Belgium Presentation, Semester 2 Flashcards
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Belgium is located in northwest Europe and is surrounded by the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Luxembourg. Northwest of it is the North Sea.
Brussels is the capital city as well as the largest city in Belgium. It is an important city, being the administrative center of the European Union. And it was also the headquarters for NATO.
Some interesting sites to go see in Brussels are the statue of the Peeing Boy, the Opera House and then the amusement park called Mini- Europe.
The statue of the Peeing boy stands at 24 inches in the center of the city. It was made by Jerome Duquesnov and has been stolen on several occasions though it always has been recovered.
Brussels Opera House called the Monnaie is said to be the best French theater only second to the Opera House in Paris. The traditional opera house was rebuilt three times by the different rulers of Brussels. Also something interesting about the opera house is that it was originally the site of a coin mint and that’s why La Monnaie is translated to the mint.
Located within the entertainment park called Brupark is Mini-Europe. In the amusementpark stands 350 monuments all from across Europe and all in miniature sizes. Alongside the music park is a water park and the Atomium.
Brugge is the second largest city in Belgium and it stretches back to the ninth century when it was found by the Vikings. It was the poorest city until the 20th century when the city became an international tourist destination and the Brugges’ mid evil heritage turned out to be the new source of wealth.
Some interesting places you can visit while your there is the Belfry Tower, The Gruuthuse and their St. John’s Hospital.
The Belfry Tower was built in 1220. It served as a belltower, watchtower, and market during the 13th century. There were constant additions and reconstructions made to the Belfry Tower after burned in 1280, 1491, 1781 and 1821.
The Gruuthuse, was a mansion that once belonged to the Gruuthuse family. It held quite a monopoly over the beer brewing market, and just an interesting fact is that “Gruut” in old flemish means peeled barley or wheat.
Their Saint John’s Hospital was built in 1188. It was a hospital for pilgrims and passerby in need of medical and religious attention before their deaths. Now it houses works of some of the best Flemish artists.
Ghent, the third city, was a Roman city that grew into a great trading center during the medieval period. Much of it’s charm and character comes from the many branches of the Schelde and Leie rivers that flow to the town. Some interesting places you could visit here are the Dr. Guislain Museum, St. Michaels Bridge, as well as the St. Bravo’s Cathedral.
The Dr. Guislain Museum was opened in 1986 and was dedicated to educating the public about psychiatric care. Dr. Guislain, the museum’s namesake, defended the rights of the mentally ill and laid plans for decent and humane treatment back in 1828, when patients were still being tied up with chains.
St. Michael’s Bridge is said to have the best views of Ghent’s Medieval Buildings. The canal it’s biult over is called the Leie (LYE-yuh), which served as the main artery running through the downtown.
St. Bavo’s Cathedral also called (Sint-Baafskathedraal) is also another place to go look at while visiting there. An interesting fact is that King Charles the 5th was baptized there in 1500. And now the world-famous Adoration of the Mystical land painted by Huber and Jan Van Eyck in 1432 is there on display.
The fourth city, Antwerp, is home to nearly half 1 million people. It is the fifth busiest port in the world, and after Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the second busiest in Europe. Antwerp is also a major diamond center: 40% of the world’s cutting and 70% of the polishing trade is conducted here.
The Cathedral of our Lady is one place you could visit while you’re there. They started construction of a in 1352 and completed it around 1520, thats 168 years guys! And it contains Nicolas Rombouts’ Last Supper in a stained-glass window, made in 1503.
The Grote Markt is another place you can visit. It’s like the town square. At the center of the square is the largest fountain, built in 1887 by the architect Jeff Lanbaux. It shows the protagonist of Antwerp’s most famous legend : the mythical hero Brabo.
Belgium’s flag was officially adopted in the January 1831. It was designed to signify Belgium’s recognition as an independent country. The colors of the flag are symbolic of the country’s coat of arms. The black represents the shield, the gold represents the lion, and the red represents the lions claws and tongue.
Other places of interest that I didn’t mention where the Atomium, the Coudenberg, the Dinosaur Gallery of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and the MIM.
The Atomium was one of the most interesting ones that I saw, because I’m interested in science. It represents the atom of iron and it’s one of most well known places in Belgium.
The other interesting one that I thought was cool was the dinosaur gallery, which is the largest dinosaur museum in Europe.
Belden is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy, which means that it’s headed by Monarch what but the legislative and judiciary branches are run on constitutional grounds.
Something interesting about Belgians government is that people over the age of 18 not only have the right to vote, but are required to do so by law.
Some interesting things about Belgium’s history is that it was under the control of Rome, France, Spain, and Austria before a game its independence in 1831. Another thing is that Belgium thought with the Dutch and English against Napoleon and the battery of Waterloo in 1815. And after that the Congress of Vienna united Belgium with the Netherlands. Another thing we learned was that Belgium was invaded by Germany in 1914, which Jews then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland into World War I, having them take the side of the Allied powers. Another thing was that Germany control Belgium until surrender 1918 but it managed to control Brussels until the end of the war.
FACTS FROM PAST SLIDE>
- The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
- was the first of a series of international meetings that came to be known as the Concert of Europe, which was an attempt to forge a peaceful balance of power in Europe, and served as a model for later organizations such as the League of Nations and United Nations.
- Germany went through Belgium in order to outflank the French armies and quickly capture Paris. They figured that if they could get France to fall quickly enough, Britain wouldn’t send troops to assist them, but Britain only sped up the mobilization of their forces because they had close ties with Belgium, ( a country they had controlled for for a long time.)
In the early 15th century, Belgium was famous for its choirs of saying in four-part harmony. The older generations listen to folk music often singing in a dialect of native of Brussels. The younger generations mostly listen to what we do now except it’s more techno. Something interesting was that the saxophone was invented in Belgium by a Belgian instrument maker named Adolphe Sax in 1846.
Belgium is mostly known for its waffles it’s waterzooi and it’s cheese. The Belgian waffle was a special made waffle covered in many kind of toppings. The Waterzooi, is a fish still but now it’s usually made with chicken. And in Belgium there are more than 150 different types of cheeses.
The traditional folk clothing for women was mainly called The Huntress. Today it is typically worn as a wedding gown on occasion. For men Smocks and berets were extermely popular. As of today though, they dress mostly like we do.
The weather indulgently is pretty mild but there are long periods of Bellingrade days with a bunch of rain. The weather around the Kosar a little bit different than the weather around the terrain. One example around the coast it’s mostly dry well the rest of the country having rain and the winters are a lot more miles. The hilly terrains have more cool and rainy weather and the summer months are the only months that are free of frost.
In Belgium sports are an important national and social activity, they take it very seriously. Some of the sports they play on dryland are golf, cycling, football, swimming and tennis. Some of the sports they play on the seaside are sailing, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding and other water-based pursuits. Some leisure activities they do throughout the whole year are go to trendy bars, clubs, as well as theaters and concert halls.
Activities done mostly in the summer are playing sports, visiting museums, festivals pageants, and carnivals.
While in the winter they mostly go skiing, and cross-country skiing.
Belgium is a first world country… read of the slide its okay.
Belgium is famous for its waffles, chocolate, beer, the creation of the saxophone, the three official languages: Dutch, French and German, and the comic and television franchise of “The Smurfs”
- priest, astronomer, and physics professor ..First to purpose the big bang theory.
- Pen Name, and he came up with the comic of smurfs
- Former tennis player, ranked No. 1 in singles and doubles at one point
- Former cyclist, nicknamed the cannibal
- Discovered cell fractionation, and won a noble prize for it.
- 1st king after Belgium gained its independence in 1831
