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The history:

Its foundation dates back to much earlier times, but the first information about Brussels goes back to the VII th century. The ancient city originated on the hill where Place St. Gèry is nowadays situated, along the banks of a river which is now covered; Brussels is renowned for its fame in the commercial and industrial field that made it prosperous from the XII th century onwards.
The Lords of this place – well-known even for its cultural vivacity – are at first the Dukes of Brabant and then those of Burgundy. Since the XVI th century the foreign rules followed in quick succession on the territory. The Spanish, the French, the Austrian and again the French and then the Austrian: the region passes from hand to hand for over a century.
The last transalpine invader was repelled thanks to the historic battle of Waterloo (1815), a small town a few miles from Brussels. Afterwards the old northern and southern Netherlands founded the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but the Southern Netherlands broke away in 1830 by a revolution; since then Belgium is an independent state and Brussels is its capital. The world wars had very severe consequences for the country, which was occupied by the German on both occasions. During the post war period Brussels obtained a huge importance in Europe. Thanks to the presence of Belgium among the founding members of the CEE, its capital became the seat of the main Community institutions. Currently the city houses the governmental organs of the European Union (UE) : the Council and the Committee. Moreover,, Brussels is one of the three seats where the European Parliament’s activities take place.

Today:
As the capital and independent region of Belgium, Brussels is a cosmopolitan city with a lively artistic and cultural life and it is also a first-rate political and financial center on a world scale.
If the particular geographical position of Belgium has given the nation the appellation of “Europe’s heart”, the present position of the European Union institutions main organs makes the city the real centre of the Old World’s politics. The presence of the political organizations’ offices, so as the ones of the commercial companies and the international banks, made Brussels a city of thousand languages and faces, where tradition and regional characteristics blend with change and internationalindividuality.
Thanks to it being located in the centre of the country, on the border between the two most important regions – Flanders and Vallonia – the town has always contained the cultural characteristic of both regions; in fact for those who live here and for those who visit it, the Belgian capital is both the flemish “Brussel” and the french “Bruxelles”.
The traveller, who reaches the Belgian capital, can find a considerable artistic and architectonic legacy, a superb tradition in the art of beer and chocolate, an efficient transports organization and an irreverent child, who pees in front of everybody since 1619…: “Manneken Pis”, a little bronze statue, the symbol of the city.
facts and numbers:
Inhabitants: 951.580

Area: 161 Skm. This data refers to the whole of the 19 communes which constitute the Brussels -Capital Region

Nation:
Belgium, Brussels is the capital of the Kingdom

Language:
French and Dutch; two of the official national languages are spoken in the city.

Currency:
since the 1st of January 2002 the official Belgian currency is the EURO.

Time Zone:
in winter GMT + 1 hour, in summer GMT + 2 hours

Religion:
The greater part of the country is Catholic

Documents:
for the citizens of the European Union an identity card is sufficient, for the extra-community citizens a passport is necessary
main distances in Europe:
Brussels – Amsterdam: 198 km
Brussels – Cologne: 203 km
Brussels – London: 325 km
Brussels – Paris: 292 km
Brussels – Rome: 1470 km
Brussels – Zurich: 625 km
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