° 22/04/1940, Brussels
Iwein, born in 1940, traded his home in Brussels for Brussels by the Sea: Ostend, and became the pub owner of ‘t Kroegske in 1964. This grew from an artistic pub into a center of gentle anarchy, with humor as its strongest weapon. In this way, Iwein, together with his friends, was able to shape the Paulus Festivals as a free, open public festival. Seven days of music, street theater, and poetry, but above all joy and friendship. This outgrew its boundaries. The small square became too small, and the Petrus and Paulus Square was taken over. But with the Little Paulus in July, he brought back the cozy small-scale atmosphere to his Paulus Square in the heart of the old fishermen’s quarter. There, a single tree now stands proudly in the middle, which, in a playful anarchistic way, after a turbulent history, has conquered the square. The square became a traffic-free oasis, a symbol of love and determination for the warm Ostend. Iwein is one of those Ostendians who gives Ostend its soul, someone who shows what truly makes the city.
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