STILT WALKING GROUP
De Koninklijke Steltenlopers Merchtem – Belgium

The group of stilt walkers “De Steltenlopers van Merchtem” was founded at the end of World War 2 in 1945, but the custom to walk on stilts dated as early as the Fourteenth Century. The custom of stilt walking found its origin at Langevelde, a hamlet of Merchtem, where was usually flooded by the local stream almost every year. People had to use stilts to cross high rivers as well as flooded and marshy areas. Gradually, this custom has grown to a worldwide known folkloric pole of attraction.

At the end of World War 2, fairs and processions were organised everywhere in Belgium to celebrate the liberation. Langevelde came up with the idea to let their people, dressed in paper clothes in the national tricolour, walk on stilts of different heights.

Since that day in 1945, the stilt walkers have travelled through Belgium and a large part of Europe like The Netherlands, Luxemburg, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland and Romania. They even have performed in Russia, Japan, China and the USA.

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