The Willemsfonds, named after

Jan Frans Willems Jan Frans Willems (11 March 1793 – 24 June 1846) was a Flemish writer and ''father'' of the Flemish movement. Willems was born in the Belgian city of Boechout, while that was under French occupation. He started his career in the office of a no ...

, is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

cultural organisation founded in the 19th century to promote Flemish culture and language in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In order to achieve this goal, the organisation encouraged Flemish

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

, organised linguistic games and published inexpensive Flemish books. In addition, the organisation established general libraries. Nowadays, the Willemsfonds is still a volunteer organisation and a meeting place for cultural activities. It seeks to promote a dialogue between people in order to allow them to form their own opinion. The Willemsfonds is of liberal inspiration, which distinguishes it from the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Vermeylenfonds {{refimprove, date=May 2021 The Vermeylenfonds is a non-profit Flemish cultural socialist organization. The Vermeylenfonds was founded in 1945, in Brussels with the aim of studying and of continuing the work of August Vermeylen. The Vermeylenfonds ...

and the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Davidsfonds The Davidsfonds is a Catholic organisation in Flanders, Belgium with the purpose of promoting the Flemish culture in the areas of literature, history and art. The Davidsfonds was founded in Leuven, Belgium on 15 January 1875, with the motto ''Voor ...

History

The Willemsfonds was founded on 23 February 1851, for the promotion and support of the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

(northern

). It was founded by 31 people from

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

and 7 from

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and since 1868, its headquarters has been in the ''Lakenmetershuis'' at the ''Vrijdagmarkt'' in

. In its early days, both

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and liberals worked together within the organisation, even

Jean-Baptist David Jean-Baptist David (25 January 1801, Lier – 24 March 1866, Leuven) was a canon and professor of Dutch and history at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Jean-Baptist David was born in the Belgian city of Lier. As a professor he work ...

was a member of the Willemsfonds. When in 1870, the Roman Catholic Church opposed the non-denominational status of public education, the Willemsfonds sided with the liberals and the Roman Catholics, such as Jean-Baptist David left the organisation, and they founded the

in 1875. Until 1976, the presidents of the Willemsfonds would come from

, such as its first president

Jules de Saint-Genois Jules, Baron de Saint-Genois (22 March 1813 – 10 September 1867) was a Belgian liberal politician, historian, librarian and professor at the University of Ghent. He was the first President of the Willemsfonds and a prolific contributor to the ea ...

(1813–1867),

Ferdinand Snellaert Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert (21 July 1809 in Kortrijk – 3 July 1872 in Ghent) was a Flemish writer. Life Snellaert studied medicine at the University of Utrecht (1827–1829) and became officer of health in the Dutch army (1830–1835). ...

, Prudens van Duyse,

Frans Rens Frans Rens (Geraardsbergen, 2 February 1805 – Ghent, 19 December 1874) was a Flemish writer. From 1823 up to 1843, he was an inspector of gold and silver work at Ghent, and head of lower education for the school area Lokeren. Bibliography * B ...

, Jacob Jan Heremans, and

Julius Vuylsteke Julius Vuylsteke (Ghent, 10 November 1836 – Ghent, 16 January 1903) was a Belgian liberal politician and writer. He started his career as a lawyer, but later opened a bookshop. As a liberal Flemish politician, he founded the liberal association ...

, to name a few. Over the years, it published the work of several Flemish authors, such as

, ''Reinaert de Vos'' and Julius de Geyter, Johanna Courtmans-Berchmans, Tony Bergmann,

Cyriel Buysse Cyriel may refer to: *Cyriel Barbary (1899–2004), the last known Belgian veteran of the First World War * Cyriel Buysse (1859–1932), Flemish naturalist author and playwright * Cyriel Coupe (1918–1998) (pseudonym Anton van Wilderode), Belgian ...

Virginie Loveling Virginie (Marie) Loveling (17 May 1836 – 1 December 1923) was a Flanders, Flemish author of poetry, novels, essays and children's stories. She also wrote under the pseudonym W. E. C. Walter. Biography Virginie Loveling was born in Nevele i ...

, Maurits Sabbe,

Paul Kenis Paul Kenis (11 July 1885 in Bocholt – 28 July 1934 in Brussels) was a Flemish writer. Education He attended high school in Turnhout and in Ghent and studied Germanic languages at the University of Ghent. Career After he had done some historic ...

Karel Jonckheere Karel Jonckheere as Carolus Joannes Baptista Jonckheere (Ostend, 9 April 1906 – Rijmenam, 13 December 1993) was a Flemish writer and critic. Widely traveled, he was inspired by his journeys for his poems and novels. Biography Family origins ...

Marcel van Maele Marcel van Maele (Bruges, 10 April 1931 – Antwerp, 24 July 2009) was a Belgian playwright and sculptor. He was one of the leading figures of the magazine ''Labris'' (founded in 1962), in which an experimental style was prominent. He was a me ...

Willem Roggeman Willem Maurits Roggeman (born Brussels, 9 July 1935) is a Belgian poet, novelist and art critic. Career Brussels-born Willem Roggeman attended the Etterbeek Royal Atheneum and then studied economics at Ghent University. His journalistic career beg ...

, and

Clem Schouwenaars Clem Schouwenaars (28 December 1932 – 10 September 1993) was a Belgian writer. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family. Two of his brothers and one of his sisters died young, and his only remaining sister was killed during a bombardment in 1943. Hi ...

External links

* * * {{Authority control Foundations based in Belgium Liberal organizations Flanders

History

See also

External links