Café 'De Zwaan' (Diest)

Café De Zwaan is a popular café in Diest. We take a moment to think about it because a few times a year, in competition with a friendly café, they do 'disc shooting'. This game consists of throwing a metal disc at a concrete container filled with ironed-on earth. Two parallel wires are stretched across the earth. The trick is to get the disc between the two wires. The concrete blocks with earth can be seen here.

The name 'De Zwaan' is a very old name for an inn. The Swan is a well-known bird in medieval signs, especially at breweries and inns. Paul Kempeneers explains this popularity. A swan is a cheerful aquatic animal that, with its long neck, is suitable for diving in the wet. In the 17th century, for example, a poet wrote on a glass in an inn where the Swan hung out: 'De Swaen feeds every pub, both in village and city, because he is always graeg with his mouth in the wet'.

The swan was also a 'noble' bird that was maintained in the ramparts of the cities. The keepers of the swans kept an inn open and then hung out the Swan. Zwaantje was also a favorite woman's name. 't Zwaantje on a signboard may have indicated the beautiful innkeeper herself. Here you can see a café de Zwaan in a hollow tree and with a less good reputation in the painting 'The Census' by Bruegel

Jan Rymenams