Belgium (
i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.
Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and
it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural
boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region.[7] A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia.[8] Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. The region was called Belgica in Latin because of the Roman province Gallia Belgica which covered more or less the same area. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed the battleground of Europe, a reputation strengthened by both World Wars.
Upon its independence, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. The second half of the 20th century was marked by the rise of contrasts between the Flemish and the Francophones fuelled by differences of language and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This ongoing antagonism has caused far-reaching reforms, changing the formerly unitary Belgian state into a federal state, and several governmental crises, the most recent from 2007 to 2011 being the longest.
Brussels (French: Bruxelles, [bʁysɛl] (
listen); Dutch: Brussel, [ˈbrʏsəl] ( listen)), officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region[5][6] (French: 
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (help·info), Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (help·info)), is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union (EU). It is also the largest urban area in Belgium,[7][8] comprising 19 municipalities, including the municipality of the City of Brussels, which is the de jure capital of Belgium, in addition to the seat of the French Community of Belgium and of the Flemish Community.Brussels has grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by a descendant of Charlemagne to more than one million inhabitants.[10] The city has a population of 1.1 million and the metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, both making it the largest in Belgium.[11][12] Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a main centre for international politics. Hosting principal EU institutions[13] as well as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the city has become the polyglot home of numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants.[14]
Brussels is officially multi-lingual, with both French and Dutch being spoken in the city. All road signs, street names, adverts and most services are shown in both languages.[15] Linguistic tensions remain, and the language laws of the municipalities surrounding Brussels are an issue of considerable controversy in Belgium.
The peeing boy statue
The 61 cm tall bronze statue on the corner of Rue de l'Etuve and Rue des Grands Carmes was made in 1619 by Brussels sculptor Hieronimus Duquesnoy. The figure has been repeatedly stolen; the current statue is a copy from 1965. The original is kept at the Maison du Roi/Broodhuis on the Grand Place.There are several legends behind this statue, but the most famous is the one about Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-over-Heembeek). The troops put the infant lord in a basket and hung the basket in a tree to encourage them. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.
Another legend states that in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held its ground for some time, so the attackers conceived of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city. There was at the time (middle of the 15th century, perhaps as early as 1388) a similar statue made of stone. The statue was stolen several times. In 1619, it was replaced by the current bronze statue, created by Franco-Flemish Baroque sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy, father of the more famous François Duquesnoy.
Another story (told often to tourists) tells of a wealthy merchant who, during a visit to the city with his family, had his beloved young son go missing. The merchant hastily formed a search party that scoured all corners of the city until the boy was found happily urinating in a small garden. The merchant, as a gift of gratitude to the locals who helped out during the search, had the fountain built.
Another legend was that a small boy went missing from his mother when shopping in the centre of the city. The woman, panic-stricken by the loss of her child, called upon everyone she came across, including the mayor of the city. A city-wide search began and when at last the child was found, he was urinating on the corner of a small street. The story was passed down over time and the statue erected as a tribute to the well-known fable.
Another legend tells of the young boy who was awoken by a fire and was able to put out the fire with his urine, in the end this helped stop the king's castle from burning down.
Located in Ghent, Belgium, the present castle was built in 1180 by count Philip of Alsace and was modeled after the crusaders castles the count encountered while he participated in the second crusade. Before its construction, there stood a wooden castle on the same location, built in the ninth century. Work was begun on the current Gravensteen building in 1180, on the site of an earlier castle. The building was modeled on the crusader castles in the Holy Land, and the massive fortifications still ooze power. The fortress was left empty and semi-derelict for some time, and during the industrial revolution some of its vast halls were used as loom-filled factories for the local cloth industry. It has now been restored and renovated, and the display of gruesome torture equipment (including a guillotine with one of the original blades) certainly looks ready for business!
The Castle of the Counts in Ghent is one of the most impressive remaining examples of defensive architecture. Built to defend against Viking attacks in the ninth century, it was significantly expanded c. 1180-1200, with additions in the fourteenth century. A massive wall and gate encircle the castle keep. The enclosed area of the castle fortifications is one acre, contained within an oval wall of about 200 by 150 feet. It contains residences for the count, his servants and guards, as well as dungeons. The central three story "donjon" is the oldest of its kind in western Europe.66 The rooms measure 33' by 90', and it has 7' thick walls. Improvements in catapults in about 1200 necessitated higher walls for the exterior defensive ring. The castle was restored 1894-1914. Belgium has over 3,000 castles, about 300 of which are open to the public. Gravensteen, a medieval castle in the middle of the city, is one of the best-known and most popular. The original castle was built around 868 by Count Baldwin I, rebuilt and expanded by the Count of Flanders around 1180. The Gravensteen was the seat of the Council of Flanders. Inside, you can visit the torture chambers.
The buildings and the square of La Grand-Place were inscribed as a World Heritage Site at the 22nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Kyoto Japan on 30 November to 5 December, 1998.
La Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium
Author: Ben2 (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
Statue on a building at La Grand-Place, Brussels
Author: Michel wal (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)
