The Flemish Region is the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium, home to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven, Mechelen, Hasselt, Ypres and the North Sea coast.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Flemish Region.
-
1
Roman Conquest
Julius Caesar conquers the Belgae; Tongeren (Atuatuca Tungrorum) becomes the region's oldest town.
-
2
County of Flanders
Baldwin Iron Arm becomes the first Count of Flanders.
-
3
Battle of the Golden Spurs
Flemish militias defeat French knights at Kortrijk; 11 July is now the Flemish holiday.
-
4
Ghent Altarpiece
Jan and Hubert van Eyck's Adoration of the Mystic Lamb is installed in Ghent's St John's Church (now St Bavo's Cathedral).
-
5
Fall of Antwerp
Spanish forces retake Antwerp; the Scheldt is closed and the Dutch Republic diverts trade.
-
6
Rubens and the Baroque
Peter Paul Rubens runs a major studio in Antwerp until 1640.
-
7
French and Dutch rule
Flanders is annexed by France, then joined with the Netherlands.
-
8
Belgian Revolution
Belgium declares independence; Leopold I becomes king in 1831.
-
9
World War I
The Ypres Salient and Passchendaele (1917) cause immense casualties.
-
10
World War II
Occupation and Liberation; Fort Breendonk is used as a prison camp.
-
11
Flemish Region and Community
Belgium's federal reforms create the Flemish Region and Community.
-
12
Bruges UNESCO inscription
Bruges historic centre is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
-
13
WWI sites inscribed
Funerary and Memorial Sites of the First World War (Western Front) are inscribed, including Flemish sites.
Historical sites
Places where Flemish Region's past comes alive.
Menin Gate Memorial
WWI memorial inscribed with the names of over 54,000 Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave.
Where: Ypres
Admission: Free
Tyne Cot Cemetery
Largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world, part of the UNESCO Funerary and Memorial Sites of WWI (2023).
Where: Zonnebeke
Admission: Free
In Flanders Fields Museum and Cloth Hall
Medieval cloth hall rebuilt from rubble after 1914-18, now a WWI museum.
Where: Ypres
Admission: approx EUR 14 (approx USD 16)
Gravensteen
Moated castle built by Count Philip of Alsace around 1180.
Where: Ghent
Admission: approx EUR 14 (approx USD 16)
Plantin-Moretus Museum
UNESCO-listed printing house with the world's oldest surviving printing presses.
Where: Antwerp
Admission: approx EUR 12 (approx USD 14)
Begijnhof of Bruges
UNESCO-listed beguinage founded in 1244 for lay religious women.
Where: Bruges
Admission: Free (courtyard)
Basilica of the Holy Blood
Two-level chapel dedicated to a relic of the Holy Blood.
Where: Bruges
Admission: Free (museum approx EUR 5, approx USD 6)
Gruuthusemuseum
Palace of the Lords of Gruuthuse housing decorative arts and a private oratory into the Church of Our Lady.
Where: Bruges
Admission: approx EUR 14 (approx USD 16)
St Rumbold's Cathedral
Gothic cathedral and UNESCO-listed belfry tower with a carillon.
Where: Mechelen
Admission: Church free; tower approx EUR 10 (approx USD 11.50)
Leuven Town Hall
Late-Gothic town hall by Matheus de Layens with 236 statues added in the 19th century.
Where: Leuven
Admission: approx EUR 7 (approx USD 8)
Gallo-Roman Museum Tongeren
Museum of Atuatuca Tungrorum, Belgium's oldest city; Roman walls also stand in town.
Where: Tongeren
Admission: approx EUR 9 (approx USD 10)
Fort Breendonk
Nazi prison camp and national memorial near Mechelen.
Where: Puurs-Sint-Amands
Admission: approx EUR 12 (approx USD 14)
Het Steen
Medieval fortress on the Scheldt, the oldest remaining part of Antwerp's old town.
Where: Antwerp
Admission: Free (exterior)