The birth certificate of the Royal Library of Brussels KBR dated 12 april 1559 when Philip II decreed its establishment at the Coudenberg Palace in Brussels. It was and still is one of the finest collections of books and medieval manuscripts in Europe. Shared by Jan Pauwels

A Belgian game studio has dominated the #BAFTAGamesAwards !

#OTD in 1559 the Royal Library of Brussels was born after Philip II ordered to centralise the vast collection of books and manuscript into one location at the Coudenberg Palace in Brussels.

#OTD in 1555, the tragic Joanna, Queen of Castile and Aragon died. In 1496 she married Philip of Habsburg and was Charles V mother. After her husband's death she was declared insane and would be locked up for the rest of her life, although she was still a reigning queen.

At the KHM in Vienna one can find cool 17th c. tabards from the Habsburg Nederlands depicting the coats of arms of the various 'states'. Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, Namur and even the Lordship of Mechelen, they're all there.

#OTD in 1912, the Titanic left Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland and started the last leg of its journey. There were some 2220 people on board, including some Belgians such as violinist Georges Krins who was a member of the legendary orchestra.

The Ghent Altarpiece has always been one of the most coveted pieces of art ever. Many kings and dictators wanted to get their hands on the panel and it was stolen several times. Here is the altarpiece in the Royal Palace of Brussels (Sept 1945) after it was returned from Germany.

This procession has been moving through Bruges since the late 13th / early 14th c.

Kaartje v/d Nederlanden anno 1609: de historicus in mij heeft hier problemen mee. Anno 1609 waren de Zuidelijke Nederlanden immers niet langer verbonden aan de Spaanse kroon, maar vormden een onafhankelijk land met eigen vorsten (Albrecht & Isabella). Spanje had wel nog invloed

10 Apr 1533: d. Frederik I #otd King of Denmark and Norway, the last #Catholic monarch of those kingdoms

One of the folks involved was unassuming stockbroker Arsène Goedertier who died of a heart attack in 1934 before he could tell his lawyer where the panel was kept.

#OTD in 1934, one of the most important art heists ever occured when several panels of the legendary Van Eyck brothers' 'Ghent Altarpiece' (1432) was stolen from Ghent's St Baafs' Cathedral. One panel was returned, but the 'Righteous Judges' is still missing to this very day.

German/Netherlandish School, 16th century Portrait of a Man in Red c. 1530-50

(Royal Collection Trust, HM CIII)

Great BBC podcast on Belgian resistance member Andrée de Jongh who led the Comet Line that
helped Allied soldiers and airmen to escape occupied Belgium during #WWII
bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0h…

Extremely cool pic of yesterday's storm in Belgium: the three grand medieval towers of Ghent and a lightning strike. Photo: Belga/Jonas D’Hollander

Spent some time in Bruges in exile where he was hosted by the Lord of Gruuthuse. The Low Countries had often been the place to be for exiled English monarchs.

No surprise of course there are references to Emperor Charles V dotted around the current Royal Palace in Brussels as it was built on the site of another - massive - palace that burnt down in 1731. In the Coudenberg Palace Charles V spent much of his time.

Albert and Isabella, Sovereigns of the Habsburg Netherlands, were the driving force behind the truce and especually Albert tried very hard to extend it in 1621. He ultimately failed and some claimed this failure expedited his death (July 1621)