In the 1980s Belgium was going through a transformation period. A coalition government was formed in 1981 by the Liberals and the Social Christians. The economy of the country was in bad shape, the Belgian franc was devalued, and the increase in the money supply was brought under control by cutting public services and by ending governmental subsidies to the old industries. Things began to change in the late 1980s, the Brussels-Capital Region was established, and the Belgian industry regained its competitiveness.
These fascinating color photos give a glimpse of life in 1980s Belgium.
It’s cool to see that in 1981 the Grand Place was already a pedestrian space. This was not at all common back then, I am always amazed at old pictures of famous European squares that were often just big parking lots before the 2000s.
If you like this I highly recommend Steven Vanherreweghe’s “Jaren ’80 voor Tieners”.
Very lighthearted show, with lots of footage from the ’80s. Fun to see how much has changed and how some stuff really didn’t;
The second picture could’ve been taken 50 years earlier.
Brussel was zo proper…
Geweldige foto’s.
En dan steken ze daar 2 foto’s van het heizeldrama bij (met lichamen).