​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishCULTURE, TOURISMRubens Castle opens to the public for Stories Unfold festival31 July 2023 Until the end of October visitors can take part in activities at Rubens Castle in Zemst a new initiative by EventFlanders and Tourism Flanders The first edition of Stories Unfold will take place at Het Steen in Zemst also known as the Castle of Elewijt or Rubens Castle where Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens lived and worked during the last years of his life was bought by Tourism Flanders in 2019 from a private owner A process has since been launched to determine what to do with the historic property Stories Unfold is the final piece of that trajectory as "We have drawn up a plan for the future listening to the ideas of people from Zemst and far beyond," project manager Kristof Lataire told Flemish public broadcaster VRT but for the last 10 per cent we want this festival to give us an insight into how the site can be used in the future We want to attract both local and international visitors." the castle will also host yoga sessions and falconry demonstrations Visitors will also be able to spend a night in the building with a suite that can be booked through Airbnb "Our Flemish estates have a lot to offer," said Flemish Heritage minister Matthias Diependaele at the launch of Stories Unfold in July "This unique project is an excellent incentive to think further about their appreciation and upgrading." The programme will last three months after which Tourism Flanders intends to organise the event every two years #FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO INE GILLIS Copy linkGet updates in your mailboxYour email addressSubscribeBy clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy rapid and high-quality information 24 hours a day from Belgium and abroad to all Belgian media not to mention entertainment and lifestyle our journalists and press photographers produce hundreds of photos and news stories Since the end of March 2022 English has been added as a language businesses and various organisations that need reliable information Belga News Agency also offers a comprehensive range of corporate services to meet all their communication needs www.belganewsagency.eu we’ll be revealing another athlete on our list of the top 15 Olympic archers of all time Hubert Van Innis is the greatest archery Olympian you may never have heard of With six gold medals and three silver medals from just two appearances he is far and away the all-time leader in terms of Olympic medals from the sport.  All the other archers in our top 15 ranking competed from the 1970s onwards after the sport was reintroduced to the summer Games in 1972 with standardised international rules Van Innis competed in an Olympic era vastly different from the one today shooting in only the second modern Games at Paris 1900 and then reappearing to grab more medals at Antwerp in 1920 after which there was a 52-year lull until Olympic arrows would fly again at Munich in 1972 the Games were just a part of a huge international event called the World’s Fair the sports contested included motorcycle racing Many sports did not even award medals – sometimes cups or trophies were distributed and sometimes winners were even given money to buy their own medal!  Even the number of official Olympic archery events is still debated There were thirteen separate associated competitions over those dates with over 5000 archers taking part – all men. Officially open to all comers in practice almost all the archers taking part were French with a handful from Belgium and the Netherlands Scholars now usually identify six events as part of official Olympic history with van Innis taking silver in the 50m and gold in the 33m ‘au cordon doré’ event and gold in the 33m ‘au chapelet’ event – beating a Frenchman each time and becoming Belgium’s first ever Olympic medallist He also recorded a fourth place finish in another shoot. Unfortunately and when young was forced to deliver milk for his parents in the villages around Brussels a dog and the milk to provide to several restaurants but apparently always sent the dog home with the cart and went to shoot archery then pretty much the national sport of Belgium He went on to become an architect by profession but archery remained the focus of his life.  In an era before easy international travel only Americans competed in the six archery events the events were contested by 41 British archers (25 female and 16 male) and a single American man. In 1912 in Stockholm and due to the First World War it would be 1920 before the Olympics would take place again – in Belgium once again Van Innis rose to the challenge with his longbow; by this time he was 54 years old the archery was contested between just 30 men from three nations the events of 1920 included shooting at ‘fixed’ or ‘moving’ birds; both of which were variations of what is now called ‘popinjay’ archery still practised in parts of Belgium and the UK today The ‘moving bird’ round involved trying to knock bird-shaped targets off a crossbeam attached to a pole 31 metres off the ground.  Van Innis took home an extraordinary haul of two individual golds and a silver from the moving bird round and two team golds and a silver from the target rounds Archery would never be contested at the Olympics again in his lifetime but he became – and remains – the most decorated Belgian Olympian ever.  in the early 1920's he owned a restaurant in Brussels with a bowling alley and an indoor archery range 13 years after his final Olympic victory he won the world championships in 1933 at 67 years old He continued shooting well into his 80s and 90s It seems likely that he would have won even more Olympic medals if the sport had been included in the Games of the 20s and 30s.  There is a statue of Van Innis in his hometown of Elewijt, and his legacy has continued through his family. His great-grandson Philippe Prieels competed for Belgium at several World Cup events, and Philippe’s daughter Sarah Prieels has been competing internationally since 2008, and is currently the European indoor and outdoor compound champion, continuing the archery dynasty.  Hubert van Innis was the supreme Olympic archer in the age of the gentleman amateur. He didn’t attach much importance to his medals, apparently giving them away to ‘all and sundry’, but his Olympic total of nine gold and silver archery medals seems unlikely to ever be beaten. 2016 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information The sale includes three buildings: a six-bedroom sandstone residence with a high-ceilinged private chapel; a four-bedroom villa; and a tower complex that, despite its centuries-old history, boasts a decidedly modern four-car garage. There’s also a drawbridge and moat in the mix for impressing (or intimidating) guests. DISCLAIMER: The currency conversion is provided for illustration purposes only It is meant only as an approximation based on the latest information available and should not be relied upon for any other purposes We are not responsible for any loss that you may incur as a result of relying on these currency conversions All property prices are as stated by the listing agent.