A Dog of Flander

Japanese animated version of "A Dog of Flanders"

People from some countries know Antwerp because of a book written by a British-born author called Marie-Louise de la Ramee (wroting under the name Ouida) in 1872, called A Dog of Flanders (the name in Flemish is "Een hond van Vlaanderen"). This story is set in Antwerp and Hoboken (a suburb of the city). In Japanese the story is known as "Furandaasu no Inu": an animated television series (made in 1975) is still very popular in Japan and Korea. Two American films have been made based on the story, in 1959 and in 1999. Some of the links with the places which you can see are explained on this page.

A Dog of Flanders [book]
Author: Ouida (Louisa De La Rame)
Publisher: R A Kessinger Publishing Co
Date: June 2004
Dog Of Flanders [VHS video]
(American film version)
Studio: Warner Bros
Date: August 2000


Central station


Entrance to the house and gardens


Appelmans statue


Statue of Brabo (in front of the Town Hall)

Guildhouses

Walk along the main street (Kioskplaats) towards the church. On the left is Kapelstaat, where you can see a statue of Nello and Patrasche, the main characters in "A Dog of Flanders". The statue (unveiled in 1985) represents the loyal friendship between the boy and his dog: the bond between them could not be broken, even in the most difficult situation.

Directly behind this is an information centre which sells souvenirs and has a special display about the story, including a stained-glass picture of Nello and Patrasche made by a local artist, and a painting of "Nello's dream" (opening hours in 2004 were Monday-Friday 9am-5pm).

In the story, the bodies of the boy and the dog were found hugging one another, and the two were buried together in a single grave in the village church. This church would have been the Church of Our Lady, which you can see at the end of Kioskplaats. Chocolates in the shape of Nello and Patrasche are made in a confectionery shop opposite the church. Walking back towards the tram terminus, there is a restaurant called Patrasche on Kioskplaats (opposite Kapelstraat). There is also a statue of De Hobokenaar (meaning "the people of Hoboken") showing an image of a typical farming person from the village, from when this was still mainly an agricultural area.


Patrasche restaurant
http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Tours/Belgium/Antwerp.htm