Most Belgians have been taught that the village of Ittre, south of Brussels, is the geographical centre of their country.
A large millstone in the centre of the village marks the precise spot. But it is wrong.
The true centre moved slightly eastwards when the East Cantons were handed to Belgium after the First World War. But the official centre stayed in Ittre.
No one noticed the mistake until 1998, when a new monument to mark the real centre of Belgium was placed in a field near the village of Nil-Saint-Vincent. But the old millstone is still standing in the centre of Ittre, just to confuse everyone.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
