Country's Map, Scenery and National Symbols
Capital, Metropolitan Areas and Major Cities
- Belgium is the only country in the world that existed for 1.5 years without a federal government, due to the fact that the warring Flemish and Walloon regions could not agree on policy issues and form a ruling coalition.
- Belgium is home to many world-famous comics. The famous Smurfs, Ting-tin, Asterix and Obelix and other heroes originally appeared in Belgium. Now many stories have already been filmed, and museums dedicated to cartoon heroes attract thousands of fans from all over the world.
- Belgian beer is one of the most famous in the world. There are 180 breweries in the country that produce about 800,000 different varieties of the foamy drink. Each type of beer must be served in its own glass, so in many restaurants and cafes the number of glasses can reach up to 2000-3000.
- The Manneken Pis statue is one of the most popular sights in Brussels, but few people know that this sculpture has a pair - the girl statue - Jeanneke Pis, which appeared in the city in 1987.
- The word "spa", which is used to refer to places to relax and get wellness, comes from the Belgian town of Spa. There are healing mineral springs here, thanks to which the city has gained the status of a popular health resort.
- Belgium holds the Guinness Book of Records for the number of castles per square kilometer. There are more than 3000 castles in the country.
- The third most popular Belgian dish after beer and waffles is fries. Despite the fact that the word French appears in the name, French fries were invented in Belgium and are considered a local fast food.
- Belgium is home to 11.5 million people. This is slightly less than the number of Illinois residents in the United States and slightly more than the number of people who live in the Moscow region in Russia; About the same number of people as in Belgium live in Moscow and New York.
- The country has THREE official languages. In the Brussels-Capital Region and Flanders, Dutch is spoken, in Valonia and parts of Brussels, French, and in the province of Liege, German.
- The largest cities in Belgium are Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Liege, Bruges.
- The capital of Belgium is Brussels. It is also considered the political center of the European Union. The city is home to 180 thousand people. For comparison, about the same population is in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia or in the city of Providence – the capital of American state of Rhode Island.
- The second most important city in Belgium is Antwerp. It is often referred to as the "diamond capital" of Belgium due to the larger number of jewelry workshops in the old Jewish quarter.
