Ommegang

Festival Location: Brussels, Belgium

Festival Type(s): Medieval Fairs, Historical Festivals, Re-enactments

Ommegang Media:

Medieval Pageantry Lives On

By: © Bob Brooke 2009

Brussels' Grand Place is packed with spectators, including the Royal Family and their guests, for the annual Ommegang, or "walk about" in Dutch, the major annual event in the city since 1549. Although historians believe it began as a religious ritual in the 14th Century, the huge parade and festival is now devoid of religious connotations and focuses on local folklore and heritage.

The focus of this elaborate festival that each year brings the 16th century to life in the Grand' Place is Charles V's empire. Dazzling and colorful, the Ommegang evokes the procession organized to commemorate Charles's "Joyous Entry" into Brussels on June 2, 1549 when he, his son Don Philip, infant king of Spain and Duke of Brabant, and his sisters, Eleanor of Austria, Queen of France, and Mary of Hungary all watched as representatives from the crafts and trades of the city, as well as crossbowmen processed around the Grand' Place.

Brussels' Grand Place is one of top sights in all Europe. My first glance of it was the day before the Ommegang, as I walked through narrow, cobblestoned street that opened into the great square, flanked on four sides by gilded, ornamented, flag-bedecked houses of the ancient Guilds of the Middle Ages. I had to stop and stare, consumed by the grandeur of the Place. Serving as the market square of Brussels as early as the 12th Century, the Grand' Place is today reflects medieval architecture and society, although the town fathers saw to update most of it during the Renaissance.

The Town Hall is the only complete surviving building on the square that's actually medieval. The Dukes of Burgundy built it in two phases in the early and mid-15th century, its 100-metre spire topped with a gold statue of St. Michael, patron saint of Brussels, sword drawn, standing atop a vanquished Devil. Square for its first five stories, it becomes an open framework of stone ribs for the next three stories, culminating in the statue of St. Michael.

As I looked clockwise around the square, I saw the ornate houses of the Guilds-those of the bakers, the tallow merchants, cabinet makers, the archers, boatmen, haberdashers, tailors, brewers, and butchers. Their facades feature emblems of the guilds, along with statues of their patron saints in a panorama of Medieval society. Many of these buildings have played their own part in history, belonging to noblemen, guilds or significant private citizens. Le Cygne (The Swan) is where Marx and Engels are reputed to have written The Communist Manifesto. L'Arbre d'Or (The Golden Tree) was home to the Brewer's Guild and now houses the fascinating Brewer's Museum. The great novelist Victor Hugo lived in Le Pigeon.

The grand Maison du Roi (King's House) stands opposite the Town Hall. It once belonged to the Duke of Brabant, who was later crowned King of Spain, thus the title. After the French Revolution, the common people proclaimed it the "People's Palace," and it was later rebuilt in the neo-Gothic style at the end of the 19th Century. It now houses the Le Museé Communal, the Brussels City Museum.

In 1695 the troops of war-hungry French King Louis XIV destroyed large parts of the Grand' Place, and all the structures on the square, except the Town Hall, had to be rebuilt.

The day of the grand procession arrived as I, armed with a selection of Belgian chocolates, joined the other 3,000 spectators in specially reserved seats around the square. The aromas of sugary sweet Belgian waffles, sizzling sausage, and French fries, blend to form a distinctly Belgian flavor in the air, while pre-recorded Belgian music sets the tone of the day.

The City of Brussels allows only participants wearing 16th century costumes to take part in the performance of the Ommegang, which takes place in the first week of July. There are no fewer than 1,200 of them, representing members of the imperial family and court, the aristocracy, magistrates, guildsmen, soldiers and militia. Some, resplendent in red-black-and-yellow uniforms, parade on giant stilts while others wave giant flags and display their horsemanship under the watchful eyes the five patron saints on the facade of the Town Hall-St. Michael, in the center, St. Sebastian (parton of the archers) and St. Christopher (patron of the arquebusiers), to his left, St. George (patron of the crossbowmen), to his right, and St. Gery, kneeling. Above the saints are the seven prophets in a semi-circle, accompanied by a scribe.

Trumpets blared and the festivities began. Once the procession of the court ended, the Royal guests took their places on the viewing stand and a flag procession and horse parade got underway. Then came the representatives of the crafts and the Crossbow men who surrounded their patron Notre Dame du Sablon, the statue of the Virgin that had been escorted from the Sablon Church. Finally, everyone settled down to enjoy the games and entertainment.

At night, the smoke-filled cobblestoned streets became a witch's cauldron of colored lights, dancing, music, and fireworks. Some performers, including the Prince de Ligne, are genuine Belgian blue-bloods, following in the footsteps of distinguished ancestors who were there at the first Ommegang in 1549.

The first mention of the Ommegang dates from 1359 when the procession was initially religious in nature. Today, the Ommegang in Brussels retains a folkloric character, with the whole performance being an expression of riches and glamour, and one in which the people of Brussels take great pride.

The Ommegang has had its ups and downs over the centuries, sometimes being in favor, sometimes not, but since its definite re-establishment in the modern era in 1930, aristocratic Belgian families have handed the tradition of participation on to succeeding generations.

The festival accommodates 3,000 seating places. Reservation of tickets can be made by fax at 322-548.04.44 or by e-mail to annick.sas@brusselstourism.be.

Check out Bob Brooke's wonderful sites featuring more of his writing and phootography at http://www.bobbrooke.com, http://www.therealmexico.com and http://www.allscandinavia.com. All three are updated regularly.

by Bob Brooke

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