Festival

Jul 25, 2017

For the last sixty years, the city of Ypres in Belgium has held a popular “Cat Parade” that draws visitors from around the country. Kattenst...

World’s Most Beautiful And Outstanding Piers

Jan 20, 2016

Piers were originally built for the purpose of getting people and cargo from the boat to the shore without getting their feet wet, before th...

20 Most Beautiful Observation Towers

Dec 9, 2015

Observation Tower in Jurmala, Latvia “The Observation Tower in Jurmala” is located within the Dzintaru Park in Jurmala, Latvia. The 38-mete...

The Lion’s Mound at The Battlefield of Waterloo

Sep 7, 2015

The historic Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, took place near the town of Waterloo, in present day Belgium, in the municipalities of Bra...

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Around the World

Jul 11, 2015

Throughout history, thousands of wars have been fought and millions of soldiers have lost their lives, but only an insignificant fraction of...

The Comic Book Route in Brussels

Jun 29, 2015

The Comic Book Route in Brussels is a path that takes you along several walls and buildings throughout the inner city of Brussels as well as...

Strépy-Thieu Boat Lift

Jun 5, 2015

For as long as one can remember, the people of Belgium wanted to have an inland waterway that connected the Meuse river with the Scheldt riv...

The Peeing Statues of Brussels

Dec 9, 2014

One of the most iconic symbols of Brussels is not a majestic bridge or a tower or a cathedral, but a tiny statue of a little boy happily pis...

Hallerbos, The Blue Forest of Belgium

Jun 12, 2014

Located just at the boundary of Flanders and Wallonia, in the municipality of Halle, about 30 minutes south of Brussels, lies the forest of ...