Opsinjoorke

It all started in Antwerp in 1292, when Duke Jan I of Brabant came to visit and the locals decided to make a point. Men who abused their wives would be publicly mocked by tossing a wooden puppet called a "smijtpop" in a blanket. It was part punishment, part theatre, and entirely unforgettable.

The tradition found its true home in Mechelen, where by 1647 the puppet had grown into a full character: a round-bellied, mustachioed caricature of a drunken wife-beater, known as "Sotscop" or "Vuilen Bras." Not exactly a flattering portrait, but that was rather the point.

Then came 1775, and an accident that changed everything. During a parade, the puppet flew off course and landed squarely on a man from Antwerp. The Mechelen crowd erupted in laughter, shouting "Opsinjoorke," a mocking nickname for anyone from Antwerp. The name stuck to the puppet, and it never let go.

Today, Opsinjoorke stands immortalized in bronze on Mechelen's main square, and a more playful version keeps watch near Saint Rumbold's Tower. At local festivals, he still gets tossed in that blanket. Centuries of tradition, and the poor fellow still can't catch a break.