Aalst, Belgium
Aalst | |
---|---|
City and municipality | |
Location in Belgium
Location of Aalst in East Flanders CD&V | |
Area | |
• Total | 78.66 km2 (30.37 sq mi) |
Population (2022-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 88,854 |
• Density | 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi) |
Postal codes | 9300, 9308, 9310, 9320 |
NIS code | 41002 |
Area codes | 053 |
Website | www.aalst.be |
Aalst (Dutch pronunciation:
History
The first historical records on Aalst date from the 9th century, when it was described as the villa Alost, a dependency of the Abbey of Lobbes. During the Middle Ages, a town and port grew at this strategic point, where the road from Bruges to Cologne crossed the Dender. While it was within the Holy Roman Empire it was considered the capital of the province of Flanders.[3] In 1046, Aalst was transferred to the Countship of Imperial Flanders, and absorbed a portion of Brabant, and in 1173 it was united with the remainder of the Flanders province.[3] Its frontier position on the border of the Holy Roman Empire allowed the town to keep a certain degree of independence. Its relation with Brabant has been preserved in the city's white and red coat of arms, the colours of Lotharingia.
Construction of the town hall began in the middle of the 12th century,
Aalst suffered considerably under the
Economy
The
Carnival
Aalst is known for its carnival festivities, celebrated every year before Lent. During this celebration, the former town hall belfry is the site of the traditional "throwing of the onions".[12] A Prince Carnival is elected, who is allowed to "rule" the city for three days. A big parade crosses the city on Sunday, with about 70 groups of costumed volunteers and parade cars. Carnival Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday (by tradition, the day before Ash Wednesday), is known as the day of the 'Voil Jeannetten' (literally: "the Dirty Jennies"), i.e., men dressed as women. The festivities traditionally end with the "Burning of the Doll", happening on Tuesday evening. In recent years the carnival has been accused of anti-Semitism due to the repeated use of derogatory imagery against Jews.[13][14]
Controversy
In December 2019, anticipating
In
In the media
The Belgian TV police drama, 13 Geboden (13 Commandments) was filmed in Aalst.[citation needed]
The Belgian historical drama Thieves of the Wood is set in and around Aalst.[22]
The movie Daens is set in Aalst, it's about Adolf Daens. It's directed by Stijn Coninx.
The movie Niet Schieten also by Stijn Coninx is set and filmed in Aalst.
Sites of interest
- The 15th-century Aldermen's House, it was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999 (part of Belfries of Belgium and France).
- The famous "unfinished" St. Martin's Collegiate Church, in Gothic style, dates back to 1480. It contains a painting by Rubens, Saint Roch beseeching Christ to terminate the Plague at Aalst, and it also has a tabernacle (dated 1605), which features sculptures made by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder , whose most famous creation is Manneken Pis. This church was damaged in 1914.[3]
- The statue of Dirk Martens (1450–1534),[3] first printer in the Netherlands.[12]
- The old breweries that grow their own hops.[3]
- The Town square has a gallery with a second statue of Martens along with Charles V.[8]
- The city's park.
- The 19th century Neo-Gothic church Saint-Joseph.
- The 19th century Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Meuleschettekapel.
-
Belfry of Aalst
-
Saint Martin's Church
-
Terlinden castle
-
Saint-Joseph Church (Aalst)
-
Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Meuleschettekapel
Notable inhabitants
- Louis Paul Boon (1912–1979), writer and journalist
- Franz Cumont (1868–1947), archeologist, historian, and philologist
- Adolf Daens (1839–1907), priest and politician
- Mark De Bie (born 1939), television writer
- Pieter De Bruyne (1931–1987), designer and interior architect
- Valerius De Saedeleer(1867–1941), painter
- Geert De Vlieger (born 1971), football goalkeeper
- Louis D'Haeseleer (1911–1988), politician
- Remco Evenepoel (born 2000), professional cyclist
- Bert Kruismans, (born 1966), stand-up comedian
- Herman Le Compte (1929–2008), physician, gerontologist
- Luc Luycx (born 1958), designer of the common side of the euro coins
- Dirk Martens (c. 1446 – 1534), the first book printer in the Southern Netherlands
- Monika Triest (born 1941) founder of women's studies programs at the University of Cincinnati and University of Amsterdam
- Ilse Uyttersprot (1967–2020), mayor of Aalst
- Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502–1550), painter, sculptor and architect
- Luc Van den Bossche (born 1947), socialist politician
- Peter Van Der Heyden(born 1976), Belgian and international footballer
- Patrick Van Goethem (born 1969), countertenor
- Gonda Van Steen (born 1964), classical scholar
- Dimitri Verhulst (born 1972), writer and poet
- Sébastien Verhulst (1907–1944), Belgian international footballer
- Wilfried Wesemael (born 1950), cyclist
Transport
Symbols
Flag
Description: A rectangle of proportions 2:3, with three vertical bands of red, white and yellow, with a red sword in the middle band pointing upwards. In Dutch: "Drie even lange banen van rood, van wit en van geel, met op het wit een rood zwaard paalsgewijze geplaatst."
Heraldic blazon: Terciated by pale Gules, Argent and Or, a sword of the first pointing upwards.
Coat of arms
Those arms were granted in 1819 and confirmed on 6 February 1841. The oldest known seals of Aalst (13th–14th centuries) show a knight holding a sword in one hand and the Flemish banner in the other, but there is a seal dated 1237 showing the banner with the sword, and even an older seal, dated 1174, with the same features. A later version of the seal (1339–1559) shows a local banner with the sword. A seal from 1407 adds a small shield with the Flemish arms.
The arms of Aalst were first shown in the roll of arms of Gaillard (1557). The sword is probably taken from the old seal with the knight. The two shields show the Imperial eagle and the Flemish lion, recalling the odd status of the Country of Aalst.
Description: The municipal arms of Aalst show on the chief of a white shield two smaller shields separated by a red sword pointing upwards and dividing the whole shield; on dexter, the shield is yellow with a black double-headed eagle with red tongues and claws (Holy Roman Empire); on sinister, the shield is yellow with a black lion with a red tongue and claws (Flanders).
Heraldic blazon: A
Sport
Aalst has several professional teams:
- The basketball club Okapi Aalstar
- The football club Eendracht Aalst who play in the second division.
- The volleyball club VK Aalst, which was founded in the 1960s, playing in the first division.
- The MotoGP team Repsol Hondaare based in Aalst, Belgium.
Twin city
Footnotes
- ^ "Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2022". Statbel.
- ^ "BEVOLKINGSCIJFERS PER PROVINCIE EN PER GEMEENTE OP 1 JANUARI 2023" (PDF) (in Dutch and French).
- ^ a b c d e f g h Blanjean 1997, p. 1
- ^ a b c d e Hoiberg 2010, p. 2
- ^ a b Young & Stetler 1987, p. 55
- ^ Cook 2004, p. 15
- ^ Canby 1984, p. 1
- ^ a b Ogrizek 1961, pp. 124–125
- ^ a b Cohen 1998, p. 1
- ^ Cook 2004, p. 89
- ^ Clough 1946, p. 124
- ^ a b c d Munro 1995, p. 1
- ^ "Israeli minister says Belgium should ban Aalst Carnival for 'vitriolic' antisemitism". The Brussels Times. 20 February 2020.
- ^ Robin Emmott (23 February 2020). "Belgian carnival defies calls to cancel parade with Jewish caricatures". Reuters.
- ^ "Aalst Carnival makes fun of Jews again, despite anti-Semitism accusations over previous edition". The Brussels Times. 21 October 2019.
- Times of Israel.
- ^ "Aalst removes Carnival from UNESCO World Heritage list". The Brussels Times. 2 December 2019.
- ^ "Belgian city of Aalst says anti-Semitic parade 'just fun'". BBC News. 24 February 2020.
- ^ Belgian carnival to go ahead despite row over 'hateful' antisemitism, The Guardian, Daniel Boffey in Brussels, Fri 21 Feb 2020 12.49 GMT
- ^ Belgian carnival to go ahead despite row over 'hateful' antisemitism, The Guardian, Daniel Boffey in Brussels, Fri 21 Feb 2020 12.49 GMT
- ^ "Carnival and the limits of freedom of expression".
- ^ "Thieves of the Wood Season 1 Review: The Flemish Bandits". Ready Steady Cut. 2 January 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ Anon 2014a
References
- Anon (2014). "From Then til Now". www.brabantia.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- Anon (2014a). "Twin Towns". Gabrovo Municipality. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
- Blanjean, Lucienne (1997). "Aalst". In Johnston, Bernard (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. I: A to Ameland (1st ed.). New York, NY: P. F. Collier.
- Canby, Courtlandt (1984). "Aalst". In Carruth, Gorton (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Historic Places. Vol. I: A-L. New York, NY: Fact on File Publications. ISBN 0-87196-126-1.
- Clough, Shepard B. (1946) [1945]. "IX: The Flemish Movement". In Goris, Jan-Albert (ed.). Belgium. The United Nations. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ASIN B001VSF64A.
- Cohen, Saul B., ed. (1998). "Aalst". The Columbia Gazetteer of the World. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11040-5.
- Cook, Bernard A. (2004). Belgium: A History. Studies in Modern European History. Vol. 50. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-8204-5824-4.
- Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Aalst". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
- Munro, David, ed. (1995). "Aalst (Alost)". The Oxford Dictionary of the World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866184-3.
- Ogrizek, DoreÌ (1961) [1950]. Belgium and Luxembourg. The World in Color. ASIN B0007H5COK.
- Young, Margaret Walsh; Stetler, Susan L., eds. (1987). "Belgium". Aalst. Cities of the World. Vol. 3: Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East (3rd ed.). Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company. ISBN 0-8103-2541-1.
External links
- Media related to Aalst, Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
- Aalst, Belgium travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Official website Archived 2007-12-21 at the Wayback Machine - Only available in Dutch