Blankenberge

• Carnival Parade
• Two Day Marching event, every first weekend of May[2]
• Klankenberge
• Flower Parade (Bloemencorso), every last Sunday of August
• Bel’Lumière

• Wing Commander Roy George Claringbould Arnold MiD RAF 29198 is buried in the CWG Cemetery Row A Grave 18. On 9 June 1941 Arnold saved the lives of his five-man Wellington crew from IX Squadron (including Flt Lt Dominic Bruce OBE MC AFM KSG MA the 'Medium Sized Man' of Colditz fame) by calmly staying at the controls of the burning plane to hold it steady while they bailed out, in the certain knowledge that he would die doing so.[3][4]
• Pieter Aspe, Belgian writer.
• Adolf Eugen Fick, physician and physiologist, died in Blankenberge in 1901.
• Frans Masereel, Flemish painter and woodcutter born here in 1889.
• Leo Van Paemel, artist born (and later buried) in Blankenberge.
• Rudi Pillen,[5] Belgian contemporary painter.
• Brian Vandenbussche, Belgian goalkeeper.
• Anna Kéthly, Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the second female MP of the National Assembly (Hungary)
• Nathan Van Der Gunst, famous youtuber

Blankenberge has schools from both school networks in Belgium. The two secondary schools are:

• Sint-Jozef – Sint-Pieter Blankenberge (formerly known as Sint-Pieterscollege – Sint-Jozefshandelsschool, subsidized free school)
• Maerlant-Middenschool • Maerlant Atheneum (GO! Onderwijs van de Vlaamse gemeenschap)

Both schools have numeral different elementary schools organized by the same instances.

Blankenberge railway station was opened in 1863. Trains operated by NMBS run towards Brussels, and the Kusttram run by De Lijn runs along the Belgian coast of the North Sea.

Before the First World War, Blankenberge was an exclusive holiday resort frequently attended by Royalty. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg as well as his sister Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria and her husband Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein and his niece Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria were regular holiday makers in Blankenberge. They stayed in a special wing of the Grand Hotel des Bains et des Families. The Archduke enjoyed his walks to Wenduine and attended service daily at the St Rochus church. The Archduke and his wife were planning to travel again to Blankenberge after their last official engagement before the summer holiday at Sarajevo in 1914 where they were killed. After the First World War the Blankenberge police station was bombed by an unknown perpetrator. The blast killed 2 officers and wounded 2 others. After the Second World War it became a popular holiday destination.

Blankenberg (so spelt) also figures in Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope as the scene of a duel between Finn and another character, Lord Chiltern.

The tenor Enrico Caruso attended Blankenberge for a performance in 1910.

After World War II it was a regular holiday destination. Notable musical institutions were the "Eden" were popular Flemish artists performed on the board walk. The city hosted "Spécial les vacancies" in 1979 under the mayorship of Willem Content. International artist such as Joe Dassin, Boney M, Plastic Bertrand and Dalida attended this event. Later the Flemisch Private TV broadcaster VTM organised "Tien Om the Zien" with musical performances of Flemish artists. Today the Flemish public radio organises yearly the "Radio 2 Zomerhit".

• 
  One of the stairs up to the beach
• 
  Seaside pier (Belgium Pier)
• 
  City view
• 
  Blankenberge in 1641
• 
  Classic tram in 1980s

Blankenberge is twinned with:[6]

• Minamiboso, Chiba, Japan

Since 1994, in August a couple of students from Minamiboso visit Blankenberge and live with families over here. Afterworth students from Blankenberge go and visit Minamiboso for eight days.[7] This is organised by vzw 'Tweedaagse Voettocht van Blankenberge'.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blankenberge.

• Official website in English (also available in Dutch, French and German)
• Tourist Information Blankenberge
• The Pier Blankenberge