Aalst (Dutch pronunciation: [aːlst] ⓘ; French: Alost, pronounced [alɔst]; Brabantian: Oilsjt) is a city and municipality in the province of East Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium.

During the Middle Ages, a town and port grew at this strategic point, where the road from Bruges to Cologne crossed the Dender.

[4] During the Hundred Years War the town of Aalst allied themselves with Louis de Male against Philip van Artevelde and sent troops in the victorious Battle of Roosebeke.

It is also at that time that Dirk Martens, a local citizen, became the Southern Netherlands’ first printer, founding a printing shop in 1473[7] that published books by various authors including Christopher Columbus; Martens would later become a professor at the Old University of Leuven,[4] and he was laid to rest in the St Martin's Church of Aalst.

It was later taken by the French Marshal Turenne in the War of Devolution of 1667, then occupied by France until 1706, when it became independent once more following the Battle of Ramillies,[3] along with Southern Flanders in general.

[9] 1830 saw Belgium gain independence and Aalst became part of the country, this ended a long period, starting in 1056, of foreign control, by such as the Spanish, German, French, and the Dutch.

[5] The 19th century was marked by social crises engendered by the Industrial Revolution, with Father Adolf Daens and his Christene Volkspartij emerging as the local defender of workers' rights.

][10] In the Pre-World War II years, the fascist movement in the Low Countries gained momentum, with the collaborationist Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (Flemish National Union) putting down roots in the region.

[13][14] In December 2019, anticipating UNESCO's response to the decision of the carnival organizers to double down on the widely reported use of anti-Semitic stereotypes,[15][16] the mayor of Aalst pre-emptively applied to have his city's carnival removed from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

[18] These included floats depicting Orthodox Jews with hooked noses standing on sacks of gold coins.

Israel's ambassador to Belgium stated “What we are asking for is the prohibition of all these antisemitic cartoons, which are beyond good taste, which have nothing to do with a sense of humor and which do not honor an exemplary democracy such as Belgium.”[19] In response, Belgium’s prime minister, Sophie Wilmès, described the parade as an “internal affair.”[20] UNIA, the Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, stated in a report that no criminal offences were committed, for the parade had no anti-semitic motive, nor the intent to incite hatred or violence against Jews.

The two shields show the Imperial eagle and the Flemish lion, recalling the odd status of the Country of Aalst.