Highlights
- Explore Spanish traces in Brussels: primary sources, no legends or myths
- Learn about history with the renowned author of 'The Spanish Footprint in Flanders'
- Discover the Spanish legacy of Charles V, Philip II, III and IV, and Charles II
- Explore the best museums of the Spanish Monarchy in Brussels
- Get to know Brussels through the eyes of a soldier of the Spanish Tercios
Description
The Spanish Footprint in Brussels sightseeing tour invites you to rediscover one of the most forgotten — and yet most decisive — epics in the history of Spain and Europe: the presence of the Hispanic Monarchy in the former Netherlands.
Javier Rubio will explain the places where kings such as Charles V and Philip II, or ministers such as Margaret of Parma, the Duke of Alba, Don Juan of Austria, or Alexander Farnese passed through. The Spanish governors who changed the history of Europe and who defended the Catholic south of Europe with the Army of Flanders... That's why Belgium is a Catholic nation and not Calvinist like the north!
A way to learn about the Spanish history of a city from someone who has been working on the ground for more than three years as a journalist for media outlets such as 'VozPópuli' or 'Escudo Digital'. He also knows the politics of the European Parliament, as he frequently visits it for work. Author of the essay with more than 1,000 copies sold in Spain on 'La huella de España en Flandes' (Spain's Footprint in Flanders)
The sightseeing tour will discuss the political, military, and cultural connection between the Spanish and the Flemish within the same Empire. From the pikes and arquebuses of the Tercios to the brush of Peter Paul Rubens: Why did the Spanish kings bring paintings by el Bosco, Van der Weyden, and Jan Van Eyck from Belgium?
The tour guide's experience will make this sightseeing tour an unforgettable experience, as he knows the secrets hidden in the city of Brussels. What's more, he'll give tips on food and drink, which, as the Duke of Alba said, 'was plentiful in this land'... See you in the capital of the former Spanish Netherlands!
Includes
What will you learn?
The history of Burgundy
Juana of Castile and Philip 'the Beautiful'
Don Quixote's Plaza de España
The time of Emperor Charles V
Paintings of Flemish art, such as Pieter Brueghel 'the Elder'
Inside the St. Gudula Cathedral
The interior of the Church of Our Lady of Sablon
The start of the civil revolts in Flanders
Philip II and the response of the Duke of Alba
The most important palace in Europe in the 16th century
Egmont and Hornes
The story of the Duke of Alba without myths and with his letters
The Black Legend against Spain?
Napoleon's invasion
The influence of Freemasonry
Spanish colonization vs. the colonization of the Belgian Congo
Easy cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
