About us
the low countries is the website of the multilingual Flemish-Dutch cultural organisation ‘de lage landen’. We provide context for art, language, history, literature and societal developments in the Low Countries.
Our history
In 1957, Jozef Deleu founded the magazine Ons Erfdeel. The magazine’s success necessitated a more professional setup by the late 1960s, leading to the establishment of the Ons Erfdeel Foundation in 1970. This cultural institution is entirely independent, both ideologically and politically, and is legally recognised in both the Netherlands and Flanders. It is a non-profit association under Belgian law.
In June 1972, Ons Erfdeel (NPO) launched the French-language magazine Septentrion, followed in 1976 by the bilingual yearbook De Franse Nederlanden/Les Pays-Bas Français. The first edition of the English-language yearbook The Low Countries appeared in 1993. The institution also publishes numerous books in various languages about aspects of the culture of the Netherlands and Flanders.
The financial management and material support of Ons Erfdeel (NPO) are organised separately from its editorial activities. The link between the organisation’s management and the editorial teams is the managing director, who is also the editor-in-chief of all publications. Jozef Deleu served as managing director and editor-in-chief until 30 April 2002. He was succeeded by Luc Devoldere in both roles.
Since 2007, the magazines and yearbooks have had their own blog closely following cultural events in the Netherlands and Flanders. Later, e-books were also published, and digital subscriptions to the magazines became available.
On 1 April 2019, Ons Erfdeel (NPO) launched three websites: www.de-lage-landen.com, www.les-plats-pays.com and www.the-low-countries.com. These sites provide daily information about the culture of the Low Countries.
To align the website www.de-lage-landen.com with the magazine Ons Erfdeel, Ons Erfdeel is renamed de lage landen as of 2020 (63rd edition).
At the end of 2020, Luc Devoldere retired. In 2021, Hendrik Tratsaert succeeded him as managing director and editor-in-chief with a focus on revitalisation. He left the organisation at the end of 2024.
As of that year, the cultural organisation presents itself as DE LAGE LANDEN and the name Ons Erfdeel (NPO) refers only to the legal entity of the organisation.
The management agreement with the Flemish government supports the organisation’s activities on a structural basis. Additionally, it receives recurring project subsidies from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) for its multilingual mission in English and French. The NPO generates its own income from sales (subscriptions, books), advertisements, sponsorships and patronage (donations and support subscriptions).
