cover from Belgium

On 24th March I got a cover from Belgium. 

A label was used to send this cover. 

In the cover were many nice postcards from Belgium, some even with matching stamps and special postmarks.

The first card shows the Grand Commandery in Alden Biesen. The Grand Commandery was founded by the Teutonic Order and was one of its most important properties. The site was pre-selected for the European Heritage Label, but was not inscribed. 

The next three cards are from the Ten Duinen Abbey Museum in Koksijde. Ten Duinen Abbey, also known as the Abbey of the Dunes, was a Cistercian monastery and one of the richest and most influential religious institutions in the medieval County of Flanders. It later relocated to the city of Bruges. Since the 1950s there is a museum at the site.

Another big Belgian museum is featured on the next cards, the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, just outside Brussels in Flemish Brabant. It was established to showcase King Leopold II's Congo Free State in the 1897 World Exhibition and was actually intended as a colonial museum, but from 1960 onwards it has more focused on ethnography and anthropology. The museum was closed between 2013 and December 2018, hence I could not visit it during my trip to Brussels, but I have already got a card about it, when it was still known under its old name Royal Museum for Central Africa. These three cards must be rather new, as they already have the new name printed on the backside. The cover also included four stickers from the museum.

The Parlamentarium is the visitor's centre of the European Parliament and was opened in 2011. In a multimedia exhibition it shows the history of the EU and the European Parliament. Due to personal multimedia guides it is possible to view the exhibition in all 24 official languages of the EU.

The next three bear stamps about cheese, birds and clouds with their First Day Special Postmarks. I really like the design of the bird card. 

Last but not least this card shows some views of Overijse. Overijse is a commune in Flemish Brabant, which is known for its grapes. Even King Louis XIV got grapes from Overijse for his court in Versailles.

Thank You very much Johan! Make sure to check out his blog here.