54 Facts About Brussels Belgium

1.

Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium.

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2.

Brussels Belgium grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in Europe.

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3.

Brussels Belgium is the de facto capital of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including its administrative-legislative, executive-political, and legislative branches .

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4.

Brussels Belgium'storically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century.

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5.

Brussels Belgium is known for its cuisine and gastronomic offer, as well as its historical and architectural landmarks; some of them are registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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6.

The official founding of Brussels Belgium is usually said to be around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to Saint Gaugericus' chapel.

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7.

Brabant was integrated into this composite state, and Brussels Belgium flourished as the Princely Capital of the prosperous Burgundian Netherlands, known as the Seventeen Provinces.

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8.

Brussels Belgium was captured by France in 1746, during the War of the Austrian Succession, but was handed back to Austria three years later.

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9.

The Free University of Brussels Belgium was established in 1834 and Saint-Louis University in 1858.

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10.

Brussels Belgium became one of the major European cities for the development of the Art Nouveau style in the 1890s and early 1900s.

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11.

In recent years, Brussels Belgium has become an important venue for international events.

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12.

Article 194 of the Belgian Constitution establishes that the capital of Belgium is the City of Brussels, the municipality in the region that is the city's core.

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13.

The office of the Prime Minister of Brussels Belgium, colloquially called Law Street 16, is located adjacent to this building.

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14.

City of Brussels is the capital of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community.

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15.

That would lower the number of politicians needed to govern Brussels Belgium, and centralise the power over the city to make decisions easier, thus reduce the overall running costs.

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16.

The Brussels Belgium Agglomeration was an administrative division established in 1971.

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17.

Brussels Belgium Agglomeration had a separate legislative council, but the by-laws enacted by it did not have the status of a legislative act.

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18.

Brussels Belgium serves as de facto capital of the European Union, hosting the major political institutions of the Union.

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19.

Early building in Brussels Belgium was sporadic and uncontrolled, with little planning.

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20.

Brussels Belgium has, since World War II, become the administrative centre of many international organisations.

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21.

Brussels Belgium is third in the number of international conferences it hosts, becoming one of the largest convention centres in the world.

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22.

Brussels Belgium is located in one of the most urbanised regions of Europe, between Paris, London, the Rhine-Ruhr, and the Randstad .

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23.

In general, the population of Brussels Belgium is younger than the national average, and the gap between rich and poor is wider.

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24.

Brussels Belgium is the core of a built-up area that extends well beyond the region's limits.

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25.

Brussels Belgium is part of a wider diamond-shaped conurbation, with Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven, which has about 4.

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26.

Nowadays, Brussels Belgium is home to a large number of immigrants and emigre communities, as well as labour migrants, former foreign students or expatriates, and many Belgian families in Brussels Belgium can claim at least one foreign grandparent.

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27.

Brussels Belgium was historically Dutch-speaking, using the Brabantian dialect, but over the two past centuries French has become the predominant language of the city.

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28.

Dutch — of which standardisation in Brussels Belgium was still very weak — could not compete with French, which was the exclusive language of the judiciary, the administration, the army, education, cultural life and the media, and thus necessary for social mobility.

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29.

The ethnic and national self-identification of Brussels Belgium' inhabitants is nonetheless sometimes quite distinct from the French and Dutch-speaking communities.

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30.

The pre-eminent Catholic cathedral in Brussels Belgium is the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula, serving as the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels Belgium.

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31.

Brussels Belgium has a large concentration of Muslims, mostly of Moroccan, Turkish, Syrian and Guinean ancestry.

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32.

Architecture in Brussels Belgium is diverse, and spans from the clashing combination of Gothic, Baroque, and Louis XIV styles on the Grand Place to the postmodern buildings of the EU institutions.

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33.

Museums dedicated to the national history of Brussels Belgium include the BELvue Museum, the Royal Museums of Art and History, and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History.

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34.

Brussels Belgium Museums Council is an independent body for all the museums in the Brussels Belgium-Capital Region, covering around 100 federal, private, municipal, and community museums.

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35.

Brussels Belgium has had a distinguished artist scene for many years.

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36.

Brussels Belgium is a capital of the comic strip; some treasured Belgian characters are Tintin, Lucky Luke, The Smurfs, Spirou, Gaston, Marsupilami, Blake and Mortimer, Boule et Bill and Cubitus .

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37.

The Belgian Comic Strip Center combines two artistic leitmotifs of Brussels Belgium, being a museum devoted to Belgian comic strips, housed in the former Magasins Waucquez textile department store, designed by Victor Horta in the Art Nouveau style.

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38.

Brussels Belgium is well known for its performing arts scene, with the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie and the Kaaitheater among the most notable institutions.

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39.

Brussels Belgium' identity owes much to its rich folklore and traditions, among the liveliest in the country.

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40.

Brussels Belgium is known for its local waffle, its chocolate, its French fries and its numerous types of beers.

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41.

Brussels Belgium is home to Union Saint-Gilloise, the most successful Belgian club before World War II, with 11 titles.

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42.

Brussels Belgium is rated as the 34th most important financial centre in the world as of 2020, according to the Global Financial Centres Index.

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43.

Also a dozen of university colleges are located in Brussels Belgium, including two drama schools, founded in 1832: the French-speaking Conservatoire Royal and its Dutch-speaking equivalent, the Koninklijk Conservatorium.

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44.

Brussels Belgium has a number of public or private-owned libraries on its territory.

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45.

Royal Library of Brussels Belgium is the national library of Brussels Belgium and one of the most prestigious libraries in the world.

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46.

Science and technology in Brussels Belgium is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes.

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47.

Brussels Belgium is home to a thriving pharmaceutical and health care industry which includes pioneering biotechnology research.

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48.

Brussels Belgium has an extensive network of both private or public transportation means.

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49.

Brussels Belgium-South is served by direct high-speed rail links: to London by Eurostar trains via the Channel Tunnel ; to Amsterdam by Thalys and InterCity connections; to Amsterdam, Paris, and Cologne by Thalys; and to Cologne and Frankfurt by the German ICE.

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50.

Train rails in Brussels Belgium go underground, near the centre, through the North–South connection, with Brussels Belgium Central Station being largely underground.

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51.

In medieval times, Brussels Belgium stood at the intersection of routes running north–south and east–west .

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52.

Today, Brussels Belgium has the most congested traffic in North America and Europe, according to US traffic information platform INRIX.

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53.

Brussels Belgium is the hub of a range of national roads, the main ones being clockwise: the N1, N2, N3, N4 N5, N6, N7, N8 and N9 .

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54.

Brussels Belgium has an orbital motorway, numbered R0 and commonly referred to as the Ring.

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