Belgium: interesting facts. Description of Belgium. sights

Modern Belgium is a relatively young state, it is only 178 years old. His story, on the other hand, is ancient and very eventful.

The long road to independence

The name of the country comes from the word "belga" - the so-called people who lived here since ancient times. It is known, for example, that in 54 AD. E. This land was conquered by the restless Julius Caesar, as reported in the report on the Gallic War: the name of the population already appears there.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the francs organized their state here, and then the territory kept passing from hand to hand, being part of the Burgundy duchy (late XV - mid XVI century), then it belonged to Spain (until the beginning of the XVIII century). It came to ridiculous: in 1713 Belgium - on the map of the Holy Roman Empire, and after 23 years, in 1792, this is the territory of France.

Then the Vienna Congress was held, designed to "restore order in Europe" after the Napoleonic "redrawing of borders." As a result of this worthy forum, modern Belgium found itself in the Netherlands. I must say that this turn of events was not particularly inspired by the population of the country, especially the French-speaking.

Belgian "number one"

Discontent resulted in a revolution: 15 years after the said congress, in 1830, "a small but proud country" became an independent state. From the very beginning of its existence, it is a constitutional monarchy, which, as it is supposed, is headed by the King of Belgium, which is more decorative. Of course, formally it is he who appoints the government, but the composition of the Cabinet should be coordinated with the parliament (which, in fact, is the main one in the country).

The evidence can serve as an amusing incident, which occurred in 1990. Then King of Belgium Baudouin I flatly refused to sign the law on abortion, and without his signature the document could not take effect. Then the Legislative Assembly showed the brightest example of treachery and casuistry, voted to recognize the obstinate monarch incompetent - just for one day. This was quite enough: the functions of the head of state went to the prime minister, who "podmahnul" the law.

Tolerant Belgians

An important factor that Belgium is constantly compelled to consider is the language spoken by its citizens. This is reflected even in the state system of government: for example, half the ministers represent the French-speaking part of the population in the government, the other is the Flemish-speaking one. Administrative division occurs largely from this principle, to the Walloon and Flemish regions, respectively. One more, the third, is the Brussels capital, but politics and the economy have already played their role here.

In general, there are three official languages in Belgium. In addition to the already mentioned French and Flemish (Dutch), German has the same rights. And this is despite the fact that only part of the province of Liege speaks it. Truly amazing and worthy of imitation is Belgium: language, because of which some nations exterminate each other, do not tear it apart.

Tolerance of the Belgians, their ability to negotiate, meet each other, disregarding all limitations and prejudices, one can only admire. Recently, the world community has been stirred by the news that gay marriage has been universally permitted in the United States. "Eka is unseen," Belgium has the right to say on this occasion , interesting facts about which contain, for example, information that such liberties have been permissible since 2003.

In addition, it is one of three countries in Europe, in which euthanasia is officially authorized. At the same time, nobody was embarrassed that the majority of the population (over 70%) consider themselves Catholics, for whom such an approach to human life is seemingly unacceptable.

A bit of geography

The territory of the state is not large - only 30.5 thousand square kilometers. The number of people is also not impressive: just over 11 million people (for comparison: in London alone there are more than 8 million). But its density is one of the highest in Europe.

Those who are interested in where Belgium is on the map should look to the north-west of the continent. There, between the Netherlands, Germany, France and Luxembourg, it flourishes (the living standards of the Belgians are very high, the state is consistently among the top 20 best in many respects).

By some kind of supernatural diversity of landscapes Belgium, interesting facts about which often lie in a completely different plane (anthropogenic), is not famous. The pattern is simple: the farther from the coast (in the west the country is caressed by the waves of the North Sea), the higher the terrain. In this regard, Belgium is uncomplicated and divided into low, medium (central plateau) and high (Ardennes Upland).

The climate, as they say, is moderate, typical of most of the coastal regions. Neither particularly hot (in July - a maximum of 25 degrees on the coast), nor especially cold (in winter - to minus three) there is no such thing. The rain is not a rare phenomenon, and travelers need to keep in mind that the Ardennes are much cooler than on the coast.

Heart of Europe

If you try to say briefly about Belgium, then this is a typical European country, embodying all the notorious "Western values". It is not in vain in Brussels that the capital of the EU and the European Parliament are located, a huge modern building of which is one of the local sights. In the innumerable mirrors, of which the walls of the building are almost entirely composed, there is reflected the celestial blue, the rising sun, the sombre gray clouds.

Everyone can attend it, who will pass the preliminary registration procedure and will deign to appear with the document proving the identity. After checking the metal detector for any harmful excesses (like weapons), it's absolutely not a problem to even attend at some meeting.

Inside the building, apart from rooms of a purely functional importance, there are cafes and souvenir shops where you can eat and buy something for memory, and a booklet with a list of all the rights of an EU resident (in the language of all its members) can be taken for free.

History and modernity

Of course, the European Parliament, for all its grandeur, is by no means the main attraction of Brussels. The most famous character, without which there is not a single description of Belgium, is the famous pissing boy, countless times reproduced on postcards and souvenirs. His beloved, devoid of complexes of the child, the Brusselsians are very fond of and, on the occasion of various holidays, they dress him up in appropriate outfits, the number of which has long exceeded six hundred.

It will be fair to say that practically everything that Belgium is famous for, interesting facts about which are innumerable, is created by the hands of a man. Almost every ancient town boasts the most magnificent examples of medieval architecture.

The Northern Venice and the "Mini Europe"

Entire ensembles of marvelous Gothic buildings constitute the main charm of Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges. The latter, among other things, has become widely known as the Northern Venice, as it is also dotted with canals, through which boats slowly move.

The narrow streets, charming temples, magnificent royal palaces - all this is a daily routine, which reflects the history of Belgium. Attitude to tourists here is the most trepid, excursions are numerous and varied, and the number of attractions is really great, for a month not to see.

But the witty Belgians provide an opportunity to see all the main architectural monuments of the continent in less than a day: in the Mini Europe park in Brussels, on an area of 24 thousand square meters, copies (a quarter of this size) of everything that many cities of the continent are proud of huddle. Here you and Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower a few paces apart.

The Belgian Footprint in the World Art

But seriously, Belgium, whose reviews do not contain any negative, are more proud of the originals of works of art, of which there are many. For example, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Bruges is the owner of the sculpture "Madonna and Child" by Michelangelo. This is the only statue of Buonarroti, which left Italy during the lifetime of the master, since it was originally intended for this temple.

In addition, the history of Belgium contains another glorious page that relates not to politics, but to culture: Flemish painting is one of the most outstanding and original phenomena in the visual arts. She gave the planet such magnificent masters as Jan van Eyck, Rubens, etc. Many canvases belonging to the brush of outstanding artists are stored in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, owned by the state.

Tourist paradise

In Belgium, everyone will find something to their liking. You can take a keen interest in monuments of medieval architecture, visit the Museum of Modern Sculpture, lie on the sand or relax in one of the local pubs: there are over 800 kinds of beer brewed here (and the Belgian people are almost universally known as the worst).

It is impossible to talk about Belgium and not say a word about the famous local chocolate, which is produced annually in the amount of 220 thousand tons. Strong Internet researchers even calculated that on average, every Belgian tends almost on the tile of a sweet product a day.

Of course, this hardly corresponds to the truth, and not only because "there is a lie, blatant lies and statistics", but also for the prosaic reason that a fair share of the chocolate produced is exported, which means that it is not the Belgians who do it at all. Which, however, do not despond at all about this.

Discreet uniqueness

Low-key, non-aggressive, but unique, original and unique - these are the epithets, which Belgium deserves full measure. Interesting facts about the "harsh everyday life" of the local population can be given for hours. Whatsoever to touch: lifestyle, legislation or culture - in all there is a peculiar local approach.

For example, in Belgium no one has the right to study, because this process is not interpreted as a great and not all the good, but as a boring duty. Up to 18 - should study, after 18 - go to the polls and vote. True, from such "frantic despotism" no one feels hurt, which proves the complete absence of emigration. Hence no one wants to leave - quite the contrary. And Belgium demonstrates an amazing hospitality: it occupies the second place (after Canada) in the world in terms of the number of foreigners who have obtained citizenship.