The Real Diputación de San Andrés de los Flamencos, Fundación Carlos de Amberes, is a Spanish institution, born in 1594, as a consequence of the donation that a merchant from Antwerp, named Carlos, made on that date to attend to pilgrims and needy people from the Flemish nations that were then under the crown of Spain in Madrid.

In 1992, on its fourth centenary, this Foundation, originally a charitable foundation, was transformed into a cultural foundation, considering that culture is the nexus of understanding between countries and that European integration is the stage for a common horizon.

Over the past 30 years, some 2,000 events have been organised, including some 100 exhibitions, 600 concerts, 500 European debates and 43 historical research papers have been published.

The Fundación Carlos de Amberes’s most precious asset is the painting by P.P. Rubens around 1637 depicting the Martyrdom of St. Andrew. The painting was commissioned by the Foundation and paid for by the then representative of the Plantin-Moretus printing house near the Spanish Court.

Since 1607, the successive King and Queen of Spain have been honorary presidents of the foundation, whose current board of trustees includes, along with other Spanish personalities, the Head of the Household of King Felipe VI, the ambassadors to Spain of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the Mayor of Madrid and the President of the Government of the Community of Madrid.

There is an association in Brussels (ASBL) called CARLOS DE AMBERES, which brings together people in Belgium who share the need to deepen their knowledge of centuries of shared cultures and who are therefore friends of the Spanish foundation. The association in Belgium helps to keep alive the memory of an institution that has witnessed a long history and collaborates in the dissemination of the cultural and European values that animate it.

Indeed, within the framework of the sociological studies periodically carried out by the Instituto Real Elcano, the Fundación Carlos de Amberes, together with the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg and the aforementioned association of friends, understood that it was useful to have a more scientific knowledge of how the citizens of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg and those of Spain see each other, what image we have of each other’s economic and social realities, what strengths and weaknesses we find in the relations between citizens, in the economic activities of one and the other.

The result is encouraging and very illustrative. Encouraging in that the image of Spain and Spaniards in Belgium is very similar to the image Belgians have of themselves, and is better, for example, than the image of France and Germany in Belgium. It is a result, moreover, very similar to that which appears in other Elcano Royal Institute studies on Germany and France. We say that it is illustrative insofar as it allows us to approach the perceptions that we have of each other and which, although they do not correspond to reality, constitute the scenario on which political or business decisions are taken.

In a few weeks we will begin major works to adapt our Madrid headquarters, located in one of the most premium neighbourhoods of Madrid, to the best standards for multi-purpose uses for exhibitions, concerts, business meetings, debates of all kinds and as a centre for historical research on centuries of shared history.

The works have a dual purpose: on the one hand, it is necessary to modernise the space and facilities of the headquarters, while at the same time this renovation serves to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Foundation, given the growing demand for multi-purpose and prestigious venues in Madrid’s Salamanca neighbourhood.

This building – the Foundation’s second headquarters – is a former church built at the end of the 19th century, secularised and converted into a space for exhibitions, concerts, conferences and book presentations, among other activities. The architectural work to be carried out on the 2045 square metres of the building will provide an auditorium with 220 seats below ground level and 600 square metres of a single hall or exhibition rooms of 100 + 125 + 125 + 125 + 250 m² thanks to the coverage of the courtyard.
You are about to undertake major works at your headquarters in Madrid.

We will soon be launching a FRIENDS OF THE FOUNDATION category, aimed at companies who may be interested in preferential use of the space and participation in the Foundation’s programmes and who would like their name to appear among those who contribute to safeguarding a historical legacy.