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The most European of countries...
Lying right at the beating heart of Europe, this small country
boasts three official languages and more history, art, food and
architecture per square centimetre than many of its bigger neighbours.
Nestling between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France,
Belgium occupies 30,518 square kilometres and is home to 10.2 million
people. Stretching from the picturesque Ardennes region in the south
to the windswept North Sea coastline in the North, it is crisscrossed
extensively by a network of canals. Belgium became part of the Frankish
empire in 1100 and enjoyed a Golden Age during the 14th century under the
French Duke of Burgundy. This was a time of great prosperity and artistry
with the city of Antwerp becoming the greatest port in Europe. The country
was invaded twice by Germany, once in 1914 and again in 1940. Belgium’s
population is divided between Flemish speakers (60%) and French speaking
Walloons (40%) with pockets of German speakers in the east. The constitution
was redrawn in 1980 on a federal basis. It recognized three separate entities:
the Flemish North, Walloon South and Brussels, which is officially bilingual.
The Belgians are credited with inventing oil
painting and the work of such artists as Van Eyck, Brueghel and Rubens are
world famous. The country is also renowned for such diverse activities as
chocolate and lace-making, beer and comic strips. Herge, the creator of the
well-known comic strip Tintin, was Belgian. The country’s capital city,
Brussels, is also the capital of the European Union. It boasts Europe’s
most beautiful central square, the Grand Place. The country’s best
restaurants can be found on the Rue des Bouchers, a stone’s throw from
the Grand Place. Here you can sample lobster, crab and mussels washed down
with excellent Belgian beer.
The city of Bruges is Europe’s best-preserved
medieval city. It has two medieval cores and some of the country’s most
impressive art collections. Visit Antwerp to take in its air of faded grandeur
and its lively cafés and bars. Take a walk in the beautiful Ardennes region of
deep valleys and high forests. Let the spirit of this most European of countries
enter your soul.
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