Steenwerck also has its own festival giant, as is the tradition in the Nord Department, which is named Totor and is one of the tallest, measuring 5.70 m (18.7 ft).

Commerce was originally started by the town's founder, la Becque, who built canals with locks right up to Lys.

Through the course of history, several variations have appeared: for the period when Middle Dutch was spoken (1150 - 1550) one would see: Then in various documents, the name became Stewerc.

Built in the central courtyard of an old farm at the start of the 18th century, it shows the activities and trades of a typical Flemish village from 1850 to 1950.

Village life is depicted with shops - a tavern, a grocer's, a hatter's, a bakery, a butcher's, a cobbler's, the apothecary, the basket maker, and a hairdresser.

There is a school and several businesses including a thatcher, carder, saddler, carpenter, cooper, wheelwright, blacksmith and beekeeper.

Another, much smaller one was made in 1947, but with the public celebration of feast days on the wane, this giant didn't last the humid conditions of storage.

[10] In the northern French dialect spoken in Steenwerck "Vonchelle" is a bindweed, a plant which typifies the Flanders volunteer, in that it has very deep roots.

Initially it only focused on getting to know and teaching traditional Flemish dances, but a decade later a band was formed and Vonchelle is now involved fully in the Folk circuit.

They also perform from a traditional Flemish heritage, with some borrowings from the Irish repertoire, for example, jigs, circles, and so on, or the centre of France, for example, bourées.

The church was destroyed during the First World War, but was rebuilt in 1923 to the design of Armand Lemay, an architect from Lille.

When the church was complete, the people asked the diocese for a priest, but the bishop, knowing of local opposition from Steenwerck, refused.

The Flemish house was built, in 1890, on the initiative of Pierre Dutrie, in the Gothic Revival style, because of his love of the city of Bruges where he had two friends.