Brussels

Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the headquarters of the European Union, as two of its four main institutions have their headquarters in the city.

Related Topics:
Dutch - French - German - Belgium - European Union

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Brussels is, first of all, a city located in the centre of Belgium and its capital, but it sometimes also refers to the largest municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region. This municipality inside Brussels is correctly named The City of Brussels (French: Bruxelles-Ville or Ville de Bruxelles, Dutch: Stad Brussel), which is one of 19 municipalities that make up the Brussels-Capital Region (see also: Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region). The municipality has a population of about 140,000 while the Brussels-Capital Region has more than a million inhabitants. {{coor dms|50|50|37|N|4|21|27|E|}}. http://earth-info.nga.mil/gns/html/cntry_files.html

Related Topics:
Brussels-Capital Region - The City of Brussels - Municipalities - Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region

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The Brussels-Capital Region is a region of Belgium in its own right, alongside the Flemish Region and Wallonia. Geographically, it is an enclave in the 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 Flemish Community or the French (speaking) community for matters such as culture and education.

Related Topics:
Flemish Region - Wallonia - Enclave - Flemish Community - French (speaking) community

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

Related Topics:
Flanders - French Community of Belgium - Flemish Parliament - Flemish government

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Two of the three main institutions of the European Union - the European Commission and the Council of the European Union - have their headquarters in Brussels: the Commission in the Berlaymont building and the Council in the Justus Lipsius building facing it. The third main institution of the European Union, the European Parliament, also has a parliamentary chamber in Brussels in which its committee meet and some of its plenary sessions are held (the other plenary sessions are held in Strasbourg, and its administrative headquarters are in Luxembourg).

Related Topics:
European Union - European Commission - Council of the European Union - Berlaymont building - Justus Lipsius building - European Parliament - Strasbourg

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Brussels is also the political seat of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Western European Union (WEU) and EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.

Related Topics:
NATO - Western European Union - EUROCONTROL

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The "language frontier" divides Belgium into a northern, Dutch-speaking, region and a southern, French-speaking, region. Although the real language frontier and the official one are largely identical, there are bilingual pockets on both sides with, in certain cases, no specific linguistic rights for the population speaking the other language. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual, while the majority of its residents speaks French (see the linguistic history of Brussels in this article's linguistic situation section).

Related Topics:
Dutch - French - Bilingual - Linguistic situation section

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The highest building in Brussels is the South Tower (150 m); the most famous probably the Atomium, which is a remnant from the Expo '58.

Related Topics:
South Tower - Atomium - Expo '58

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