Brussels

Brussels, the capital and largest city of Belgium, is also the headquarters of the European Union. It is a very old city. Belgium has been ruled by the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and, France, before gaining independence from the Netherlands in 1830 to become an independent country.

Belgium separated from the Netherlands primarily because of religion, so that it could remain Catholic. Belgium is split by language. The northern part of the country, known as Flanders, primarily speaks Dutch. The southern part, known as Wallonia, primarily speaks French. Brussels is actually within the Dutch-speaking area, but French has gradually become the daily language.

One of the first things that comes to mind about Belgium is beer. My impression is that beer is to Belgium as wine is to France. There are a myriad of dark beers and light beers, and Belgians have well-established routines as to which beer is appropriate for any given moment.

If the southern part of Belgium speaks French, then why didn't is just join neighboring France? The answer could be the old beer vs. wine conflict. Belgium drinks beer and France drinks wine. Further east why should Austria, which speaks German, be separate from Germany? Could part of the reason be that Austria drinks wine while Germans drink beer with that grand celebration of beer, Oktoberfest, being held in neighboring Bavaria?

The famous square at the center of Brussels, with the medieval guild halls, is called Grand Place. It began as a marketplace in the Middle Ages. If there is a more attractive city square in the world, I cannot imagine what it is.

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Place Royale is where the former medieval Palace of Coudenberg was located. There are many museums today as well as the Belgian Royal Palace.

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But Laeken is where the Belgian royal family lives today.

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Brussels' version of Notre Dame Cathedral is the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula.

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The Congress Column is in memory of Belgian independence. What is now Belgium used to be the southern part of the Netherlands. But earlier Spanish control had lasted longer in the southern area and that contributed to it being more Catholic than the Protestant northern part of the Netherlands. An opera inspired the Catholic south to rebel, in 1830, to form the separate nation of Belgium. This revolution took place just after the July Revolution, in France, in which the House of Bourbon was replaced by the cadet House of Orleans. The Netherlands had earlier broken away from Spanish control to become the Dutch Republic, in 1531.

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The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart is Belgium's version of Paris' Sacre Coeur.

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This is the Cinquantenaire Arch, where many museums are located.

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The molecular of an iron crystal, the Atomium, was built for the 1958 Expo in Brussels.

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This is the modern central business district of Brussels.

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This is a residential area of Brussels.

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Here is another residential area, further from the city center.

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