BELGIUM |
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| Belgium (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 Germanic
Europe (with Dutch speakers in the North, the Flemings) and Romance Europe (with
French speakers in the South, the Walloons), which is reflected in its
complex institutions and political history. |
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Politics
Since the country's federalisation there have been many governmental
entities; apart from the Federal Government there is a subdivision according
to language into Communities, with the French(-speaking) Community, the
Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community, and another subdivision
into Regions: the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region and the Brussels-Capital
Region. The Flemish Community and the Flemish Region have been joined
together to form one government, see Flanders.
Behind these complex institutions, one notes the two dominant components of
the Belgian state: the Flemings and their political institutions under the
Flemish government; and the French-speakers, grouped under the French(-speaking)
Community and its more fragmented institutions. All political parties in
Belgium belong to one of these two communities, except for a German-speaking
party and some marginal parties in Brussels. However, these only attract
votes from one of the two communities in Brussels. Thus, there are no
national parties active over all the Belgian territory. In short, the
Belgian political landscape carefully mirrors the dual nature of Belgian
society.
Thus:
Federal government: Jurisdiction over Foreign affairs, international trade,
development aid, defence/Military, economy, social welfare, security (incl.
pensions, health care, social aid), transport, energy, telecommunications,
limited competencies in education, culture and scientific research, as well
as strict control over taxation by regional authorities, and, more
importantly 80% of all taxation)
Community governments: Language, culture and education. (e.g. Schools,
Libraries, Theatre, etc.)
Regional governments: Land and property based issues within their area
(regional economy, zoning, housing, transportation, etc.)
For example, a school building in Brussels belonging to the public school
system would be regulated by the regional government of Brussels. The school
as an institution however would fall under the regulations of either the
Flemish government, if the primary language of teaching is Dutch, or the
French Community government, if the primary language is French. It is a
complex, somewhat unstable and expensive, but peaceful compromise that
allows distinctly different cultures to live together.
Communities, regions & provinces
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.
Between brackets is the local name of each province, in either French or
Dutch:
Flanders (Dutch speaking; Vlaanderen in Dutch, Flandre or Flandres in French):
Antwerp (Antwerpen)
Limburg
East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen)
West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen)
Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant)
Wallonia (French speaking; Wallonie in French, Wallonië in Dutch):
Walloon Brabant (Brabant Wallon)
Namur
Liège
Hainaut
Luxembourg
The Brussels-Capital Region (Région de Bruxelles-Capitale in French,
Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest in Dutch, Die Region Brüssel-Hauptstadt in
German).
Each provincial entity (including the Brussels-Capital Region) is further
divided into smaller municipalities, called gemeenten in Dutch and communes
in French (see List of Belgian municipalities and List of Belgian
municipalities by population).
The main cities and their population are Brussels (959,318), Antwerp
(445,570), Ghent (224,685), Charleroi (200,233), and Liège (184,550).
Demographics
The population density, 336/km², is one of the highest in Europe, after the
Netherlands and some smaller countries such as Monaco. The areas with the
highest population density are around the Brussels-Antwerp-Ghent-Leuven
agglomerations, as well as other important urban centres as Liège,
Charleroi, Kortrijk, Brugge, Hasselt and Namur. The Ardennes have the lowest
density.
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 speak Flemish or Walloon dialects which are often difficult
to understand for people from other areas. 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
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" ("Schoolstrijd" in
Dutch, "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
A discussion of Belgian culture may lead to discussing both those aspects of
cultural life shared by "all" or most of the Belgians, regardless of their
language, and also, the differences between the main cultural communities,
the Flemings, viewed as more inclined towards Anglo-Saxon culture, and the
French-speakers, viewed as more inclined towards French and other latin
cultures.
For as far as cultural generalities shared by all Belgians go, 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. Magritte,
together with Paul Delvaux, were 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.
In architecture 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 (#4) 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. Belgium and
parts of Northern France is the site of the so-called Spring Classics, a
series of road cycling races ran in the spring season. Roughly speaking,
there are two types of such races: the Flemish ones and the Walloon ones.
The Flemish ones are characterized by cobblestones or "pave", and the
Walloon ones are characterized by rolling hills. Examples of the Flemish
races include Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the Het Volk. Examples
of the Walloon races include Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Flèche-Wallone.
Regional loyalties are often found in full display at these races. Belgium
is also the dominant country in cyclocross, and has produced a few MTB
champions.
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 frietkoten) and stands
(often at train stations) and are known locally as frieten in Dutch and
frites in French, though never, ever 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. Several of
these festivals include sporting competitions, such as cycling, and many of
these festivals fall under the category of Kermesse.
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 Sinterklaasdag 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.
Tourism in Belgium
This article is about the tourism in Belgium.
Belgium is famous for chocolate and beer. Belgium also is famous for its
rich cultural heritage including its capital Brussels with its famous
architecture, palaces, its pubs, old shopping malls and its lifestyle. But
there are some more places worth a visit. The second largest city of Antwerp
(located to the north of Brussels) is a famous harbour town with a diamond
stock exchange. In Ghent, Brugge and other Flemish towns one can see famous
old Flemish trading towns, known for their famous painters, such as Rubens.
Belgium has a coastline (North Sea, province West Flanders) and some
"mountainous" (not exceeding 700 meters though...) areas like the Ardennes.
There one can relax in Spa (the English word "spa" reminds us to this famous
Belgian town), visit famous student's towns like Leuven or Liège. And in the
evening sit down in a little pub and enjoy a beer from Leffe abbey. |
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