The 11 November bank holiday in Belgium marks Armistice Day. At 11 am on 11 November 1918, an agreement between Germany and the Allies took effect and ended the fighting on the Western Front. Belgium marks the date each year with a statutory public holiday and ceremonies of remembrance.
What happened on 11 November 1918?
Germany and the Allies signed the armistice in France. An armistice is an agreement to stop fighting. The ceasefire took effect at 11 am, giving the anniversary its familiar link to the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. A formal peace settlement followed in 1919. Read the Imperial War Museums’ First World War guide.
For Belgium, the date recalls years of occupation and fighting. Around Ypres, known in Dutch as Ieper, the front left a landscape of cemeteries and memorials. Together’s guide to remembering the Great War in Belgium explores places where visitors can learn more.
How Belgium remembers Armistice Day
In Brussels, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sits beneath the Congress Column. Belgium buried the Unknown Soldier there on 11 November 1922. The remembrance ceremony at the column honours those who died in the two world wars, as well as Belgian service members who died on humanitarian and peace missions after 1945. See the Belgian Royal Palace’s account of the ceremony and the archival record of the 1922 burial.
In Ypres, buglers sound the Last Post at the Menin Gate at 8 pm every evening. On Wednesday 11 November 2026, the Last Post Association also plans a special 11 am ceremony. The public can follow it on a screen in the market square, and the 8 pm ceremony is open to the public. Check the organiser’s 2026 arrangements and the visitor guide for the daily tribute.
What the 11 November bank holiday means in Belgium
Armistice Day is one of Belgium’s ten statutory public holidays. You may see it listed as Armistice in French and Wapenstilstand in Dutch. The National Bank of Belgium closes on 11 November. If you plan to visit a bank branch, shop or museum, check its own holiday hours before setting out. See the federal employment guidance and the National Bank’s holiday calendar.
If the holiday falls on a Sunday or another day when your workplace normally closes, Belgian rules generally provide for a substitute day on a normal working day. Check your employer’s calendar for the date that applies to you. For more dates, see Together’s Belgium public holidays 2027 guide.
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Featured photograph: the Menin Gate in Ypres. Tim Bekaert / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
