Interesting Facts on Belgium

Belgium is a beautiful west European country that is bordered by France, Netherlands and the North Sea. Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the currency is Euro. Belgium experiences mild winter and cool summers. Belgium is famous for it medieval castles and gothic cathedrals. Antwerp has the fourth largest seaport in the world and it is one of the famous art cities of Belgium. The other popular art cities are Bruges and Ghent. A point noteworthy is, Belgium is multicultural and multilingual. The official languages of Belgium are French, German and Dutch. However, the language spoken by the commoners are French and Dutch.

A Few Interesting Historical Facts on Belgium

In 496 AD, Belgium was a part of the kingdom founded by King Clovis. The inhabitants of ancient Belgium were the Celtic tribes known as Belgae.

In 1555, Maxmilian’s grandson, Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, gifted Belgium to his son, Philip II.

1n 1713, Austria captured Belgium from the French. The Treaty of Utrecht was signed between the French rulers and the Habsburg rulers of Austria and as per this treaty Belgium was freed from the French governance.

In 1815, the Congress of Vienna defeated Napoleon Bonaparte in the city of Waterloo, in Belgium. After this defeat, 124 cities around the world were named Waterloo.

On July 21, 1831, King Leopold I became the King of independent Belgium.

After the World War II, Belgium played an important role in laying the foundation for the European Community. Today, Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is also the capital of European Union (EU). Brussels is also the Headquarters of the NATO.

A Few Interesting Fun Facts on Belgium

Belgium is known as the "Essence of Europe". This country is famous for different flavors of beer, chocolates, and waffles. Here are a few fun facts on Belgium.

One of the interesting facts about Belgium that is noteworthy is the annual production of chocolates. Approximately 220,000 tons of chocolate are manufactured in Germany each year. The National Airport in Brussels, Belgium, is the world’s biggest selling point of chocolates.

One of the countries in the world to legalize the gay and euthanasia marriages, and to ban forced marriages is Belgium.

The first country in the world to ban cluster bombs is Belgium. The parliament of Belgium has the maximum number of female ministers in the world.

Belgium is one of the few countries that gives importance to education. Education is mandatory for all citizens up to the age of 18.

The Belgian motorway system is the only man-made structure that is visible from the moon.

Do you know oil paints were invented in Belgium in the 15th century? One of the hobbies of the rich Belgians is to collect various forms of art and paintings. Like the Americans, Belgians love to collect discount coupons .

Belgium is the world’s diamond center and diamonds are not only negotiated but also polished here. The diamond capital of the world is Antwerp.

A Belgian Adolphe Sax invented Saxophone. Another interesting fact is, Herge the author of the famous comic series "Tintin" is a Belgian.

People of Belgium are fond of animals and each Belgian household would have at least one cat or a dog.