2023, Millenium of Bary-Barry family !

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The Bary-Barry family’s millennium, quite an event!

After two postponements due to the COVID 19 pandemic, we finally invite you to meet us from May 18 to 21, 2023, in places that our ancestor Odon may have known.

We will discover Ghent, two thousand years old. The castle of the Counts of Flanders was built there in the 9th century. Mathilde, the daughter of Baudouin V, married William the Conqueror around 1050. Flanders and Hainaut were then under the sovereignty of Baudouin, which explains why Odon’s son became a companion of William the Conqueror. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, Ghent was the second largest city in Europe after Paris. It is connected to Tournai by the Scheldt, which allowed an important river trade between the two ‘portus’. The distance between the two cities is 55 km as the crow flies, or one day on horseback.

Of course, Barry, a must-see place. There is nothing left of Odon’s time, but the family’s coat of arms, the three sea-bass heads, are engraved on a stele in front of the church. The teacher, who is very involved in the history of the village and the family, is preparing some surprises for us.

Tournai, also a city two thousand years old, was the birthplace of Clovis, founder of the Merovingian dynasty. It is therefore the cradle of the French monarchy and bears the royal lily on its coat of arms. We can admire the Cathedral of Notre-Dame with its five towers and foundations from the 11th century (UNESCO World Heritage Site) as well as the oldest Belfry in Belgium, whose construction began in the 12th century.

We hope to see many of you for this unique opportunity in these historic places!