BRUSSELS - The Ommegang

 Each year in July a very important and really spectacular show takes places in the center of Brussels :
 "The Ommegang" which litterally means " "walking around"! It remains the oldest historical ceremony of the immaterial inheritance of Brussels and gives you breathtaking folklore, magic and animations.

More than 1400 performers help to relive a history (1549, the procession of Charles Quint)

A whole medieval village was created at Place du Grand Sablon, and I went there in the afternoon to see the Knights combating on foot and horses, and falconry.

In the evening you could see the reconstitution of that memorable day of 2nd June 1549, when Charles Quint arrived.



The Grand'Place in the afternoon, when the tribunes were put up



on both sides of the place, there was also a place for the Royal family, but only the Queen widow Fabiaola attended the show this year.



The afternoon started well with this huge beer barrel



The Place Sablon was covered with sand for the horse show and the knights fights



They prepare and dress in this heavy armors



In case a horseshoe is not fitting or missing





Not so easy to wear !





Some chats before the start



and here we go !







You will loose !



He lost !

Then started the horse show



They were dressed in these old costumes



arriving














and walk around the whole place




The start


and go !

In the evening on the Grand'Place was then the historical reconstitution.



I choose some pictures I found on Internet, just to show you how it looked like

and this is a video which really shows you how very special the Ommegang is.
                               

BRUSSELS - THE "ROUGE CLOÎTRE"

There are so many forests and parks in and around Brussels, that I think in the 53 years I am living here I haven't seen them all ! This time I wanted to rediscover the Abbaye du Rouge-Cloître. It is an Augustinian abbey in Auderghem, one of the 19 municipalities of Brussels located on the edge of the Forêt de Soignes (Sonian Forest). It was founded in 1367.



Above you can see how it looked when it was still occupied by the monks. Below an air view how it looks today, and as I remember it when I had been there the last time in the 70th ! There was still a hotel restaurant. Today this part has become an Art center.

Everything, from its buildings to ponds, takes you to the past: the enclosure, the priory of the abbey of the 18th century, the old priory farm, a nice square building with one floor, the old outbuildings with their ring, and the miller's house, they are a meeting point for painters.

The Legend says that all of the paths in the Forêt de Soignes lead to the Rouge-Cloître ! On 6 hectares, the Rouge-Cloître site offers its gardens and two walks, respectively called forest walk and lakeside walk to the public.

Today the Abbey of Rouge-Cloître (Red Cloister) is also an art center where exhibitions and workshops take place.




the entrance over a bridge



through this door



The guard house (I think)



the inside court of the cloister



the cloister



the Farm buildings





it also had the "farm" smell





another part of the farm house



Inside here is a little restaurant, where you can have cold or warm meals or just a coffee or a drink.



There were quiet a lot of people who had a coffee and cake or a wafel







the other side of the cloister



A painting and gravure workshop



Sculpture workshop and handmade jewelery



the horse stables (without horses)



It was locked, I don't know where the horses were



But you could see the carriages









and the beautiful park and woods around the cloister.