The Low Countries Radio

The Burgundian state in the mid-fifteenth century looked, from the outside, like one of the most formidable powers in Europe. But power is always partly performance, and behind the tapestries, the tournaments and the gilded ceremonies of the Order of the Golden Fleece, something was quietly comingapart.

Philip the Good ruled over a sprawling collection of territories  (Flanders, Brabant, Holland, Hainaut and more) that shared little beyond a common ruler. To hold them together, he built an ambitious centralising bureaucracy, appointing loyal outsiders as stadhouders to govern provinces on his behalf and restructuring the Chambers of Accounts. His most significant innovation was the Great Council,...

Dutch history, as we know it, leaves a lotunsaid. The voices of women, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ communities are toooften missing from the mainstream narrative. Elyzabeth Gorman is here to changethat. A former New York theatre professional turned Amsterdam tour guide, shedigs through the city’s archives to uncover the hidden and erased stories of the past. With her company Badass Tours, she bri...

Nestled in the leafy suburb of Tervuren just outside Brussels, the AfricaMuseum has long stood as a monumental symbol of Belgium’s colonial past. Founded in 1898, the museum once served as a powerful propaganda tool in the service of King Leopold II’s imperial ambitions in the Congo and Central Africa. Today, however, the institution finds itself at the centre of a very different mission: decoloni...

On a crisp October morning, history came alive under the vaulted ceilings of Amsterdam's City Archives. A modest parchment, locked away for centuries, brought us face-to-face with the city's ancient origins. Known as the Toll Exemption Privilege , this document—dated 27 October 1275—marks the very first mention of Amsterdam. In this podcast, senior curator Erik Schmitz explains the significance of...

What is the difference between 'Dutch direct versus Midwest nice'? How do I survive the citizenship test in the Netherlands? What does the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration) have to do with the American Declaration of Independence? Why is pinda kaas not actually cheese? Is there such a thing as a single Dutch identity? Why is modern American culture more indebted to the Netherlan...

They both lived during the Dutch Golden Age, grew up in Leiden, were taught by the same painter, shared a studio, received all the praise, and painted the rulers of their time. And yet, Jan Lievens is not as famous today as his friend Rembrandt. In this episode of The Low Countries Radio, we reconstruct the lives and works of these two giants of art, showing how trends and the zeitgeist can drive...

In this episode, 92-year-old Holocaust survivor Simon Gronowski talks about his spectacular escape from a deportation train to Auschwitz, why he befriended the son of Flemish Nazi supporters and reminds us why we must remain vigilant against political extremism. www.the-low-countries.com

In this podcast, we talk to Christine Kooi, professor of European History at Louisiana State University, about the turbulent Protest and Catholic Reformations in the Low Countries of the sixteenth century. In her latest book Reformation in the Low Countries 1500-1620, Kooi covers the key moments of both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations as they unfolded in both the Northern and Southern Net...

Why is the tulip a Dutch symbol even though this colourful flower comes from the Ottoman Empire? Why did owning tulip bulbs show your status and luxury in the 17th century? Why did a famous surgeon have his surname changed to Tulip? And to what economic disaster does Tulip Mania refer? In this podcast, we dig up the bulbs of the past, trim the stems of historical myth and emerge with a lustrous va...

Rebellion, unrest and anti-authoritarianism are as much woven into the fabric of the Low Countries’ histories and cultures as dikes, dams, churches and cheese. In this podcast, we take a look at some of the major and minor protest movements that have occurred across Belgium and the Netherlands, which have helped shape them into the places they are today: the Amsterdam Eel Riots (1886), the Leuven...

The Low Countries have long held mystery and intrigue for people around the world. Over thousands of years, innumerable myths and legends have sprung out of this small corner of Europe, while many more have been created by bemused foreigners looking in from the outside. Why do the Japanese love a dog from Flanders? Why do Americans admire a Dutch boy who stuck his finger in a dyke? Why are there s...

Despite making up over 50% of the population, the fundamental role which women have played in the development and progress of Low Country societies has often been neglected in historical accounts. Time to honour some women pioneers in Belgium and the Netherlands: Aletta Jacobs, Corry Tendeloo, Isabelle Gatti de Gamond, Marie Popelin and Marga Klompé. Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutc...

When the Netherlands and Belgium did not exist, people spoke of the Low Countries when referring to the area around the river deltas. Water has always played an essential role in the history of that region. For centuries, living on these waterlogged lands provided the Dutch and the Flemings with opportunities for trade, urbanisation, agriculture and much more. But it also meant that they lived und...

In this episode of TLC Radio we are going to flip through the pages of comic history in the Low Countries; from the use of illustrated prints from as early as the 15th century to the position of comic studios in Belgium and the Netherlands during the Second World War. You’ll hear about some titles that you may never have heard of, as well as many that you smurf. Do you want to know more about Flem...

Throughout the centuries, the Low Countries have been the breeding ground for many world-changing inventions and scientific advancements. Inspired by animated environmentalist superheroes Captain Planet and the Planeteers, in this podcast, we are presenting Dutch inventors and their impressive discoveries through the elements earth, fire, wind, water and heart. From maps and microscopes to fire ho...

Why do the Dutch hang school bags on flagpoles, place giant blow-up dolls on their front lawn and have clocks without numbers in their pubs? And why do the Flemings celebrate newborns by eating ‘poop beans’, close the curtains in their house and welcome friends by the backdoor? In this episode, we are delving into some of the unique and peculiar customs, social norms and rituals of Flanders and th...

In this podcast, we get out the drawing board, put on a hard hat and clamber up a scaffold of creative construction, so that we may cast our view on a few of the most striking, unique or just plain weird buildings that can be found in Belgium and the Netherlands. We also explore some of the schools of thought that have come to influence architecture in our beloved region. Do you want to know more...

We have long imposed our personal whims on other animals. We use them for labour or sport. We give them symbolic meaning, assigning them divine significance and power. Or we groom them and breed them to eat. For thousands of years, our relationship with animals has been an integral part of how we and our world have evolved. In the Low Countries, this is a journey from the ancient times of hunter-f...

In this episode of The Low Countries Radio, we are going to delve into some of the sports that have developed in or been adopted and grown in Belgium and the Netherlands. We will hear about people who listen intently to birds in little boxes while they keep track of their calls on a big long stick, others who jump over canals using a big long stick, as well as a bunch of people skating the famous...

What is the origin of Dutch? Why does the language sound familiar on all continents? What do Yiddish, English and Russian have in common? What is the difference between Dutch spoken in Belgium and in the Netherlands? And why were cuddle-buddy and one-and-a-half-metre-society voted Dutch words of the year? Find out in this podcast about the fascinating history and impact of the Dutch language. Do y...

What is the influence of religion on our cuisine? Why do Belgians love eating out at restaurants? Which recipes can be found in the oldest Dutch cookbook? And why did the Dutch ever eat tulip bulbs and now have a dish called a hairdresser's salon? In this episode, we find out what Flemish and Dutch people have been eating since prehistoric times. Smakelijk! Do you want to know more about Flemi...

Jan van Eyck, one of the Low Countries most famous artists, lived through an extraordinary period in history, between the 1390s and the 1440s. Although much about the early Netherlandish painter’s life is completely unknown, the details which do remain provide tantalising glimpses into an artistic and technical talent, who was both socially and politically capable enough to be able to ingratiate h...

Why does the Netherlands have the highest amount of bikes per capita in the world? Why were farmers angry with cyclists in the old days? Why was the bike a symbol of antifascist resistance? And why don’t the Dutch wear helmets? Find out in the first episode of The Low Countries Radio, our new podcast series made by Republic of Amsterdam Radio, celebrating Flemish and Dutch history and culture, and...

Where do the Dutch names of the days of the week come from? Which Flemish miraculous girl did Nick Cave write a song about? Who are Vagdavercustis, Nehalennia and the Brethren of the Common Life? Why were the Frisians difficult to convert to Christianity? Why were the Jews blamed for the Black Plague? Find out the answers in this episode of the Low Countries Radio, in which we take a closer look a...