Vincenzo DM

The grand Egmont Palace in Brussels, once the residence of the Dukes of Arenberg, now owned by the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

Will of the 15th c. merchant Anselm Adornes from Bruges who casually gives two paintings by Jan van Eyck, one of the greatest painters ever, to his daughters. State Archives, Bruges.

Antwerp’s 16th c. town hall is pretty next level. Photo: Origin

UK Institutional history since 1215

Over precies een week (13 maart) verschijnt mijn biografie over keizer Karel V, een poging om het leven van de Habsburger op een toegankelijke manier tot de lezer te brengen. Politiek, tragiek, oorlogen, feesten, rare vorsten en zo veel meer zitten in dit boek. Benieuwd naar de reacties uiteraard!

#OTD in 1512, cartographer Gerardus Mercator was born as Gerard de Kremer in Rupelmonde, County of Flanders. In 1569 he created a new world map that would be one of the most significant advances in the history of cartography.

Cool seal featuring Guy, Count of Flanders (1226-1305). State Archives, Kortrijk, Belgium.

#OTD in 1492, painter Michael Coxie (born in Mechelen) died in Antwerp after falling of scaffolding while working on the restoration of the Judgment of Solomon in the Antwerp City Hal. Here is his not so modest self-portrait

#OTD in 1835, Francis II died in Vienna. He was the last Holy Roman Emperor and Lord of the Habsburg Netherlands and the first Emperor of Austria

#OTD in 1127, Count Charles I of Flanders was assassinated during prayer at his private chapel in Bruges. The event was described in the diary of a local clerk.

#OTD in 1792, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II died. He was succeeded by his son Francis. He also was the godfather of Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Saalfeld who became King of the Belgians in 1831

Er zou nog een e-book moeten verschijnen ook. Watch this space !

Precies een jaar geleden verscheen ‘Coudenberg’. Het bleek een bestseller te worden waarvan duizenden exemplaren werden verkocht, terwijl ik in kranten en zelfs De Afspraak mocht verschijnen. Nu volle kracht vooruit met ‘Karel V’ !

Voor de liefhebbers van geschiedenis in de regio Mechelen. Op 17 april trek ik op uitnodiging van burgemeester Bart Somers naar de Predikherenkerk in Mechelen om er ‘Karel V’ voor te stellen. Iedereen welgekomen (inschrijven via info@salvator.be) :)

This old lady is princess Clementine of Belgium. She died in 1955, 165 years after the birth of her grandfather King Leopold I of the Belgians. Talk about links to the past.

Cool: in Nieuwpoort, Belgium, a stock of roughly 500 late medieval / early 16th c. canon balls was discovered during. construction works. Photos: Group Van Vooren.

Indeed, sugar cake plantations popped across the islands.

Did you know the Azores were known as the 'Flemish Islands' from the 15th till the 17th c. because of the large group of Flemish settlers. In 1468 Josse de Hurtere from Torhout, near Bruges, even became the 1st Captain of Faial & Pico & windmills were introduced as well.

#OTD in 1726, Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria died in Munich. He also served as Regent of the Habsburg Netherlands and came up with the plot to become king of Habsburg Netherlands after forging an alliance with Louis XIV.

Cool photo: the Belgian Royal Guard leaving the Royal Palace in Brussels. Photo: Monarchie Be

As in a street named after the provisional government that ran Belgium from Sept 1830 till February 1831?

Fact of the day: The tower of St Rombaut's Cathedral in Mechelen was completed in 1520 and has a height of 97 m, but actually was supposed to be 167 m long (never materialised due to financial issues). Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Yes, he had the famous chin.

Op de verjaardag van keizer Karel V (vandaag geboren in 1500 in Gent) uiteraard nog eens toepasselijk wat reclame maken voor mijn boek dat op 13 maart verschijnt :)

#OTD in 1500, Emperor Charles V was born at the Prinsenhof Palace in Ghent. Raised in Mechelen by his aunt Margaret he would become the most powerful man in Europe ruling over a vast empire.

Why Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest painters even and painted this kind of stuff decades before Michelangelo or Da Vinci were even born (from ‘Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele)

Slides voor boekpresentatie ‘Karel V’ in voorbereiding. Uiteraard aandacht voor zijn fysieke beperkingen die wel degelijk ook zijn karakter bepaalden.

The King of the Belgians rocking up at the #WinterOlympicGames in true Sopranos style is my Photo of the week.

#OTD in 1071, 16 year old Count Arnulf III of Flanders was killed during the battle of Cassel against his uncle Robert who promised Arnulf’s dying father Baldwin VI he would protect him

#OTD in 1397, the formidable Isabella of Portugal was born. In 1429 she married Philip the Good, one of the most powerful men in Europe. The celebrations in Bruges were considered the finest and most spectacular in 15th c. Europe