Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics, and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish, which can also refer to the collective of Dutch dialects spoken in that area, or more generally the Belgian variant of Standard Dutch. The official capital of Flanders is the City of Brussels, although the Brussels-Capital Region that includes it has an independent regional government. The powers of the government of Flanders consist, among others, of economic affairs in the Flemish Region and the community aspects of Flanders life in Brussels, such as Flemish culture and education.
Utrecht University is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established 26 March 1636, it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, and employed 8,929 faculty members and staff. More than 400 PhD degrees were awarded and 7,765 scientific articles were published. The university's 2023 budget was €2.8 billion, consisting of €1.157 billion for the university and €1.643 billion for the University Medical Centre Utrecht.
Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The river Dyle (Dijle) flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad.
Daniel Heinsius was one of the most famous scholars of the Dutch Renaissance.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Dutch and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engineering Campus, Brussels Health Campus, Brussels Technology Campus and Brussels Photonics Campus.
The Studentencodex is the most widely used commercium book in the Flemish part of Belgium.
Flemish Sign Language is a deaf sign language of Belgium. It is closely related to French Belgian Sign Language, but they are now generally recognized as distinct languages. VGT is estimated to include around 6,000 sign-language users.
Matthias Edward Storme is a Belgian lawyer, academic and conservative philosopher.
Dr. Edmond de Goeyse was a Flemish student leader during the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in Antwerp.
The calotte is a skullcap worn by students at Catholic universities in Belgium. It originates from the skullcap worn by the Papal Zouave regiment around 1860. The calotte is cylindrical, made from velvet and astrakhan. The color of the top is bordeau red for the universities of Brussels, Leuven, Louvain-la-Neuve and Namur, white for the university of Ghent and emerald for the university of Liège. In the front of the calotte are stripes representing the Belgian flag and stripes representing the colors of the city or the university where the calotte has been received. At the back of the calotte, the faculty of the student is represented by a color and a symbol, with if needed an additional symbol to determine the speciality. Golden stars around the calotte represent the number of years that the student has studied successfully. In addition to that, a number of official and personal pins will be added to the calotte, all representing facts about its owner. Examples include:
The eighth-century Codex Eyckensis is a Gospel Book based on two constituent manuscripts that were bound as a single codex from (presumably) the twelfth century until 1988. The Codex Eyckensis is the oldest book in Belgium. Since the eighth century it has been kept and preserved on the territory of the present-day municipality of Maaseik, in Belgium. The book was probably produced in the scriptorium in the Abbey of Echternach. It is housed in the church of St Catherine in Maaseik.
Servaes de Koninck, or Servaes de Konink, Servaas de Koninck or Servaas de Konink, or Servaes de Coninck was a Flemish baroque composer of motets, Dutch songs, chamber and incidental music, French airs and Italian cantatas. After training and starting his career in Flanders he moved to Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic, where he was active in circles connected to the Amsterdam Theatre.
The Old University of Leuven is the name historians give to the university, or studium generale, founded in Leuven, Brabant, in 1425. The university was closed in 1797, a week after the cession to the French Republic of the Austrian Netherlands and the principality of Liège by the Treaty of Campo Formio.
Godfried Wendelen or Govaert Wendelen, Latinized Godefridus Wendelinus, or sometimes Vendelinus and in French-language sources referred to as Godefroy Wendelin was an astronomer and Catholic priest sometimes referred to as the Ptolemy of his time. He was a supporter of Copernican heliocentrism, the astronomical model which positioned the Sun at the center of the universe, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it. He made more accurate measurements of the distance to the Sun as previously made by the ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos. He is considered by some as a precursor of Kepler and Newton. He stayed in the Provence where he met Peiresc with whom he remained in contact throughout his life. The crater Vendelinus on the Moon is named after him.
Justus de Harduwijn, also written Hardwijn, Herdewijn, Harduyn or Harduijn, was a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest and poet from the Southern Netherlands. He was the poetic link between the Renaissance and the Counter-Reformation in the Netherlands.
The Koninklijke Oost- en Westvlaamsche Kring is a bilingual and nonpolitical student fraternity from Leuven (Belgium) founded November 22, 1922. This fraternity is commonly called the Vla-Vla. The members are originally from or living in East and West Flanders.
Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) or the Catholic Flemish Students' Union is a political student society which concerns Flemish nationalism and conservatism. It accepts male and female members and has chapters in Ghent, Leuven, Antwerp, Brussels, Aalst and Sint-Katelijne-Waver. Previously KVHV had chapters in Kortrijk, Ostend, and Mechelen.
Rutger Velpius was a 16th- and 17th-century printer and bookseller. He was the first printer in the city of Mons, and later became printer to the court in Brussels. His career coincided closely with the first decades of the Dutch Revolt
The Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is the primatial see of Belgium and the centre of the ecclesiastical province governed by the Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels, which covers the whole of Belgium. It was formed in 1559 and the bishop has a seat in two cathedrals, St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. The current archbishop is Luc Terlinden, who was installed in September 2023.
Tine Van Aerschot is a Belgian graphic designer, dramatic adviser, writer and theatre director.
