BelgiumBelgium (Dutch: België, French: Belgique, German: Belgien) is a country in Western Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. Belgium is at a cultural crossroad between the Germanic Europe (with Dutch speakers in the North, the Flemings) and the Romance Europe (with French speakers in the South, the Walloons), which is reflected in its complex institutions and political history. \n
Communities, regions & provinces\nMain article: Regions and provinces of Belgium Belgium is divided into three communities, the Flemish community, the French-speaking community and the German-speaking community, and in three regions: Brussels (mainly Dutch- and French-speaking, with a population of 960,000), Flanders (mainly Dutch-speaking, with a population of 6,000,000), and Wallonia (mainly French-speaking, with a population of 3,300,000). The later two regions are each divided into 5 provinces.\n
Between brackets is the local name of each province, in either French or Dutch:
Geography\nMain article: Geography of Belgium\n
Belgium has an area of 30,510 km². Belgium has three main physical regions: the coastal plain (located in the northwest), the central plateau, and the Ardennes uplands (located in the southeast).
The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders. Polders are areas of land, close to or below sea level, that have been reclaimed from the sea from which they are protected by dikess, or, further inland, fields that have been drained by canals.
The second physical region, the central plateau, lies further inland. This is a smooth, slowly rising area which has many fertile valleys and is irrigated by many waterways. Here one can also find rougher land, including caves and small gorges.
The third physical region (called the Ardennes) is somewhat more rugged than the first two. It is a thickly forested plateau, very rocky and not very good for farming, which extends into northern France. This is where much of Belgium's wildlife can be found.
The two main rivers in Belgium are the Scheldt and the Meuse. These two rivers bring prosperity to Tournai, Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges, Liège and Namur. Although generally flat, the terrain becomes increasingly hilly and forested in the southeast (Ardennes) region, where one can find Belgium's highest point, the Signal de Botrange at only 694 metres.
The climate is cool, temperate, and rainy; summer temperatures average 25°C / 77°F, winters average 7.2°C / 45°F. Annual extremes (rarely attained) are -12.2°C / 10°F and 32.2°C / 90°F.
Economy\nMain article: Economy of Belgium Densely populated Belgium is located at the heart of one of the world's most highly industrialised regions. One of the first countries to undergo an industrial revolution on the continent of Europe in the early 1800s, Belgium developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways, and highways to integrate its industry with that of its neighbours. One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports deepening the powers of the EU to integrate European economies. Belgium was one of the first countries to adopt the euro, the single European currency, in January 1999 and the Belgian franc was completely replaced by euro coins and banknotes in early 2002. Belgium is sometimes called "The heart of Europe". This is not only because of its geographical location, but also due to many international institutions having their headquarters in Brussels, such as NATO (others). This, in its turn, is because it has an excellent transportation system. It has a modern and toll-free road system, is connected to the European railway system, and Antwerp is the second largest European port. The economy in Belgium greatly depends on its imports and exports. Its main imports are: food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles, and its main trade partners are Germany, The Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States, and Spain. Its main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. Trade is made together with Luxembourg, since these two countries created a customs and currency union in 1922.Demographics\nMain article: Demographics of Belgium The population density, 336/km², is one of the highest in Europe, after the Netherlands and some smaller countries such as Monaco. There are three official languages, Dutch, French and German. More than half of the country is Dutch-speaking (56%-60%), French is the second most spoken language (40%-44%) and German is spoken by less than 1% of the population, although these figures must be taken with care since the last linguistic census dated before 1960. Both the official Dutch spoken in Belgium and Belgian French have small vocabulary differences from the varieties spoken in the Netherlands and France, but are mutually intelligible with their respective neighbouring dialects. Many of the population speak Flemish or Walloon which are often difficult to understand for speakers of standard Dutch or French. Other regional languages officially recognised (in Wallonia only) are Champenois, Gaumais, and Picard. Brussels, the capital, is mostly French speaking, but officially French/Dutch bilingual as it evolved from a Dutch-speaking place when the Belgian state became independent in 1830 to its current dominantly French character being the capital of the central administration of the federal country. Over 98% of the adult population is literate. Education is obligatory from the age of 6 until the age of 18, but most Belgian students keep on studying until the age of 23. This makes Belgium's education system the second most intensive in Europe, after the UK's.Religion\nMain article: Religion of Belgium In Belgium Roman Catholicism is the majority religion, accounting for between 75% and 80% of the population, although nowadays only about 10% to 20% of the population regularly goes to church. Other religions widely practised in Belgium are Islam, Protestantism, and Judaism. Religion was one of the differences between the Roman Catholic south and the Protestant north of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which eventually broke up in 1830 when the south seceded to form Belgium. This accounts for the preponderance of Catholics there nowadays. Since 1830, Catholicism has had also an important role in Belgium's politics. One example is the so-called "school wars" ("guerres scolaires" in French) between liberals and Catholics which took place between 1879 and 1884 for the first one and between 1954 and 1958 for the second one. Between World War I and World War II the centre of occult and mystical activity was shifted from France to Belgium. Belgium became the main centre for many brotherhoods and secret societies of which many branches still exist today.Culture\nMain article: Culture of Belgium The country is well known for its art, its great architecture, its beer, its food, and its chocolate. Belgium has a variety of famous artists. These include Peter Paul Rubens, René Magritte, Jan van Eyck, Breughel, Memling, Ensor, Delvaux. René Magritte is probably the most famous Belgian artist. He, together with Paul Delvaux, are two major artists of the surrealistic style. Many great French authors went to Belgium for refuge. In music Adolphe Sax is famous for inventing the saxophone in 1840. He appeared on the former Belgian 200 Belgian francs (BEF) banknotes. In architecture the name Victor Horta is well known. He was one of the originators of the Art Nouveau architecture, a style of architecture which had a major impact upon 20th century buildings. Belgium has a large variety of museums and temporary expositions. Some of the most impressive museums in Belgium are The Royal Museum for Fine Arts, in Antwerpen, which has an admirable collection of works by Peter Paul Rubens, and The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, which has a cinema, a concert hall, and artworks of many periods. Belgium is well represented in the world of sport, football (soccer) being very popular. The national football team is called the Red Devils, and they are ranked as 24th by FIFA. However, Belgium also has two female tennis players in the top 20; Kim Clijsters (#2) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (#1). Belgium has also performed well in cycling. One of the greatest cyclists ever, Eddy Merckx, who won 5 Tours de France, five Giro d'Italia, one Vuelta a España, two Tours of Belgium, and one Tour of Switzerland, was Belgian. Belgium has world champions in motocross, judo and table tennis. Many gourmets think that Belgium has the best food in Europe. Brands of Belgian chocolate, like Neuhaus, Côte d'Or, Leonidas, Godiva are world renowned, the praline having been invented in Belgium. In Belgium there are over 450 different kinds of beer, those of the Trappist monks being the most prestigious. Technically, it is an ale and traditionally each abbey's beer is served in its own glass (the forms, heights and widths are different). Belgians have a reputation for loving French fries. The fried potato strips are sold at many small shops (called fritures or friettenten) and stands (often at train stations) and are known locally as frieten in Dutch and frites in French, though not as 'French fries'. Some Belgian cuisine is exported all over the world. Other less known snacks are speculaas (a sweet, crunchy cookie), waffles and chocolate truffles. As main courses Belgians have mussels with French fries, endive prepared in a special way, Brussels sprouts, Gentse waterzooi (a casserole made up of chicken and vegetables) and Paling In 't Groen (eels in a sauce). Festivals play a major role in Belgium's cultural life. Nearly every city and town has its own festival, some that date back several centuries. And these aren't just tricks for tourism, but real, authentic celebrations that take months to prepare. Two of the biggest festivals are the three-day carnival at Binche, near Mons, held just before Lent (the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter), and the Procession of the Holy Blood, held in Bruges in May. During the carnival in Binche, "Gilles" lead the procession, which are men dressed in high, plumed hats and bright costumes. Another part of Belgian traditions is the comic strip. Belgium has numerous cartoonists, such as Hergé (Tintin), Willy Vandersteen (Bob & Bobette or "Suske en Wiske" in the original Dutch), Morris (Lucky Luke), Peyo (The Smurfs), Franquin (Spirou, Marsupilami, Gaston), Marc Sleen (Nero). An important holiday (which is however not an official public holiday) takes place each year on December 6. This is Sinterklaas dag in Dutch or la Saint-Nicolas in French (English: Saint Nicholas). This is sort of an early Christmas. On December 5 evening before going to bed, kids put their shoes by the hearth with some water or wine and a carrot for Saint Nicholas's horse or donkey. Supposedly St. Nicholas then comes at night and travels down the chimney. He then takes the food and water or wine, puts down presents, goes back up, feeds his horse or donkey, and continues his course. He also knows whether kids have been good or bad. This holiday is especially loved by children in Belgium and the Netherlands. See also: Music of BelgiumRelated topics
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"Few things are harder to put up with than a good example." - Mark Twain (1835-1910) |
Belgium's foreign involvement increased after the First World War when two former German colonies, 