Tuesday, October 16, 2012

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.
                               











11 comments:

A Lady's Life said...

Oh this is fabulous!!
The horses must love wearing the outfits They know they are being showed and they like it. :)
The knights are very nice as well.

I think there is a restaurant where they have this show while you eat.
Its a lot of fun.

Anonymous said...

What fun shots of the knights!

diane b said...

What a fabulous event. The costumes and color is so authentic. It must be a great experience to take part and to watch. Great shots too.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Wow what an amazing way to keep in touch with the history and heritage! The participants really go to a lot of work..so interesting. Your pictures are beautiful.

Loree said...

What a wonderful festival. The architecture of the Grand Place is quite stunning.

SandyCarlson said...

That looks like an incredible experience. Your photos have me feeling like I was there.

jabblog said...

What a colourful and fascinating pageant:-)

claudie said...

there are always interesting events on the Grand Place! I saw the carpet last august and here the Grand Place is covered with sand!!! Marvelous medieval show!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

This was how Mr. G won your heart, a galliant knight on a white horse.

Hazel said...

The medieval history lover in me enjoyed the photos and story very much, thank you. I would love to watch a show like this live one day. 'Ommegang" is probably my first ever Belgian word, except the chocolates. Yum!

Mildred said...

Very nice shots and information about this cool medieval event!
Thanks for sharing.

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I love writing, traveling and photography. . I am German, i live in Waterloo (15 km from Brussels) / Belgium since many years. Waterloo is a famous place to many tourists, because Napoleon lost his battle here against Wellington and other European countries.

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