Ommegang: Brussel’s Medieval Festival

Pilot Guides

Ommegang means ‘walkabout’ in Flemish and is a medieval-style procession across Brussels to the Grand Place that takes place each July.

The festival originated in the 14th century as a religious event to celebrate the safe arrival of a statue of the Virgin Mary from Antwerp. Over the years it became more secular and grew in stature when Charles V and his family watched it in 1549. The procession ends with a dance from 9pm to midnight in the Grand Place.

The Grand Place is home to guild houses, most notably the Hotel de Ville which survived the bombardment by Louis XIV’s French troops in 1695. Legend says that when the building was completed in 1448, 46 years after it was begun, its architect Jan van Ruysbroeck added the splendid 96m (315ft) tower to it which seemed to de-centre it and in despair he threw himself off the top!

Guilds developed as occupational organisations to help people trading outside their home town but quickly began to exert political influence as the wealthy families that controlled them tried to further their own economic interests. By the 14th century ,their political remit began to cover statutes regulating hours and work conditions etc – and also began to exclude women. The textile guilds were probably the most powerful and were the most frequent instigators of unrest. The main squares in Brussels and Antwerp are evidence of their influential power in everyday life. The guilds era ended in the 16th century with rise on non-guild industries such as cotton and coal.