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Culture · Ypres
Every three years, on the second Sunday in May, Ypres celebrates cats with the Kattenstoet, a parade of floats, giants and costumes that culminates with the town jester throwing stuffed cats from the Lakenhalle bell tower.
In the photo: Ypres
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Kattenstoet — Ypres
Every three years, on the second Sunday in May.
May · every three years
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
Ypres, in West Flanders, is known as the city of cats. In the Middle Ages, cats were kept in the Lakenhalle, the large cloth market, to keep rats away from woolen cloth. An old local tradition involved throwing cats from the top of the bell tower, a practice abandoned in the early 19th century.
In the 20th century, the town turned that memory into a festival. The cat festival was revived in the 1930s, and the large parade, the Kattenstoet, has existed since the 1950s and is now held every three years on the second Sunday in May.
The procession crosses the town center with hundreds of participants, bands and floats that tell the story of cats in the world and in the town, from Egyptian gods to witches and legendary characters. The giants Cieper, the king of the cats, and Minneke Poes, his companion, are the most anticipated.
After the parade passes, the town jester climbs the Lakenhalle bell tower and throws stuffed cats over the crowd gathered in the Grote Markt, the Kattenworp. Those who catch a cat keep it as a souvenir.
The giants Cieper and Minneke Poes in the parade. The floats that tell the story of the cats. The Kattenworp, the throwing of stuffed cats from the bell tower into the Grote Markt.
The parade starts in the afternoon; arrive early to get a spot along the route or in the grandstands, which are sold by the organizers. For the Kattenworp, stand in the Grote Markt in front of the Lakenhalle. The center of Ypres is closed to traffic that day; the train is the simplest option, with the station close to the Grote Markt.
Because the parade takes place every three years, check Ypres’s official events calendar to see what year the next edition will be before planning. Book accommodation and grandstand seats in advance.
In the city
May
May/JuneOn the weekend of the Holy Trinity, the Sunday after Pentecost, between May and June, depending on the date of Easter.
On Trinity weekend, Mons carries the relic of Saint Waltrude on a gilded carriage through the streets and stages the Lumeçon, Saint George’s fight with the dragon, on the Grand-Place.
May/JuneOn Ascension Day, a Thursday forty days after Easter, in May or early June.
On Ascension Day, the relic of the Holy Blood is carried out of the basilica on Burg Square and processes through Bruges’ medieval centre in a parade with biblical scenes, singing, music and horses, an intangible UNESCO heritage event.
Your questions
Every three years, on the second Sunday in May. Check Ypres’s official calendar to find out which year the next edition will take place.
In the Middle Ages, cats were kept in the Lakenhalle to protect wool from rats, and an old tradition involved throwing cats from the bell tower. The Kattenstoet commemorates that history with stuffed cats.
It is the throwing of stuffed cats from the Lakenhalle bell tower by the town jester, after the parade, over the crowd in the Grote Markt.
Festivals and events in Belgium
February/MarchFrom Carnival Sunday to Shrove Tuesday, the three days before Ash Wednesday, in February or March depending on the date of Easter.
The Binche carnival, in the province of Hainaut, culminates on Shrove Tuesday with the Gilles, figures wearing wax masks and ostrich-feather hats who dance through the streets to the sound of drums and throw oranges to the crowd.
February/MarchFrom Saturday to midnight on Fat Tuesday, before the start of Lent, in February or March, depending on the date of Easter.
The Cwarmê is Malmedy’s carnival, in the Ardennes: four days when masked figures such as the Haguètes take to the streets, everything is spoken and sung in Walloon, up to the burning of the Haguète on the final night.
March/AprilOn Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter, in March or early April; from Saturday to Monday.
Three weeks before Easter, Stavelot celebrates Laetare with the Blancs Moussis, figures dressed in white with long red-nosed masks who go through the town throwing confetti at the crowd.
June/JulyOver two nights between late June and early July.
On two early-summer nights, the Ommegang brings hundreds of participants in 16th-century costumes from the Sablon to Brussels’ Grand-Place, recreating the celebration held for Emperor Charles V in 1549.
June/JulyFor four days, from Thursday to Sunday, on the weekend that closes June or opens July.
Rock Werchter brings together rock, pop, indie and electronic music over four days at Festivalpark in Werchter, in the municipality of Rotselaar, near Leuven, at the start of summer.
JulyIn July, usually in the second half of the month, over several days depending on each edition's format.
The Francofolies de Spa take over the center of the spa town in July, with francophone music concerts on outdoor stages in the Parc de Sept Heures and in venues such as the Casino.