Brussels

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Brussels (English) Bruxelles (French) Brussel (Dutch)
The Grand Place / Grote Markt
Coat of arms
Nickname: Europe's capital, Comic City [1]
Location of Brussels in Belgium and the EU
Coordinates: 50°50′48″N 4°21′9″E / 50.84667, 4.3525
Country	Belgium
Region	Brussels-Capital Region
Founded	979
Founded (Region)	June 18, 1989
Government
- Mayor (Municipality)	Freddy Thielemans
Area
- Region	162 km² (62.5 sq mi)
Elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Population (2007)
- Region	1,067,162
- Density	6,601/km² (16,391/sq mi)
- Metro	1,975,000
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website: www.brussels.irisnet.be

Brussels (French: Bruxelles, pronounced [bʁysɛl] by Belgian speakers of French, and sometimes [bʁyksɛl] by non-Belgian speakers of French; Dutch: Brussel, pronounced [ˈbrɵsəɫ]; German: Brüssel, pronounced [brʏsəl]) is the capital and largest city of Belgium, and the administrative heart of the European Union.^[2] Brussels has grown from a 10th century fortress town founded by Charlemagne's grandson^[3] into a city of over one million inhabitants^[4].

Brussels is also capital of the Brussels-Capital Region, of Flanders and of the French Community of Belgium. It is not, however, the capital of the Walloon Region (Wallonia), whose capital is Namur.

Depending on the context, the word Brussels may mean the largest municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region officially called the City of Brussels (ca. 140,000 inhabitants), the Brussels-Capital Region (1,067,162 inhabitants as of 1 February 2008) or, the metropolitan area of Brussels (from 2,100,000 ^[5] to more or less 2,700,000 inhabitants^[6]).

Brussels is considered the de facto capital of the European Union (EU), and hosts many of its key institutions. NATO, the Western European Union and EUROCONTROL are also headquartered in the city.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Geography 3.1 Climate 4 Political centre 4.1 Capital of Belgium 4.2 City of Brussels 4.3 Flanders and the French community 4.4 International centre 4.4.1 European Union 5 Arts and culture 6 Economy 7 Languages 8 Education 9 Transport 9.1 Connections 9.2 Public transport 9.3 Road network 10 Coats of arms 11 Famous people from Brussels 12 Twin cities 13 References 14 External links

[edit] Etymology

The name Brussels comes from the old Dutch Bruocsella, which means marsh (bruoc) and home (sella) or "home in the marsh".

[edit] History

The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lie in the folklore tale of Saint Gorik building a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580.^[7]

The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, because Duke Charles transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel in Brussels, located on what would be called Saint Gaugericus Island. The Holy Roman Emperor Otto II gave the duchy of Lower Lotharingia to Charles, the banished son of King Louis IV of France in 977, who would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island.

The county of Brussels was attributed to Lambert I of Leuven, count of Leuven around 1000. In 1047, his son Lambert II of Leuven founded the Saint Gudula chapter.

Because of its location on the shores of the Senne on an important trade route between Bruges and Ghent, and Cologne, Brussels grew quite quickly; it became a commercial centre that rapidly extended towards the upper town (St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral, Coudenberg, Zavel area...), where there was a smaller risk of floods. As it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time (1183/1184). In the 11th century, the city got its first walls.^[8]

From 1357 to 1379, a new city wall was constructed as the former one was already proving to be too small: the inner ring or 'pentagon' now follows its course.

In the fifteenth century, by means of the wedding of heiress Margaret III of Flanders with Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a new Duke of Brabant emerged from the House of Valois (namely Antoine, their son), with another line of descent from the Habsburgs (Maximilian of Austria, later Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, married Mary of Burgundy, who was born in Brussels).

Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished.

Charles V, heir of the Low Countries since 1506, though (as he was only 6 years old) governed by his aunt Margaret of Austria until 1515, was declared King of the unified Spain, in 1516, in the Cathedral of Saint Gudule in Brussels.

Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, Charles became the new archduke of the Austrian Empire and thus the Holy Roman Emperor of the Empire "in which the sun does not set". It was in the Palace complex at the Brussels' Coudenberg, that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had greatly expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant, but it was sadly destroyed by fire in 1731. All that remains is an archaeological site.

In 1695 Brussels was attacked by General Villeroy under the orders of King Louis XIV of France. The bombardment caused great destruction: more than 4,000 houses were set on fire, including the medieval buildings on the Grote Markt or Grand Place.

In 1830, the Belgian revolution took place in Brussels after a performance of Auber's opera La Muette de Portici at De Munt or La Monnaie theatre. On July 21, 1831, Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, ascended the throne, undertaking the destruction of the city walls and the construction of many buildings. Following independence, the city underwent many more changes. The Senne had become a serious health hazard, and from 1867 to 1871 its entire urban area was completely covered over. This allowed urban renewal and the construction of modern buildings and boulevards which are characteristic of downtown Brussels today. The North-South Junction was built, completed in 1952. The first Brussels premetro was finished in 1969, and the first line of the Brussels Metro was opened in 1976.

Beginning on May 10, 1940, Brussels was bombed by the German army; however, most of the war damage to the city took place in 1944–1945. The Heysel Stadium disaster took place in Brussels on May 29, 1985. The Brussels Capital Region was founded on June 18, 1989.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Climate

Weather averages for Brussels
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average high °C (°F)	5 (41)	6 (43)	10 (50)	14 (57)	18 (64)	20 (68)	23 (73)	23 (73)	19 (66)	14 (57)	9 (48)	6 (43)
Average low °C (°F)	1 (34)	2 (36)	4 (39)	6 (43)	9 (48)	12 (54)	14 (57)	14 (57)	12 (54)	8 (46)	5 (41)	3 (37)
Precipitation cm (inches)	5.77 (2.3)	5.2 (2)	5.11 (2)	3.88 (1.5)	4.42 (1.7)	5.52 (2.2)	6.23 (2.5)	5.61 (2.2)	5.02 (2)	5.31 (2.1)	5.6 (2.2)	6.22 (2.4)
Source: MSN Weather [9] {{{accessdate}}}

[edit] Political centre

[edit] Capital of Belgium

Although some believe, wrongly, that the capital of Belgium is the entire Brussels-Capital Region, article 194 of the Belgian Constitution lays down that the capital of Belgium is the City of Brussels municipality.^[10] Arguments that article 194's use of lower case for "ville de Bruxelles" and "stad Brussel" makes a subtle difference and means that greater Brussels being represented as the capital cannot be legally defended.

However, although the City of Brussels is the official capital, the funds allowed by the federation and region for the representative role of the capital are divided among the 19 municipalities, and some national institutions are sited in the other 18 municipalities. Thus, while de jure only the City of Brussels is entitled to the title of capital city of Belgium, de facto the entire Region plays this role.

[edit] City of Brussels

Main article: City of Brussels

The City of Brussels is one of the municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (the largest) and is the official capital of Belgium.

Somewhat in the way that the City of London is different from London, the City of Brussels is different from Brussels. However, the expansion of the City of Brussels was frozen at a later stage than the City of London. As a result, in addition to the old centre of Brussels, the towns of Haren, Laeken and Neder-Over-Heembeek, as well as Avenue Louise/Louizalaan (a main shopping street, similar in design to the Parisian Champs Elysées) and the Bois de la Cambre/Terkamerenbos (the largest park in Brussels) are included within the limits of the City.

[edit] Flanders and the French community

The Brussels-Capital Region is one of the three federated regions of Belgium, alongside Wallonia and the Flemish Region. Geographically and linguistically, it is a (bilingual) enclave in the (unilingual) Flemish Region. Regions are one component of Belgium's complex institutions, the three communities being the other component: the Brussels inhabitants must deal with either the French (speaking) community or the Flemish Community for matters such as culture and education.

Brussels is also the capital of both the French Community of Belgium (Communauté française de Belgique in French) and of Flanders (Vlaanderen); all Flemish capital institutions are established here: Flemish Parliament, Flemish government and its administration.

[edit] International centre

Brussels has become a significant centre for international institutions, notably those of the European Union. The city also plays host to the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is based in the city along with 1000 other international organisations and 2000 international corporations. Brussels is third in the number of international conferences it hosts^[11] also becoming one of the largest convention centres in the world.^[12] The presence of the EU and the other international bodies has led to there being more ambassadors and journalists in Brussels than Washington D.C..^[13] International schools have also been established to serve this presence.^[12]

[edit] European Union

Main article: Brussels and the European Union

Brussels is considered as the de facto 'capital of the European Union' due to its history of hosting the EU's institutions, even though the EU has not declared any official capital city. The city plays host to the official seats of the European Commission (in the Berlaymont building) and the Council of the European Union (in the Justus Lipsius building facing it).^[14][15] Furthermore three quarters of the work of the European Parliament takes place in the city at its Brussels hemicycle (its official seat is Strasbourg).^[16]

Brussels began to host institutions in 1957, with the executives of the EEC and Euratom which were originally shared with Luxembourg but quickly met in Brussels for practical reasons. In 1965 Brussels gained the right to host the merged Commission and Council, with some concessions to Luxembourg, and over the following years the Parliament established an increasing presence in Brussels, although was required to maintain its presence in Strasbourg by the treaties.^[14][15] Between 2002 and 2004, the European Council also fixed its seat in the city.^[17]

Today the presence has increased considerably with the Commission alone occupying 865,000m² within the "European Quarter" in the east of the city. The concentration and density has caused concern that the presence of the institutions has caused a "ghetto effect" in that part of the city.^[18] However the presence has contributed significantly to the importance of Brussels as an international centre.^[13]

[edit] Arts and culture

Brussels contains over 40 museums,^[19] including the Museum of Modern Art.^[20]

The city has hosted various fairs and conferences, including the fifth Solvay Conference in 1927 and two world fairs - the 1935 world fair and the Expo '58. The Atomium, a 103-metre (338 ft) representation of an iron crystal was built for the Expo '58, and is still open to the public.^[21]

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Belgium

Serving as the centre of administration for Europe, Brussels' economy is largely service-oriented. It is dominated by regional headquarters of multinationals, by European institutions, by various administrations, and by related services, though it does have a number of notable craft industries, such as the Cantillon Brewery, a lambic brewery founded in 1900.

[edit] Languages

The results of the linguistic censuses showed the gradual switch from Dutch to bilingualism and from the latter to French-only

Languages spoken in local families

See also: Francization of Brussels

Originally a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels is nowadays officially bilingual French-Dutch.^[22][23] French is the mother tongue of the majority of the population and the lingua franca. Research in the city's archives shows that Dutch was by far the most widely used language in local administration until the French occupation (1793-1815),^[24] even though French had been the language of the local governors since the Burgundian era.^[25] From 1880 on, more and more Dutch-speaking people became bilingual, resulting in a rise of monolingual French-speakers after 1910. Halfway through the 20th century the number of monolingual French-speakers carried the day over bilingual people.^[26]

During the 19th century, as literacy progressed, most dialect-speakers turned to French rather than to Dutch as their language of culture. The main reasons for this were the higher prestige of the French language at the time (even the Flemish elites had adopted French), the perception that Dutch was the language of rural and poor Flanders and the fact that the Belgian administration was solely conducted in French. The education system was almost exclusively French-speaking, which hampered the spread of the Dutch standard language and contributed to low-class image of Dutch.^[27] As a result, people would often speak a Dutch dialect in private but French in public occasions. Even today, it is not uncommon to meet (older) French-speaking "Bruxellois" who are unable to express themselves in standard Dutch but who speak or at least understand the Brabantian dialect.

A linguistic curiosity is Marols (Marollien), a variant of the Dutch dialect of Brussels heavily influenced by the Walloon of Liège, which used to be spoken mostly in the Marolles/Marollen, a central section of the city. Today, all Brussels dialects are on the verge of extinction.^[28]

Nowadays, the Brussels Capital Region is officially bilingual French-Dutch. There are no official linguistic statistics since the State-run decennial linguistic census has been abolished after the fixation of the Belgian language border. All studies carried on can only be estimations. An often cited 2006 study by Rudi Janssens, a sociolinguist at the Dutch-speaking university Vrije Universiteit Brussel, generated the following data:^[29]

• 56,8% of the Brussels population have only French as a mother tongue;
• 7% have only Dutch as a mother tongue;
• 8,6% have both Dutch and French as a mother tongue;
• 11,3% combine French with a language other than Dutch at home;
• 16,3% are allophone, who have neither French nor Dutch as a mother tongue.

Obviously, Brussels is the capital of a country of which 60% of the inhabitants are Dutch speakers. As the Brussels Region is completely surrounded by Flemish communities, it is logical that many Dutch speakers from the periphery come to the city for working, shopping and going out. So, although the lingua franca is French, knowledge of Dutch is considered highly desirable.^[30] One of the consequences of this change of attitude towards the Dutch language is, for example, that most children in Dutch-speaking schools in Brussels do not speak Dutch at home.^[31] Janssens estimates that 28,23% of the population have a good to perfect knowledge of Dutch (either as a first or as a second language). For English this is 35,4% and for French 95%, due to its role as lingua franca.^[32][29]

The occasional imprecision of linguistic pairing can be quite amusing. Whilst some ancient streets have only their original Dutch name (e.g. Coudenberg), others were originally named in French and have had their later Dutch names revised. For instance the Rue du Beau Site in Ixelles/Elsene bears two bilingual nameplates, the older giving, as the Dutch version, the hastily translated Schoon-Zicht Straat and the more recent giving the more idiomatic Welgelegenstraat. Other such pairs are Regentiestraat/Regentschapstraat and Koopmansstraat/Koopliedenstraat.

Due to the growth of the city of Brussels, the periphery, which is institutionally part of Dutch-speaking Flanders, has attracted a large French-speaking population. In some of the municipalities immediately bordering the Brussels Capital Region, the population became majority French-speaking during the second half of the 20th century, in a few cases currently numbering over 70%. This is one of the major sources of linguistic conflict in Belgium, particularly in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde region.^[33]

[edit] Education

There are several universities in Brussels. The two main universities are the Université Libre de Bruxelles, a French-speaking university with about 20,000 students in three campuses in the city (and two others outside),^[34] and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a Dutch-speaking university with about 10,000 students.^[35] Both universities originate from a single ancestor university founded in 1834, namely the Free University of Brussels, which was split in 1970 at about the same time the Flemish and French Communities gained legislative power over the organisation of higher education.

Other universities include the Facultés Universitaires Saint Louis with 2,000 students,^[36] the Royal Military Academy, a military college established in 1834 by a French colonel^[37] and two drama schools founded in 1982: the Dutch-speaking Koninklijk Conservatorium and the French-speaking Conservatoire Royal.^[38][39]

Still other universities have campuses in Brussels, such as the Université Catholique de Louvain that has had its medical faculty in the city since 1973.^[40] In addition the Boston University Brussels campus was established in 1972 and offers masters degrees in business administration and international relations. Due to the post-war international presence in the city, there are also a number of international schools, including the International School of Brussels with 1,450 pupils between 2½ to 18,^[41] the British School of Brussels, and the three European Schools serving those working in the EU institutions.^[42]

[edit] Transport

[edit] Connections

Brussels is served by Brussels Airport, located in the nearby Flemish municipality of Zaventem, and by the much smaller so-called Brussels South Charleroi Airport, located near Charleroi (Wallonia), some 50 km (31 mi) from Brussels. Brussels is also served by direct high-speed rail links: to London by the Eurostar train via the Channel Tunnel; to Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne by the Thalys; and to Cologne and Frankfurt by the German ICE.

[edit] Public transport

The Brussels metro dates back to 1976, but underground lines known as premetro have been serviced by tramways since 1968. A comprehensive bus and tram network also covers the city. Brussels also has its own port on the Willebroek canal located in the northwest of the city.

An interticketing system means that a STIB/MIVB ticket holder can use the train or long-distance buses inside the city. The commuter services operated by De Lijn, TEC and SNCB/NMBS will in the next few years be augmented by a metropolitan RER rail network around Brussels.

Since 2003 Brussels has had a car-sharing service operated by the Bremen company Cambio in partnership with STIB/MIVB and local ridesharing company taxi stop. In 2006 shared bicycles were also introduced.

[edit] Road network

In medieval times Brussels stood at the intersection of routes running north-south (the modern Hoogstraat/Rue Haute) and east-west (Gentsesteenweg/Chaussée de Gand-Grasmarkt/Rue du Marché aux Herbes-Naamsestraat/Rue de Namur). The ancient pattern of streets radiating from the Grote Markt/Grand'Place in large part remains, but has been overlaid by boulevards built over the River Zenne/Senne, the city walls and the railway junction between the North and South Stations.

As one expects of a capital city, Brussels is the hub of the fan of old national roads, the principal ones being clockwise the N1 (N to Breda), N2 (E to Maastricht), N3 (E to Aachen), N4 (SE to Luxembourg) N5 (S to Rheims), N6 (SW to Maubeuge), N8 (W to Koksijde) and N9 (NW to Ostend) ^[43]. Usually named steenwegen/chaussées, these highways normally run straight as a die, but on occasion lose themselves in a labyrinth of narrow shopping streets.

As for motorways, the town is skirted by the European route E19 (N-S) and the E40 (E-W), while the E411 leads away to the SE. Brussels has an orbital motorway, numbered R0 (R-zero) and commonly referred to as the "ring" (French: ring Dutch: grote ring). It is pear-shaped as the southern side was never built as originally conceived, owing to residents' objections.

The city centre, sometimes known as "the pentagon", is surrounded by the "small ring" (Dutch: kleine ring, French: petite ceinture), a sequence of boulevards formally numbered R20. These were built upon the site of the second set of city walls following their demolition. Metro line 2 runs under much of these.

On the eastern side of the city, the R21 (French: grande ceinture, grote ring in Dutch) is formed by a string of boulevards that curves round from Laken (Laeken) to Ukkel (Uccle). Some premetro stations (see Brussels metro) were built on that route. A little further out, a stretch numbered R22 leads from Zaventem to Sint-Job.

[edit] Coats of arms

City of Brussels

Brussels-Capital Region

• The coat of arms of the City of Brussels shows Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Brussels, slaying a devil or the Devil.
• The emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region depicts a yellow iris (native to the Brussels area) against a blue backdrop.

[edit] Famous people from Brussels

List of people from Brussels

[edit] Twin cities

Brussels is twinned with the following cities:

• Akhisar, Turkey
• Atlanta, United States
• Berlin, Germany
• Beijing, People's Republic of China
• Montreal, Canada^{[citation needed]}
• Macau
• Madrid, Spain
• Washington, D.C., United States
• Kiev, Ukraine
• Breda, The Netherlands
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Ljubljana, Slovenia

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Find more about Brussels on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Dictionary definitions
	Textbooks
	Quotations
	Source texts
	Images and media
	News stories
	Learning resources

• Brussels-Capital Region, official site
• Brussels travel guide from Wikitravel
• Interactive map
• Interactive 360 virtual tour
• Virtual tour 360° From Brussels !
  • Brussels Grand-Place
  • Manneken Pis
  • Jubilee¨Park
  • St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral
  • Royal Galleries of Saint-Hubert

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Coordinates: 50°51′N 4°21′E / 50.85, 4.35