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My Sweet Belgium, Berloz (2024)

15/05/2023

Neither church nor castle, what is the role of this building? 🤔⬇️

This superb neo-Gothic building is the former post office of Liège, better known as the "Grand Poste".

In 1895, after many ups and downs and abandoned projects, the town council authorised the construction of a post office in the Chafour district, which was not doing well, particularly due to hygiene and moral problems.

The district was razed to the ground, the architect Edmon Jamar, a citizen of Liège, was chosen to design the new building, and the post office was built between 1898 and 1901 at a time when the sending of postal mail was booming.

After several postponements, it officially opened on 16 December 1901. This was particularly opportune as the city was preparing to host the World Fair, which was due to open in 1903, and visitors were expected to send many postcards.

Fortunately, the city had a modern and big enough post office for the occasion, because the World's Fair, which was finally held in 1905, welcomed more than 7 million visitors!

In 1914, the First World War broke out and in August the main gate was demolished by the German army. Postal services could not resume until October. However, mail sent from Liège was opened by the Germans, who required the sender's details to be given and German stamps to be used.

In 1940, the "Grand Poste" was damaged by the destruction of a bridge and the explosion of bombs on the Cockerill square. 💣

In the early 2000s, the building was disused, but its roof and facades were listed. Several rehabilitation projects followed, and in 2021, the Grand Poste finally reopened its doors. It now houses offices, restaurants and a traditional brewery because... Beligium you know 🤷‍♀️

So, would you have guessed that this building is a former post office building? 🤔

08/05/2023

Art and nature lovers, the Boverie is the perfect place for you! ⬇️

In the previous publication, I told you about the origins of the Boverie up until the World Fair of Liege in 1905.

After its closure in November 1905, the palace of fine arts (since the name Boverie was not given to it until much later) retained its role and various exhibitions were held there.

In 1930, on the occasion of the centenary of its independence, Belgium organised two major international exhibitions, one of which was held in Liege. Once again, la Boverie’s park hosted the event. The second international exhibition was held in Antwerp.

From 1951, the palace of fine arts housed several collections of the museum of fine arts, whose building was destroyed in 1970. It was then transferred to the palace of fine arts inla Boverie’s park, which was renamed the Museum of Modern Art in 1980.

From 1988 to 1993, the old palace underwent major renovations and was renamed the Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art, which closed its doors in 2011 to undergo further renovations.

It was at the end of these new works that the palace took on its current name: “la Boverie” was born and inaugurated in 2016.

Since then, the museum has regularly hosted new exhibitions in addition to its permanent collections. And it was in the context of the "Private Views" exhibition, which I was invited to discover at the end of last month, that I was able to visit la Boverie and its beautiful park. 🌳

"Private Views" gathers the works of private collectors coming from Liège, and is held at la Boverie until 13 August 2023.

Of course, the park is accessible all year round, and it's a place where you'll be happy to rest or have a picnic 🥗🥖 in the middle of a day of discovering the city of Liege.

Do you know of any other places where you can combine exhibition/museum and nature? I look forward to your recommendations! ⬇️

🇧🇪

02/05/2023

The name of this superb building is derived from the French word for "ox" 🐂😆
It is called the Boverie, which takes its name from the Boverie park. The park, in turn, takes its name from the oxen that used to be found in this rural district, which was long formed of meadows, hop fields, and islands on the Meuse. "Bouverie" or "boverie" means "housing of the ox".
In 1853, in order to respond to the increase in population and the development of trade, which led to larger boats being used to transport goods, and to reduce the problems of epidemics, particularly cholera, the Meuse had to be diverted. A bypass canal was dug, and from then on, the district became more upscale.
In 1865, an acclimatization garden and a zoo were built. The entire complex covered only half the area of the present-day park.
In 1903, Liège was selected to host a World Fair. For this occasion, 70 hectares of the city were urbanized and several bridges were built, including the magnificent Fragnée Bridge, which was to serve as the entrance to the exhibition.
As the work was delayed, the Universal Exhibition in Liège had to be postponed until 1905, which was perfect timing as Belgium would be celebrating its 75th birthday that year.
The work continued, and a superb building was constructed in the Boverie park. At the time, this building was not yet called the Boverie, but the Palais des Beaux-Arts (palace of fine arts). It covered an area of 2,500 m² and could be adapted to the needs of the moment.
Finally, on April 27, 1905, the Liège Universal Exhibition opened its doors and presented 37 different countries to the public. It closed its doors in November of the same year after being a great success, as it allowed the city of Liège to welcome over 7 million visitors.
Of course, the story of the palace of fine arts, aka the Boverie, doesn't end with the closing of the Universal Exhibition, so I'll tell you the rest of it in my next post😉

Have you ever heard of the Boverie before? 🤔

29/04/2023

[Today in history]

On 29 April 1899, the Belgian engineer and racing driver Camille Jenatzy drove his electric car 'La jamais content' ("The never happy") over 100 km/h. It's the first vehicle to reach that speed.

22/04/2023

[Today in history]

On 22 April 1915, during the First World War, the German army used gas on a massive scale for the first time in an attack on the city of Ypres. (Ieper in Dutch)

17/04/2023

Today in history 📚🤓

On 17 April 1985, the Universal Exhibition opened its doors on the Heysel site.

Brussels had been chosen 5 years earlier to host this edition and the public was there, with more than 👏41 million 👏 entries.

15/04/2023

[Today in history]

On 15 April 1960, Philippe, the current King of the Belgians, was born.

Happy birthday to him!

15/04/2023

[Today in history]

On the night of 14 to 15 April 1912, the Titanic sank with 22 Belgians on board. One of them contributed to the legend of this tragedy.

Do you know why? 🤔⬇

13/04/2023

Do you like castles? 🏰

Here is a new picture of the Castle of Chimay to help you wait until the next “real” post (on Sunday). 😉

Who else loves exploring historical castles like this one? ⬇️

10/04/2023

Did you say "lime kiln"? 😶🌫️

To talk about the one that appears in this photo, we need to go back in time and talk about the Maffle quarries as a whole.

The history of the Maffle quarries goes back to the Middle Ages since small granite (blue stone) was already extracted there at that time.

Starting from the Belgian industrial revolution, which started in 1770, the quarries of Maffle allowed the village to develop economically.

The construction of a smaller lime kiln than the one in the photo would have been authorized either in this period or in 1826, whereas the kiln in the photo was built around 1885.

The kiln fired limestone waste at 1000°C to produce lime, a material used in construction and other applications.

Several companies have exploited the Maffle quarries.

The quarry known as the "Rivière quarry", where the lime kilns are located, was exploited by the Maison Pierre Rivière from 1825 to 1929 and was then taken over and abandoned by the company "Les Anciennes Carrières Rivière".

The quarry operated by Broquet & Cie, which extracted dressed stone, was still in operation during the second half of the 19th century and employed 170 to 225 workers! Stone extraction ceased in 1960.

Left abandoned, the quarries gradually returned to a wild state as nature reclaimed its rights. There are now hiking trails, and the Broquet quarry is completely covered by water, making it completely invisible.

Hikers are not the only ones enjoying their time there: you can also meet fishermen, and a diving club and a museum have been open for years now.
🇧🇪

09/04/2023

[Today in history]

On 9 April 1835, the future King Leopold II, son of Leopold I and his wife Louise-Marie, was born in Brussels.

08/04/2023

[Archives]

Have you heard of the smallest city in the world? 😍⏬

It's called Durbuy, and it's located in Belgium. Well, according to what we hear in Belgium almost every summer.

I'm a bit skeptical and wonder how they would verify the information, to be honest...

What I know for sure regarding Durbuy is what I saw with my own eyes when I visited it in 2020. So, that's what I'm gonna tell you about in this series about this charming town, which is tiny indeed.

I got to spend 2 lovely days there, between two lockdowns, with Jack (my dog), who was still alive at the time.

The pandemic reminded me of our need for freedom and discovering other environments. So, the charm of Durbuy had struck me even more than it probably would have under normal conditions.

Durbuy is a magical place and a perfect destination for the whole family, including dogs. Jack and I spent a lot of time there walking both in the old town and in the beautiful woods that border the city.

I hope you will enjoy discovering Durbuy with us in the few upco .

Have you ever heard of Durbuy before? Let me know in a comment 🙂⬇️

.ardenne

08/04/2023

[Today in history]

On 8 April 1875, Albert, the fifth child of King Leopold II's brother was born at the Regence Palace of Brussels.

Since the only son of Leopold II died at a very young age, Albert inherited the throne after the death of the king.

03/04/2023

The history of this church originates in the domain of the famous castle of Chimay, which I mentioned on 8 January.

Excavations carried out on the estate in 2004 revealed the existence of a church dating from around 887, probably built by Count Erlebold.

In the 10th century, King Otto I removed the Erlebolds from power and entrusted Chimay to the Allard family, who had a collegiate church built, also on the castle grounds.

It served as a private church and cemetery for the Allard family and its crypt contained the relics of Saint Monégonde. The family also created a chapter of canons who were installed in other buildings.

It was the successors of these canons who built the Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Chimay, a place of worship which is public and which you can see in the photo. This collegiate church dates from the 13th century, but some elements are more recent, such as its baroque tower dating from the middle of the 18th century.

Inside, there is still the superb mausoleum of Charles de Croÿ, the first Prince of Chimay and godfather of the famous Charles V, who died in 1527.

The collegiate church, together with what remains of the town walls, is the oldest building in Chimay still visible today.

🇧🇪

03/04/2023

[Today in history]

On 3 April 1812, Louise of Orleans was born in Palermo. She was to become the wife of Leopold I and, thus, our first queen.

01/04/2023

[Archives]

I finally take the time to finish this series of publications on the "Notre-Dame à la Rose" Hospital with some practical information:

The visit costs 13€ per adult and 8€ per child. Various discounts are available, and the visit is completely free for Museum Pass holders ( ).

The museum is open from Tuesday to Friday from 2pm to 6pm, as well as Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 2pm to 6:30pm.

The terrace opens at noon.

Dogs are allowed and tours with audio guides are available.

You can also check out their page for more photos and activities

If you visit this great site, feel free to tell me in comments what you think ⬇️

27/03/2023

A "young" chapel, as it is not yet a hundred years old! This is a rare thing on my page, but it is so beautiful that I had to show it to you.

Today, I'm going to tell you about the Sainte-Thérèse chapel, a chapel dedicated to Sainte-Thérèse of Lisieux. It is also known as the "Chapel of Buissonnets", after the house where the Saint grew up.

In 1925, Thérèse of Lisieux was canonised and during the First World War, more and more people venerated her.

The nuns of the "Ecole des Bateliers" of Namur, a school for the children of boatmen, placed a statue of Saint Theresa in a shelter, quickly attracting many pilgrims.

Some believers decided to create the non-profit organisation "Oeuvre des Bateliers", in order to build a chapel, and Sister Léontine, the mother superior of the Bateliers school, offered a piece of land for this purpose.

Donations, collections, and rummage sales were used to raise the funds.
The architect Albert Ghequiere was recruited (but he would work for free). The first stone was blessed and laid on Sunday, 9 May 1926, in the presence of more than 3,000 people, and construction was completed in 1928.

Two years after the laying of the foundation stone, the chapel was inaugurated on Sunday, 6 May 1928, in the presence of more than 7000 people.

🇧🇪

26/03/2023

[Today in history]

On 26 March 1918, Emiel Ferfaille, a criminal, was guillotined.

It was the last ex*****on under ordinary law in Belgium.
(Executions took place after WW II, they did not fall under ordinary law)

25/03/2023

[Archives]

How did the Hospice of Lessines become the "Hôpital Notre-Dame à la Rose" (Our Lady with the Rose's hospital) ? Thanks to a revolutionary dermatological product! At least, that's what we thought at the time...🤔

Last week, we had left the hospice of Lessines at the very beginning of their existence, in the 13th century.

They then developed, new buildings were built, and above all, centuries after centuries, they were able to follow the evolutions in the pharmaceutical, medical and surgical fields.

Little by little, men disappeared from the religious community at the head of Lessines' hospice and it was women, including the Lady Prioresses, who ensured the daily management of the hospice and enabled it to beat records of longevity. Among them, Sister Marie-Rose Carouy (see last pic).

In 1897, she created an antiseptic and healing remedy called Helkiase. It was made of mercury bichloride and was used to treat all kinds of skin problems (burns, eczema, ulcers, etc.). Helkiase was especially believed to reduce the number of amputations... Its success was dazzling, as newspapers and medical journals of the time testify. It is thought to have boosted the good reputation of the hospice of Lessines' sisters.

Marie-Rose Carouy apparently decided to rename the hospice of Lessines "Hôpital Notre-Dame à la rose" because it was a better selling point for her famous "miracle" product. A marketer before her time? 🤔 At least, that's what I like to think, being a marketer myself and having seen that the marketing was pretty well done for the time, from what I could see of it in Lessines and on the Internet.

Anyway, Helkiase was sold in different forms, including internationally, notably in India and the United States.

Its sale was stopped shortly before World War II. It is suspected to have had serious negative effects, without being certain...

22/03/2023

[Today in history]

On 22 march 2016, around 8 am, a double explosion at Brussels airport, followed an hour later by an explosion in a metro station, killed 31 people and injured more than 260.

The attacks are claimed by the Islamic State.

21/03/2023

[Today in history]

On 21 March 1846, Adolphe Sax, a Belgian, patented the "saxophone" in Paris.

20/03/2023

From a defensive tower to a belfry with a public clock. This is the history of this 7-century-old monument!

A tower was built in 1388 on the site of the old Saint-Jacques tower to reinforce the city walls, making it the highest and most important defensive tower of Namur.
From the 16th century onwards, its bell announced the opening and closing of the city gates.

In 1733, almost half of its height was removed, giving it its current height of 20 m.
It was not until 1746 that the tower became the town's belfry, replacing the church of Saint-Pierre-au-Château, which held this role until its destruction in a fire.

In the 18th century, the town wall was destroyed, but the belfry was preserved. At that time, its bells were also used to announce danger or to invite the town's notables to meet in case of emergency. The town archives were also stored here.

In 1841, a public clock was added.

In 1936, the belfry was listed as a monument and in 1999 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 2007, the first work was carried out on the tower, particularly on the roof, and 6 years later, the tower was listed as an exceptional heritage site in Wallonia.

In 2017, further renovation work was carried out.

Far from its past as an alarm bell, the belfry can now be heard ringing during more joyful events, such as the Walloon festivals.

🇧🇪

18/03/2023

Her late husband wanted to leave some money to the poor, she built them a hospice instead! 🏥⬇

I visited the hospital Our Lady with the Rose last year and finally decided to tell you about it.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Arnould IV of Oudenaarde was an important figure in his region: he was the Lord of several towns, including Lessines, and the personal adviser of Countess Jeanne of Constantinople. He was also the Grand Bailiff of Flanders (similar to a judge on a county level). 👨‍⚖️ ⚖️

In 1227, he married Alix of Rosoit, whose family originated from Picardy. She was also part of the high society at the time and had been a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of France, Blanche of Castille.

Once married, she went to the court of Jeanne de Constantinople to join her husband. Together, they will have two children: Maria and Jan.

In 1242, the king of France, Louis IX call on the lords who had signed a treaty of allegiance to help him during the war against the king of England. Arnould IV of Oudenaarde, who was then 60 years old, could not refuse to answer this call. He would never return from this war: wounded during the Battle of Taillebourg, he died a few weeks later.

🩺In his will, he had indicated that he wanted to leave a large sum to the poor. Instead of distributing the money, his wife decided to use it to build the hospice of Lessines to care for the poorest.

A religious community will manage the hospice of Lessines following the precepts of Saint Augustine (who insists on charity). And it's several centuries later that one of the mother superiors will rename the hospice of Lessines the hospital Our Lady with the Rose (A story I'll save for a future post!)

[ 📸The second photo shows a dish with the coat of arms of Alix de Rosoit, and the third photo is a medal (?) with the name of Arnould IV of Audenarde].

13/03/2023

A Canadian chapel in Belgium? The photo may be misleading! ⤵️

This little wooden chapel is strangely reminiscent of some North American chapels, at least that's what the inhabitants of Namur must think since they call it "the Canadian chapel".

Not much is known about its history. It was built in 1911 at the request of a prominent local landowner, the baron Fallon, in front of one of his properties.

It was then used as a Catholic place of worship and was abandoned in the 1970s.

In a letter to the parish priest of Loverval, Baron Fallon's grandson confirmed that his grandfather, after being charmed by chapels he saw during a trip to Canada, wanted to build a similar chapel in Namur. He also wrote that the plans were of Irish or Scottish origin and that a carpenter from the Ardennes had adjusted them.

Nevertheless, in 2007, the Orthodox Church of St Seraphim of Sarov moved in, and renovation was carried out.

And in 2021, it was a surprise! After publishing an article about the chapel on its website, the RTBF (a Belgian media) was contacted by an architect who, while researching a thesis, discovered, thanks to the Norwegian Heritage Directorate, which sent him plans, that the Canadian chapel... is Norwegian! 🙃

I rarely encounter so much difficulty in gathering information, especially on such a recent building, but I haven't found anything more about the "Canadian" chapel. If anyone has more information, I'm obviously interested 😉

In the meantime, do you find that the chapel rather looks Canadian or Norwegian? ⬇️

🇧🇪

11/03/2023

This last photo taken at the Mayor's Garden takes you on a journey to discover a local painter! 👨🎨⬇️

The first picture is one of Marcel Gillis (1897-1972) monument.

This painter was born in Mons and studied there at the Academy of Fine Arts. He mainly liked to paint landscapes and portraits.

Beyond the fact that he was himself a painter, he was also very active in the cultural life of the city: he was notably curator of the Mons Museum of Fine Arts (1928-1965), and participated during almost half a century in the development of the cultural activities of the city.

But all this are only words... there is in my opinion no better way to discover an artist than by discovering his work. That's why I took the liberty to add some of his paintings among my pictures, just after 2 other pictures of the Mayeur's gardens.

I already know which painting is my favourite, but I would be curious to know yours. Don't hesitate to tell me in the comment section and to like the publication if you want to discover more "local artists" through my publications!

My Sweet Belgium

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