Belgium for visitors

Belgium rivers

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:24:31 +0000

The Scheldt River, which is 435 km (270 mi) long, rises as the Escaut in Picardy, northern France, and then flows north to Tournai and Ghent in Belgium. Past Ghent, it turns east and continues to Antwerp. Its estuary on the North Sea is in the Netherlands. Navigable for 200 km (125 mi) in Belgium and 65 km (40 mi) in France, the Scheldt is connected by canals to other major rivers.

The Meuse River, Maas, rises in northeastern France on the Langres Plateau. The river flows for about 930 km (580 mi) north and then east through France and through Belgium and the Netherlands to the North Sea. The river follows the boundary between Belgium and the Netherlands for a short distance. About 110 km (70 mi) past Venlo in the Netherlands, the river curves to the west and splits into two branches: one joins the Waal River, a channel of the Rhine; the other becomes the Hollandsch Diep, the river’s mouth. Both branches empty into the North Sea. The chief towns along the river’s course are Verdun, Sedan, and Mezieres in France, Namur and Liege in Belgium, and Maastricht in the Netherlands. Navigable to Sedan, the Meuse supports many industries, especially in Belgium. A series of canals connects the river to Antwerp, Belgium, and Rotterdam, Netherlands. Control of the river valley was bitterly contested during both world wars.

Ostend

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:14:55 +0000

Ostend is a city in northwestern Belgium on the North Sea with a population of 69,067 (1993 est.). Belgium’s leading fishing port, Ostend has a pleasant maritime climate that has helped make it a popular resort as well. Fishing, oyster culture, and shipbuilding are the leading industries. The city was settled as a fishing village in the 9th century and had become a well-known port by the 11th century. Fortified in 1583, Ostend became the last Dutch stronghold in Belgium but fell to Spain after a three-year siege in 1604. In 1745 the city was almost destroyed by the French. Nevertheless, it became a prosperous commercial center. After Belgium won its independence in 1830, Ostend developed as a resort area. It was used as a submarine base by the Germans in World War I and suffered heavy damage during World War II.

Brussels

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:09:00 +0000

Brussels is the capital of Belgium and of Brabant province. Greater Brussels is by far the country’s largest metropolitan area, with a population of 2,385,000 (1987 est.).
Brussels is located on the rolling plain that makes up the center of the country, some 40 km (25 mi) south of Antwerp. It straddles the small Senne (Zenne) River, which joins the Rupel, a tributary of the Scheldt. The Willebroek Canal has been cut from the city to the Scheldt, permitting waterborne transportation to Antwerp. Southward, the Charleroi Canal connects Brussels to the Meuse River.
Brussels is mainly a French-speaking city, but it lies within the predominantly Flemish region of Belgium. Thus it is at the center of a long-standing struggle between the two linguistic communities of Belgium. In 1970 the Free University of Brussels (founded 1834) divided into two independent institutions, one French-speaking, the other Flemish. Brussels sightseeing is a must. In Brussel shops you will find everything and you can stay in Brussel hotels that offer very good accommodation

Antwerp

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:01:09 +0000

Antwerp is the second-largest city and chief port of Belgium and one of Europe’s busiest seaports. It lies on the Scheldt River 89 km (55 mi) from the North Sea. The population of the city is 462,880 (1993 est.). Located in the Flemish-speaking region of Belgium, it is known in Flemish as Antwerpen and in French as Anvers. Antwerp is linked by the Albert Canal with the Meuse River at Liege and also with the Rhine, thus enabling the port to serve a large industrialized region. If you visit Antwerp you will find many types of accommodation

Antwerp hotels have all the possibilities for every budget.

about Belgium

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 19:53:06 +0000

Belgium is a highly urbanized country. The spatial distribution of people is very uneven, with the greatest densities found in the Antwerp-Brussels-Ghent central triangle. Flanders has a population density twice that of Wallonia. Some 135 cities account for more than 90% of the population. The largest cities, in addition to Brussels and Antwerp, are Ghent, Charleroi, Bruges and Liege. The Ardennes region has no large city. The population density of Belgium is one of the highest in the world. Brabant, which includes Brussels, is the most densely populated province, and Luxembourg is the most sparsely populated. Since 1970, Belgium has experienced zero population growth. The birth- and death rates currently balance each other out at 12 per 1,000, and the balance between in- and out-migration is about equal. The population is aging as a result of falling birthrates, smaller families, and a longer life expectancy.

spoken languages in Belgium

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 19:34:22 +0000

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch like in Antwerp Ghent and Ostend, French, and German. Dutch is spoken by 57% of the population, French by 42%, and German by 0.6%. Most of the German-speaking community is concentrated in the Eastern Cantons of Liege province, a narrow area along the German border from around Eupen in the north to Saint Vith in the south.
For many years the Flemish and Walloon (French-speaking) communities were in conflict over whether French or Dutch should be used in the schools, in the courts, for business, and for administration. French, being the language of the upper classes, had traditionally been dominant, a situation greatly resented by Dutch-speakers. In 1966 the country was divided into four linguistic areas. Dutch, which in Belgium includes the Flemish, Brabant, and Limburg dialects, became the official language north of a line running from east to west just south Brussels. French, which in Belgium includes the Picardic, Walloon, and Lorraine dialects, became official south of the line. German became official in the Eastern Cantons, and the Brussels area was designated as bilingual. Each of the three language communities has autonomy in its own linguistic region over cultural affairs, language use, local social issues, and in national and international cultural relations, in Brussels many soeak all 3 languages especially when shopping in Brussels is a good idea to have a small knowlede of those languages as well in Brussels hotels.

Belgian Resources

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 19:17:40 +0000

Benefiting from the rich coal reserves in the Sambre-Meuse area, Belgium was one of the first countries to begin industrialization in the early 19th century. Somewhat later, additional coal deposits were found in the Campine region of northeastern Belgium. In the late 20th century the coal-mining industry declined sharply because of the exhaustion of coal reserves, especially in the Sambre-Meuse valley, aggravated by high production costs and competition from cheap imported coal. Chalk and limestone are important mineral resources, along with glass sands, china clay, slate, and stone such as petit granit, marble, and porphyry. Water resources are becoming increasingly critical as Belgium struggles to satisfy the rising demands of cities and industries. A regional imbalance between supply and demand is growing: most of Belgium’s groundwater originates in the southern half of the country, while urban and industrial users are concentrated in the north.

Belgium Geography

traveler — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 19:06:39 +0000

Belgium includes three major geographic zones. The northern lowlands rise from the polders along the shoreline. The polders are land reclaimed from the sea and adjacent estuaries by an elaborate system of dikes and drains that lie approximately at sea level. At 50 m (164 ft) the lowlands give way to the central low plateaus that rise gently to 350 m (1,148 ft) at the edge of the Ardennes region. The southern hills zone comprises the high plateau of the Ardennes and Belgian Lorraine. The highest elevation in the country is Botrange peak (694 m/2,277 ft) in the upper Ardennes.