National holiday Belgium on July 21, 2025

Belgium's national holiday is celebrated on July 21. It is the day in 1831 when the first King of the Belgians, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, took the constitutional oath as king. The oath-taking was the culmination of Leopold I's entry into Belgium. This day is a legal holiday, which amounts to a day off for general leave. On this day, shops, banks, post offices, and other public services are closed. How did Leopold become King of Belgium on July 21, 1831? Do you know the first stamps of Belgium, better known as the epaulets? They came before the first postage stamps. We only followed on January 1, 1852.

Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld/Gotha

Prince Leopold, the future first King of Belgium, was born on December 16, 1790, as the eighth child and third son of Francis of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf and Lobenstein. His father was the son and heir to the Duke of the small German state of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (from 1826 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). Leopold was raised in a strict Lutheran manner within the Coburg ducal family at Ehrenburg Castle and would remain faithful to Protestantism until his death. After the marriage of his sister Juliana to the brother of the Russian Tsar Constantine, the five-year-old Leopold became an officer, and a few years later a general, in the Russian army. In that capacity, in 1805, he unsuccessfully requested to join the Russian army in the Third Coalition War against Napoleon. In 1807, Leopold stayed in Paris with his brother, Duke Ernst I, to plead the case of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, which had been severely affected by the war. He made an impression on Empress Joséphine, and on the Emperor himself, who described him in his memoirs as 'the most handsome prince he had ever seen in the Tuileries'. In the years that followed, he also visited other European states and honed his diplomatic skills.

 

After the Belgian Revolution

The Belgian Revolution is the name of the uprising of 1830–1831 in the southern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands under King William I. The uprising led to the division of the country and the creation of Belgium. After the Belgian Revolution in 1830, which led to Belgian independence, the National Congress decided to make Belgium a kingdom. That same National Congress elected Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as the first King of the Belgians on June 4, 1831.

Leopold I's entry into Belgium began on July 16, 1831, when he traveled by boat from Dover, England, to Calais, France, after which he was taken by carriage the following day to the Belgian border village of De Panne. Over the next few days, he continued his journey through the country, passing through Bruges and Ghent, among other places, and on July 21, 1831, he took the constitutional oath on the Place du Roi in Brussels as the first King of the Belgians. This holiday therefore has a dynastic origin and has no link to the independence of Belgium, an event that took place on a different date.

On June 26, 1831, Leopold formally assumed the Belgian kingship, after the preliminarys of the Treaty of the XVIII Articles had been signed at the London Conference that same day. Just as when he had been a candidate for the Greek throne, he viewed it as his mission to safeguard and consolidate the independence of a new nation, and thus help maintain peace in Europe. He was also flattered by the evident enthusiasm among the Belgian population, which had admittedly been fueled by an intensive press campaign. A week after the National Congress had accepted the Articles on July 9, he crossed the Channel to become King of a country he had previously visited only twice. He arrived in De Panne on July 17 by carriage from Calais, where a delegation from the National Congress and about a hundred fishermen and farmers awaited him. From there, the journey continued to Brussels, with stops in Veurne, Ostend, Bruges, Ghent, and Aalst. On July 21, 1831 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha took the oath as King of the Belgians in Brussels before the Church of Saint James-on-the-Coudenberg on the Place Royale. He thus became the symbol of the unity and independence of Belgium. In the words of Deneckere: 'Although he himself had played no part in the Belgian Revolution, it was as if the Belgian Revolution took shape in him.' [/ One_half] [one_half_last]         [/one_half_last] [one_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]         [/one_half_last] Belgium (1949): 100 years of the first Belgian postage stamp (1849 – 1949). Leopold George Christian Frederick of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Coburg, December 16, 1790 – Laeken, December 10, 1865), Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duke of Saxony, was the first King of the Belgians from July 21, 1831 until his death: Leopold I from Belgium.  

First Belgian postage stamps (1849)

Belgium began using national postage stamps on July 8, 1849, when two unperforated stamps, a brown one of 10 cents and a blue one of 20 cents, collectively known as epaulettes, were introduced. The epaulette stamps depicted Leopold I in a military uniform, with clearly visible epaulets. The stamps were intended for domestic postal traffic. The 10 cent was intended for letters up to 10 grams with a destination within a radius of 30 kilometers. The 20 cent was intended for domestic destinations at greater distances. A few months later, a red 40 cent stamp with a new design was issued for international mail. In 1850, two new stamps of 10 cent and 20 cent were issued. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]               The stamp bore the double-crossed L monogram of Leopold I as a watermark. To affix it to an envelope, the stamp, which already contained gum, had to be moistened before application. Approximately 5.250.000 copies of each denomination were produced. Philatelists distinguish several minor variations between the series. For the 10 centimes, there are a few slight color variations, described as grey-brown (brun-gris) and rust-brown (brun-roux). For the 20 centimes, variations in dark blue (bleu-foncé) and milky blue (bleu-laiteux) have been noted. Of all the color variations, the rust-brown examples command the highest premium among collectors. There are also a few double-printed (erroneous) stamps known. Before use, the stamps were cancelled with a heavy, round stamp using black ink. The cancellations, like their British equivalent, had a number in the center (between 1 and 135), which differed for every post office in the country. The number 24 (see above) means that it was sent from Brussels.

The stamps were sold at post offices throughout the country, but some were also issued to postmen. Sales began on June 25, 1849, but their use did not become legal until July 1. Due to the lack of a mailbox infrastructure, especially in rural areas, letters could be handed directly to the postman personally instead of being delivered to post offices to be sent.

Initially, all Belgian stamps were issued exclusively with the French name “Belgique”, as French was the original language of government. However, under the government of Auguste Beernaert, stamps with the Dutch name “België” were also issued starting in 1889. Belgian stamps are also rarely issued with German text (“Belgien”), including overprinted German Germania stamps from the First World War.  

Stamp Day – 150 years of Belgian stamps (1999)

On April 26, 1999, the Post Office commemorates a crucial moment in its history: the issuance of the first Belgian postage stamps. With this, our country was a European frontrunner 150 years ago. On June 17, 1849, Leopold I signed the Royal Decree that gave the green light for the issuance of two stamps. Fourteen days later, on July 1, 1849, the now legendary ' appeared.the Epauletten- seals with the portrait of the king. The nickname refers to the shoulder pieces of the royal uniform.  

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National Holiday July 21, 2025: https://www.belgium.be/nl/nieuws/2025/programma_nationale_feestdag_2025