Agenda: music, nightlife, shopping, sight and culture in Ostend
Dikke Mathille
The Leopold II-laan curves gracefully around the most famous sculpture of a woman in Oostende: De Zee (The Sea). Although Reclining Nude is another name for this lady the locals always refer to her as ‘Dikke Mathille’ (Fat Mathille). Grard emphasised the volume of the full, round forms. In De Zee he portrayed the opulence and sensuality of the sea in a female figure. Until 1963 the work of art adorned the Kursaal Casino.
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Railway station Oostende
Eclectic station complex consisting of a central entrance hall flanked by two square "Tower buildings". On the left side adjacent to the station the former "Hotel Terminus Maritime".
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Sint-Petrus- en Sint-Paulus Church
The church St.-Petrus- and Paulus is a neogotic church built in 1907 which consists of beautiful stained-glass windows. The tomb of Louise-Marie, the queen of Belgium who deceased in Oostende, is situated in the chapel of the main altar (only to be visited upon request). The St.-Pieter's Tower, also called 'Peperbusse' in local dialect, is situated behind the church St. Petrus- and Paulus. Once it was part of the ancient St. Pieterskerk that burned down last century.
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Lighthouse Lange Nelle
Lighthouse "Lange Nelle" : The famous lighthouse is the fourth one in the history of Oostende and the third one on this location. It was built between 1947 and 1949, rises 65 metres above the sea and guides the fishermen safely in the Ostend harbour. The lighthouse is not open to the public.
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Kursaal Oostende
The building dominates the view at the Albert I promenade. The Casino, a design by Leon Stynen (1953) stands on the spot where in 1875 the first casino already stood. The latter was destroyed during WWII. After the war it would still be eight years before the current building was erected. This strikingly large building can boast being the largest in Belgium and is a typical example of modernism. The eye-catchers are of course the murals by Paul Delvaux. On 17th December 2004, the renovated...
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Seamen's Memorial
The Seamen's Memorial (1953) can be found on the Zeeheldenplein. Each year the numerous fishermen from Oostende who died at sea are commemorated. This was also the location of the first lighthouse in Oostende (1771).
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Floral Clock
Floral Clock. A special creation in which a total number of about 20 000 plants are used to form a unique palette of colour. The date - made of flowers - is adjusted every day during the summer months.
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Koninklijke Gaanderijen
The Royal Galleries were finished in 1905. They are approximately 400 m long and served to protect the middle classes from sun and rain during their walks. They connected the Royal Pavilion with the Wellington racing track. In the beginning of the thirties, the Thermae Palace was built next to it. These days it is a four-star hotel still breathing the Belle Époque atmosphere.
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