Kortrijk commemorates the Battle of the Golden Spurs on the eve of July 11

Rolf Falter takes the floor at the commemoration of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. The historian has just written a book about the history of the Battle of the Golden Spurs. A battle between the Flemish on foot and the French army of knights on horseback.

Because there were many gold traces of French knights on the battlefield, in the Groeningeveld, the battle was named the Battle of the Golden Spurs.

Groeninge Prize

Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon will also be presenting the Groeninge Prize this year. The initiators awarded the prize to a business that was founded last year with an original Dutch name in Kortrijk. This name refers to the activity of the business or is related to the history of the building and/or the environment. This year that prize goes to sandwich shop ‘Noen’.

Kortrijk is proud of its past. Last year, a new experience museum about the Battle of the Golden Spurs was opened in the Church of Our Lady. A success story, with 60,000 unique visitors.

National holiday?

Last year it was also promised in Kortrijk on 11 July that the Flemish holiday would be an official holiday for everyone from this year onwards. And that we would all have a day off. That did not work.

But according to alderman of Culture Axel Ronse (N-VA), work is being done on this. “Spectacular things have been announced here in Kortrijk. Tonight at the Schouwburgplein Vlaanderen Muziekland, also a party on the banks of the Leie. So it will be more and more a festival and party weekend. One day we also hope that it will be a real holiday.”