Capital City: Brussels
Population: 11 million
-The population density is the second highest in Europe, after the Netherlands (97% of the population is urban)
Area: Divided into 10 provinces and 3 regions -the 3 major regions are the Brussels capital region, Wallonia and Flanders. The Brussels Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region.
Currency: Euro
Languages: Three official languages: Flemish (a dialect of Dutch), in the Flanders region (60%) French in Wallonia and the Brussels region (40%), and a small group of German speakers in Wallonia. Following a usage which can be traced back to the Burgundian and Habsburgian courts, in the 19th century it was necessary to speak French to belong to the governing upper class, and those who could only speak Dutch were effectively second-class citizens. Walloons (in Wallonia) and those in the Brussels region adopted French as their official language. But the Flemings, refused to do so and succeeded in making Dutch the official language of Flanders; the constitution now officially recognizes and gives rights to the different language groups. Today, the Belgian economy shows a dual nature: a dynamic Flemish economy and a Walloon economy that lags behind.
Part of EU?: Belgium was a Founding Member of the EU in 1957 and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO.
Parliament: Former Belgian President Herman Van Rompuy was designated the first permanent President of the European Council in 2009. He legalized same-sex marriage, and was lenient on soft drug use and euthanasia. In 2003 Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognise same-sex marriages (The Netherlands was first, in 2001). The only countries that currently grant gay marriage full legal status are: The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Norway, Sweden and South Africa.
Famous People: Audrey Hepburn (Belgian-born, Dutch-raised); Jean-Claude Van-Damme; Django Reinhardt; Liz Claiborne
-Belgium is one of the few countries that has compulsory voting, and thus holds one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world
-The first newspaper was printed in Belgium
-A Belgian created the Big Bang Theory
-“Spa” is a Belgian city where the word originated
Quick History:
Back in the 10th Century, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands were jointly known as the “Low Countries”, and life was running along quite smoothly. In the 12th and 13th centuries, cloth manufacturing in Flanders took off with the growth of cities like Ypres, Bruges and Ghent, and with the expansion of trade across northern Europe and beyond. By the 14th century, Ghent was the second biggest city in Europe after Paris.
Charles V was born in Ghent in 1500 and, at the age of 15, became Duke of Burgundy and ruler of the Low Countries. He inherited several crowns from his different grandparents (one set of grandparents were Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain): Hapsburg Austria, Spain and Germany. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, thus becoming Europe’s most powerful ruler.
Charles initially ruled from Brussels, where he was advised by the great humanist Erasmus. He spent much of his life travelling to far-flung parts of the empire and, later, ruling from Spain, considering it the most powerful part of his Empire (the Spanish explorer, Christopher Columbus, had, after all, discovered America by this point).
During Charles’ reign, the Reformation swept Europe, and met with severe repercussions in the Low Countries. Charles was severe, and his son Philip II was even worse about punishing those who spoke against Catholicism (no surprise, seeing as his great-grandparents were responsible for the Spanish Inquisition!). In 1566 the Protestants revolted, running riot and ransacking churches in a wave of violence that has become known as the Iconoclastic Fury.
In the turbulent years that followed, during which time the Dutch Revolt occurred, the present-day borders of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were drawn. The Netherlands expelled the Spaniards, while Belgium and Luxembourg, known then as the Spanish Netherlands, stayed under southern rule.
In 1598 Philip II handed the Spanish Netherlands to his daughter Isabella and her husband, Archduke Albert of Austria. Their 40-year reign is most noted for its flamboyant court, which gave rise to new industries like lace making and diamond processing. In turn, this brief economic boom boosted cultural life in Brussels and Antwerp and brought to the fore great painters, such as Pieter Paul Rubens, who had been living in Renaissance Italy, and eventually returned to set up a studio in Antwerp that influenced most Belgian artists of the time.
In the 17th century, the Scheldt River was blockaded by the Dutch and trade shifted away from Antwerp to Amsterdam, ushering in the latter’s golden age and ruining the prosperity of the former. Life in the Spanish Netherlands worsened when French plans to dominate Europe during Napoleon's reign meant war after war was fought in this buffer land.
The Battleground of Europe
From the 16th century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed the battleground of Europe. Again, in WWI and WWII, a lot of the fighting occurred in Belgium (due in part to its geographical position between Germany and France). Belgium was supposed to be a neutral country, and when the Germans attacked France via Belgium, that brought the British Empire into the war. The Battles of Ypres, in Flanders, was the first time chlorine gas was used by the Germans in warfare. The poem Flanders Fields remembers the fighting that went on there.Independent Belgium
The fighting came to a head with the War of Spanish Succession (1701–13), which saw the Spanish Netherlands handed over to the Austrians. The mighty Austrian Hapsburgs ruled from 1713 to 1794 and, overall, the century was a peaceful change to what had come before. The French reclaimed Belgium briefly after the French Revolution, but when Napoleon was defeated, the low countries were united again into The United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna.
The 1830 Belgian Revolution led to the establishment of a Belgium country independent from the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with King Leopold as its first king. The British and French helped the Belgians become independent and decreed it be so with the 1839 Treaty of London. So in 1914, when the Germans invaded Belgium, the British declared war, upholding that Treaty.
BENELUX - Friends
Despite being separate countries today, the three former compatriots remain close friends; they founded Benelux in the 1950s, which was a precursor to the European Union.
In 2000, Belgium and the Netherlands jointly hosted the Euro Cup, the first time two countries co-hosted it. The official mascot for the tournament was Benelucky, a lion-devil with its hair colour being a combination of the flag colours of both host nations.
It was the first time a game had been played in Heysel Stadium in Brussels since the disaster in 1985, when Liverpool FC fans rioted and pushed against a fence and 39 people sitting underneath died. Although there had been speculation that the stadium was not fit to hold the event in the first place, the blame was placed mainly on Liverpool fans and English football clubs were banned from the Euro Cup for five years. There are still memorial statues outside Heysel Stadium.
The three countries have put in a Benelux bid to co-host the 2018 World Cup.
BENELUX-Foes
But relations aren’t always so happy, and one major feud between Belgium and the Netherlands is playing out over mussels.
The Scheldt River is shared by the two countries, and it is the main waterway linking Antwerp to the North Sea. Back in the day, when the Dutch blockaded the river, trade was rerouted to Amsterdam and away from Antwerp, causing Antwerp’s prosperity to decline. Today, The Netherlands refuses to dredge its side of the Scheldt. The dredging work, agreed between the two countries in 2005, is necessary to allow large ships to reach Antwerp, Europe’s third largest port, and the delay is costing the Belgian port over £60 million a year in lost trade.
Belgium is convinced that The Netherlands is delaying the work again, like they did back in the 17th century, so that their own trade ports will profit (namely: Rotterdam).
This dispute is starting to threaten relations between the two countries, and could jeopardize their World Cup bid.
And one way that the Flemish government is trying to show their anger at the Dutch is by urging Belgians to stop eating mussels and oysters because Belgium's consumption accounts for 60 per cent of the Dutch shellfish harvest, including crops from the Scheldt.
But mussels are the national dish of Belgium, and the people want to support their government, but so far, they have not shown any desire to give up their favourite meal.
Borders: Landlocked between France, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands
Because of its high population density, location in the centre of Western Europe (most West European capitals are within 1,000 km of Brussels), and inadequate political effort, Belgium faces serious environmental problems. It scored 75.9% for overall environmental performance and was ranked lowest of the EU member countries
Food and Drink: The national dishes are ‘steak and fries with salad’, or ‘mussels with fries". Brussel Sprouts.
BELGIAN WAFFLES:
FRENCH FRIES:
Back in the 17th century, the poor inhabitants in a Belgian region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals.
There are a few legends as to where the name "french" comes from.
The name actually refers to the description of the manner in which the potato is cut: to "french" means to cut into slivers.
A Belgian legend claims that the term "French" was introduced when British or American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I, tasted Belgian fries, and called them "French", as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time.
At a White House dinner in 1802, Thomas Jefferson served "potatoes served in the French manner.”
CHOCOLATE:
175,000 tonnes of chocolate are produced in Belgium each year. It is held to the highest standard, even the Swiss got their recipe from Belgium. Most of it is still made by hand in small shops that are a tourist attraction like wineries in France.
However, the history behind Belgian chocolate is not so sweet: in fact, it emerged from the Heart of Darkness in the Belgian Congo.
King Leopold II colonized the Congo in the 19th century, and was the first leader to commit genocide in the 20th century. The Congo was turned into a slave-labor camp for the production of rubber. Villages were burned, women and children murdered, the hands were cut off of anyone who tried to resists. An estimated 10 million Congolese were murdered under his order, however it paved the way into the African cocoa grounds. In 1912, Belgian chocolate really took off when Jean Neuhaus created a “couverture”, a cover for “pralines”, which could be hazelnut, fruits, creams, etc.
King Leopold II colonized the Congo in the 19th century, and was the first leader to commit genocide in the 20th century. The Congo was turned into a slave-labor camp for the production of rubber. Villages were burned, women and children murdered, the hands were cut off of anyone who tried to resists. An estimated 10 million Congolese were murdered under his order, however it paved the way into the African cocoa grounds. In 1912, Belgian chocolate really took off when Jean Neuhaus created a “couverture”, a cover for “pralines”, which could be hazelnut, fruits, creams, etc.
BELGIAN BEER:
The majority of Belgian beers come in bottles, usually dark brown. All Belgian beers have their own glass, often accentuating the type of beer. A goblet, for example, lets the drinker's nose inhale the beer's aroma at the same time the mouth is drinking in the liquid. A tulip glass, for example, is very good for foam retention.
Legend has it that beer has been brewed in Trappist Monasteries in Belgium since the Middle Ages (no written proof), but the first recorded Trappist brewery began in 1836. Each abbey's beer is served in its own glass and only seven breweries (six of these are Belgian, one is Dutch) are allowed to brew Trappist beer. For a beer to qualify for Trappist certification, the brewery must be in or near a monastery, the monks must play a role in its production and policies and the profits from the sale must be used to support the monastery and/or social programs outside.
ABBEY OF WESTVLETEREN BEER (http://www.sintsixtus.be/eng/brouwerij.htm)
The Trappist beer of the Abbey of Westvleteren has consistently been rated the world's best beer, which is unfortunate for the monks, who have been brewing it for 160 years, because it has made them famous.
Inside the monastery's walled compound is a small, modern, bottling plant manned by three monks, producing 12,000 bottles an hour. The monks sleep in dormitories and pray for up to six hours a day in seven sessions starting at 3.30am. They may consume a light beer, Westvleteren Blond, the weakest drink produced there.
The monks at Westvleteren have repeatedly stated that they only brew enough beer to run the monastery, and will make no more than they need to sell, regardless of demand.
During World War II, the brewery stopped supplying wholesalers and since 1941 they only sell to individual buyers in person at the brewery or the visitor's centre opposite. These methods all go against modern business methods, however as stated by the Father Abbott on the opening of the new brewery, "We are no brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks.".
Sales are limited to one order a month per person per license plate and phone number. Also, the beer must be reserved on their "beerphone" (+32 (0)70 21 00 45) beforehand.
The monks will not increase supply to match demand because they believe in a monastic life. Because of the fame they have received, they mostly turn beer-seekers away and direct them to the cafe/exhibition across the road.
TIN TIN:
Tintin is a reporter, and Hergé uses this to present the character in a number of adventures which were contemporary with the period in which he was working, most notably, the Bolshevik uprisings in Russia and WWII. The invasion of Belgium by Hitler saw the closure of the newspaper in which TinTin was serialized. During the war, Herge ended up serializing his comics in a German-licensed newspaper, and after the war was accused of being a Nazi collaborator. Herge’s personal life also seeped into the comics; TinTin in Tibet, for example, was influenced by his nervous breakdown; his nightmares, which he described as being “all white” are reflected in the snowy landscapes.
Tintin in the Congo has been criticised as presenting the Africans as naïve and primitive.
But, despite controversy, Tintin has done a lot of good. In the wider art world, both Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein have claimed Hergé as one of their most important influences. On 1 June 2006, the Dalai Lama bestowed the International Campaign for Tibet's Light of Truth Award upon the character of Tintin, along with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The award was in recognition of Hergé's book Tintin in Tibet, which was "for many ... their introduction to the awe-inspiring landscape and culture of Tibet".
Charles de Gaulle once said "My only international rival is Tintin".
Language Tips
Hello: Hello
Goodbye: Vaarwell
Please: Tevreden
Thank You: Dank u
Excuse Me/Sorry: Verontschuldiging Me/Sorry
Yes: Ja
No: Nr
Do you speak English?: Spreekt u het Engels
Where is?: Waar? is
How much? Hoeveel?
One:
Two: Twee
Three: Drie
Four: Vier
Five: Vijf
Water: Water
Beer: Bier
Wine: Wijn
Cheers!: Juicht! toe
No comments:
Post a Comment