The Depository · Browse · Europe

Craft Techniques of Belgium

The Depository documents 14 techniques in Belgium; by risk level: 2 critically endangered, 4 endangered, 1 vulnerable, 7 stable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.

Explore Belgium in the Depository →

Food, Drink & Botanical

  • Ardennes Ham CuringFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Ardennes ham curing tradition — the dry-salting and cold-smoking of the distinctive Walloon cured ham whose specific combination of dry salt cure, cold smoking over beech and oak, and extended drying in the Ardennes forest air produces…

  • Belgian Chocolate — Praline TraditionFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Belgian praline chocolate tradition — the making of the filled Belgian praline (invented by Jean Neuhaus Jr.

  • Belgian Endive Forcing — Witloof TraditionFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Belgian witloof (endive) forcing tradition — the two-stage cultivation process that produces the characteristic pale yellow-white chicory heads (chicons) from chicory roots forced in darkness and warmth, a technique accidentally…

  • Belgian Trappist Beer BrewingFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Belgian Trappist beer brewing tradition — the making of the distinctive strong, bottle-conditioned ales by Cistercian Trappist monks within the monastery walls, under the direct supervision of the monastic community, and sold primarily…

  • Chimay Trappist Cheese MakingFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Chimay Trappist cheese making tradition at the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont — one of the six Belgian Trappist breweries (CRAFT-1395) that also produces cheese, whose characteristic washed-rind cheeses (Chimay Rouge, Or, and Blanche)…

All food, drink & botanical techniques worldwide →

Metalwork & Jewelry

  • Antwerp Diamond CuttingMetalwork & Jewelry · Stable

    The Antwerp diamond cutting and polishing tradition — the city that is currently the world's largest diamond trading center, handling approximately 86% of the world's rough diamonds through the Antwerp diamond exchange, and whose specific…

  • Dinanderie — Dinant Hammered BrasswareMetalwork & Jewelry · Endangered

    The dinanderie tradition of Dinant — the making of the hammered copper and brass objects (jugs, ewers, baptismal fonts, lecterns, chandeliers) that take their name from the Meuse valley city of Dinant, whose metalworkers dominated European…

  • Walloon Iron Forging — Namur TraditionMetalwork & Jewelry · Endangered

    The Walloon iron forging tradition of the Namur and Liège regions — the working of the specific Walloon iron (fer wallon) whose superior quality made it the preferred raw material for English ironmasters in the 17th–18th centuries and…

All metalwork & jewelry techniques worldwide →

Embroidery & Lace

  • Bruges Bobbin LaceEmbroidery & Lace · Vulnerable

    The Bruges bobbin lace tradition — the most internationally celebrated Belgian lace tradition, using multiple bobbins to create the characteristic fine white lace whose dense floral ground (the Bruges flower or brugse bloem) distinguishes…

  • Brussels Needle Lace — Point de GazeEmbroidery & Lace · Critically Endangered

    The Brussels needle lace tradition — specifically the point de gaze (gauze stitch) style that was the defining luxury needle lace of the 18th-century European court, whose characteristic curved petals built up from tiny rose stitch (rosé)…

All embroidery & lace techniques worldwide →

Weaving & Textiles

  • Brussels Tapestry — High-Warp TraditionWeaving & Textiles · Endangered

    The Brussels high-warp tapestry tradition — the weaving of the large-scale narrative tapestries on a vertical (haute-lisse) loom that made Brussels the unchallenged European center of tapestry production from the 15th through 18th…

All weaving & textiles techniques worldwide →

Musical Instruments

  • Liège Gunsmithing — Proof House TraditionMusical Instruments · Stable

    The Liège gunsmithing tradition and its associated Banc d'Épreuve (proof house) — the most historically significant arms-making center in continental Europe since the 16th century, whose proof house (established 1672, the oldest active…

All musical instruments techniques worldwide →

Woodwork & Carving

  • Mechelen Furniture Making — Baroque Cabinet TraditionWoodwork & Carving · Endangered

    The Mechelen Baroque cabinet-making tradition — the production of the distinctive Flemish Baroque ebonized cabinets on stands (kabinetkasten) that made Mechelen one of the leading European luxury furniture centers in the 17th century,…

All woodwork & carving techniques worldwide →

Glasswork

  • Val-Saint-Lambert Crystal GlassGlasswork · Critically Endangered

    The Val-Saint-Lambert crystal glass tradition — the making and cutting of the prestigious Belgian lead crystal produced at the Val-Saint-Lambert factory (established 1826 at a former Cistercian abbey near Liège), whose specific deep-cut…

All glasswork techniques worldwide →