Knokke Casino | |
---|---|
| |
General information | |
Type | Casino |
Town or city | Knokke |
Country | Belgium |
Coordinates | 51°20′55″N3°16′43″E / 51.3486°N 3.2786°E |
Construction started | 1929 |
Inaugurated | 5 July 1930 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Léon Stynen J. Selis |
Knokke Casino (also called Knokke-Heist Casino; French : Casino de Knokke; Dutch : Casino Knokke) is a sea-front casino in the town of Knokke, in the administrative community Knokke-Heist, in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. [1] [2]
The largest of Belgium's ten casinos, it is known for its permanent large-scale artworks by Keith Haring, René Magritte, and Paul Delvaux. It is the first of four casinos, in different Belgian towns, designed by Belgian architect Léon Stynen. [3] The architectural style is said to have been influenced by Le Corbusier, along with Art Deco and the designer's Beaux-Arts training. [4]
The late-1920s building was severely damaged during the Second World War. A subsequent renovation allowed surrealist master Magritte to create a giant 360° mural, finished in 1953, comprising eight panels called The Enchanted Domain. [1] [5]
Delvaux's Le Voyage Légendaire (1974), measuring 4.4 by 13 metres (14 ft × 43 ft), was originally installed at the Casino de Chaudfontaine, and later moved to the Knokke Casino. It shows a surreal outdoors panorama, depicting "the cave, the thick forest, the naked or dressed girls, the trains and tracks meticulously illustrated in the small station, the lights and electricity poles, the moon, the mailbox". [6]
The Kroonluchterzaal (chandelier room) contains a 6-ton chandelier made of Venetian crystal. The chandelier has a diameter of 8.5 metres (28 ft) and is 6.5 metres (21 ft) high. Some 22,000 pieces of glass were used and 2,700 lamps light up the main hall. It was planed by architect J. Selis, designer Al David and created by the Murano glass factory "Fratelli Ferro". [7]
Former members of the Casino's orchestra include, in the 1930s, composer and violist, Jef Maes.
In 1929, Jozef Nellens began construction for the casino, which was soon officially opened on 5 July 1930. Nellens managed the business until his death in 1934, when his son Gustave Nellens took over. The casino was only open four months out of each year, during the summer season. [8]
During World War II, the casino was partially occupied by German troops and heavily damaged by air raids. The building was restored by the original architect Léon Stynen, and was reopened in 1947. [8]
Beginning in 1949, major exhibitions were organized every summer, displaying works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, and René Magritte. Other artists exhibited in the annual shows included Balthus, Joan Miró, Raoul Dufy, Paul Delvaux, Jean Tinguely, and Nikki de Saint Phalle. [9] : 177
The popularity of the casino grew with musical performances featuring artists such as Ray Ventura, Josephine Baker, Édith Piaf, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Jacques Brel. [8]
In the 1960s, the casino began opening year-round, as visitor traffic increased. In 1971, Jacques and Roger Nellens took over the management of the casino following the death of their father. The entertainment program was expanded with ballets, operas, concerts, poetry recitals, and film festivals; some events were televised. In 1987, further renovations were made to the building which resulted in the casino's current appearance. In 1990, the casino was recognized as part of the Flemish architectural heritage. [8]
Among the events held at the casino are finals of the Miss Belgium contest, [10] competitions to select the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, and the premiere of Hugo Claus' dramatic sketch Masscheroen.
In July 1963, Jacques Brel headlined at casino for the fifth Coupe d'Europe de Tour de Chant. During this engagement, he performed the classic "Mathilde" for the first time. [11]
Jacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson.
West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemish province of East Flanders to the east, the Walloon province of Hainaut in the south and the French department of Nord to the west. Its capital is Bruges (Brugge). Other important cities are Kortrijk in the south and Ostend (Oostende) on the coast, Roeselare and Ypres (Ieper). The province has an area of 3,197 km2 (1,234 sq mi) which is divided into eight administrative districts (arrondissementen) containing 64 municipalities. As of January 2024, West Flanders has a population of over 1.22 million.
Blankenberge is a seaside city and a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitkerke.
Knokke-Heist is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heist-aan-Zee, Knokke, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Knokke-Heist had a total population of 34,063. The total area is 56.44 km2 which gives a population density of 603 inhabitants per km2. Knokke-Heist is located along the North Sea in a polder area on the Belgian border with the Netherlands. It is Belgium's best-known and most affluent seaside resort.
Articles related to Belgium include:
Paul Delvaux was a Belgian painter noted for his dream-like scenes of women, classical architecture, trains and train stations, and skeletons, often in combination. He is often considered a surrealist, although he only briefly identified with the Surrealist movement. He was influenced by the works of Giorgio de Chirico and René Magritte, but developed his own fantastical subjects and hyper-realistic styling, combining the detailed classical beauty of academic painting with the bizarre juxtapositions of surrealism.
Knokke is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009).
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Museum, the Magritte Museum, the Fin-de-Siècle Museum, the Modern Museum, the Antoine Wiertz Museum and the Constantin Meunier Museum.
Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris or MAM Paris, is a major municipal museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries, including monumental murals by Raoul Dufy, Gaston Suisse, and Henri Matisse. It is located at 11, Avenue du Président Wilson in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
Jesus Fuertes was a Cubist painter, who was initiated into the world of art by Salvador Dalí, and was described as a "true genius" by Pablo Picasso. Fuertes often chose women and cats as his subject matter. Several of his well-known works involve the use of shades of blue, which earned him the nickname "Painter of Blue".
Justine De Jonckheere is a Belgian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Belgium 2011 and represented her country in the Miss Universe 2011 and Miss World 2011 pageants.
The Mu.ZEE is a museum in Ostend, Belgium, specializing in Belgian art from 1830 onwards. It was created in 2008 by the fusion of the former Provinciaal Museum voor Moderne Kunst and the Museum voor Schone Kunsten Oostende, both located in Ostend. The museum has two dependencies, the Ensorhuis in Ostend, and the Permekemuseum in Jabbeke. Mu.ZEE is an abbreviation of "Kunstmuseum aan Zee".
A Magritte Award is an accolade presented by the Académie André Delvaux of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry. Modelled after the French César Award, the formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in Belgium. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette. The awards, first presented in 2011, are considered the Belgian equivalent of the Academy Awards in the United States.
Despite its size, Belgium has a long and distinguished artistic tradition that goes back to the Middle Ages, considerably pre-dating the foundation of the current state in 1830. Art from the areas making up modern Belgium is called in English Netherlandish up to the separation with the Netherlands from 1570 on, and Flemish until the 18th century.
The Provinciaal Hof is a neo-Gothic building on the Markt in Bruges, Belgium. It is the former meeting place for the Provincial Government of West Flanders.
Events in the year 1936 in Belgium.
Paul-Gustave van Hecke was a Belgian journalist, author, art collector and promoter, couturier, and organizer of film festivals. He was a patron to Frits Van den Berghe, Gustave De Smet and René Magritte, among others.
Guillaume Dumont was a Belgian sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Léon Stynen was a Belgian architect, urban planner and designer, from Antwerp. Some of his buildings have been categorized as "refined" Brutalist architecture and modern architecture. He has been called one of Belgium's greatest architects of the 20th-century.
The BP Building, previously also known as the Axa-Royale Belge Tower, is a suspended-structure office building in Antwerp, Belgium, designed by the Belgian architect Léon Stynen. The building was completed in 1963 and features a unique cantilevered floor structure and cable supports. All of the floors are supported with external cables that are attached to roof beams: the weight of roof beams, all floors, and the external walls are carried by a center core. The building was commissioned by BP and is still referred to as the "BP Building", but is now owned by Buysse & Partners Smart Assets since 2018. Its architecture has been classified as Modernist and Brutalist.
Media related to Casino Knokke at Wikimedia Commons