Day of the Flemish Community

Day of the Flemish Community

The Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium, also known as the Flemish Community Day, is celebrated every year on 11 July in remembrance for the Battle of Golden Spurs or Guldensporenslag and is observed only by the Flemish Community of Belgium.[1]

Contents

History

In 1302 the French king Philip IV sent an army to punish the Flemish citizens of Bruges, who earlier that year rebelled against the king and attacked the French governor of Flanders (the so-called Good Friday of Bruges).

The French army was composed of about 2,500 knights and squires, supported by about 5,500 infantry. The Flemish, in contrast, fielded a town militia force of 9,000 consisting solely of infantrymen.

The two forces clashed on July 11 in an open field outside the Flemish city of Kortrijk and the battle ended with the overwhelming victory of the Flemish militia. The commander of the French army, Robert II of Artois was surrounded and killed on the battlefield. At least a thousand French cavaliers were also killed in the battle and the large number of the golden spurs collected from the field gave the battle its name.

The battle was romanticised in 1838 by Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience in his book De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (English: The Lion of Flanders).

Declaration

Following the establishment of the three cultural and linguistic communities of Belgium in 1970, the Dutch Cultural Community (as it was known then) enacted a law on 6 July 1973, which prescribes the flag, the anthem and the day of the Dutch Cultural Community.

Ever since then the Day of the Flemish community is observed in Flanders. Private employers are not required to award a day's holiday; however the institutions of the Flemish Government and public employers observe this holiday.

See also

Externals Links


References

  1. ^ Feast days, flags and anthems of the communities and regions of Belgium
v ·  Flanders topics
Territories
Modern Belgium:  Flemish Region • Flemish Community
Neighbouring and historical:  County of Flanders (862–1795) • French Flanders • Zeelandic Flanders • Romance Flanders
Local regions:  Flemish Ardennes • Campine • Hageland • Haspengouw • Pajottenland • Meetjesland • Westhoek • Waasland • ...
 Contemporary Flanders within Belgium and the European Union
Provinces and cities
Politics
History and symbols
Flag • Coat of arms • De Vlaamse Leeuw (anthem) • De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (epic) • Day of the Flemish Community (Guldensporenslag)
Other

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Day of the German-speaking Community of Belgium — The Day of the German speaking Community of Belgium is celebrated on November 15 each year. It is a public holiday for the German speaking Community of Belgium but it is not celebrated elsewhere in Belgium. The equivalents of the other… …   Wikipedia

  • List of municipalities of the Flemish Region — The Flemish Region is divided into 308 municipalities, listed in the table below. The numbers refer to the location of the municipalities on the maps of the respective provinces. West Flanders …   Wikipedia

  • Flemish Parliament — Vlaams Parlement Type Type Unicameral Leadership Speaker Jan Peumans, N VA since July 13, 2009 …   Wikipedia

  • Flemish Movement — The Flemish Movement ( nl. Vlaamse Beweging) is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over all protection… …   Wikipedia

  • Flemish people — Infobox Ethnic group group=Flemings (Vlamingen) caption= poptime=6,550,000 (2006 estimate) region1=flag|Belgium pop1=6,230,000 ref1= cite web title=Structuur van de bevolking België / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest / Vlaams Gewest / Waals Gewest… …   Wikipedia

  • The Bollandists —     The Bollandists     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Bollandists     An association of ecclesiastical scholars engaged in editing the Acta Sanctorum. This work is a great hagiographical collection begun during the first years of the seventeenth… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Battle of the Golden Spurs — Infobox Military Conflict caption=16th century Flemish engraving of the battle. partof=the French invasion of Flanders conflict=Battle of the Golden Spurs date=July 11 1302 place=Kortrijk, Flanders result=Flemish victory, which resulted in de… …   Wikipedia

  • The Counter-Reformation —     The Counter Reformation     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Counter Reformation     The subject will be considered under the following heads:     I. Significance of the term II. Low ebb of Catholic fortunes III. St. Ignatius and the Jesuits,… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • French Community Holiday — The area of the French Community of Belgium The Belgian French Community Holiday (French: Fête de la Communauté française) is a holiday on September 27, held only in the French Community of Belgium. It is also variously translated as Day of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Flemish Sign Language — language name=Flemish Sign Language nativename=VGT, Vlaamse Gebarentaal familycolor=silver fam1=Old French Sign Language states=Belgium region=Flanders (northern Belgium) and Brussels Capital Region signers=estimated 6,000 iso2=sgn BE VLG… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”