Brief information about the Brussels
Brussels Brussels (French: Bruxelles [bʁysɛl] or [bʁyksɛl]; Dutch: Brussel [ˈbrʏsəl] ), formally the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is an area of Belgium containing 19 municipalities, including the Town of Brussels, that is the capital of Belgium.
The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the middle portion of the country and is a part of the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is different from the Flemish Region (within which it creates an enclave) and the Walloon Region.
Brussels is the most densely area in Belgium in relation to GDP per capita. It covers 162 km2 (63 sq mi), a comparatively small area in contrast to both other areas, and contains a population of over 1.2 million. 2 is comprised over by Brussels' five times larger metropolitan region.
. It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Antwerp Ghent, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to more than 5 million individuals. Brussels climbed from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to turn into an in Europe.
Since the end of the Second World War, it's turned into a center for home and politics to numerous international businesses, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, since it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including its administrative-legislative, executive-political, and legislative divisions (although the judicial branch can be found in Luxembourg, and the European Parliament meets for a minority of this year in Strasbourg).
Its name is used metonymically to characterize the EU and its institutions. The Secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of NATO are situated in Brussels. As an Alpha global city, it is classified as among the top centers of Western Europe with Euronext Brussels and the financial capital of Belgium.
Brussels is a hub for rail, road and air traffic, occasionally earning the moniker "Crossroads of Europe". The Brussels Metro is the only rapid transit system in Belgium. In addition railway stations and its airport are the biggest and busiest in the country.
A speech shift was seen by historically Dutch-speaking Brussels to French. The Brussels-Capital Region is headquartered in French and Dutch, although French is now the de facto primary language with over 90 percent of the population speaking it.
Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken as a second language by nearly a third of the population and expatriates and many migrants speak other languages. Brussels is famous for its cuisine and gastronomy, as well as its historical and architectural landmarks; a number of them are registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Main attractions include its historic Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Atomium, and institutions like La Monnaie/De Munt and the Museums of Art and History. Due to the long heritage of comics, Brussels can be hailed as a capital of the comic strip.