1.
Municipalities of Belgium
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As such, only Antwerp, having over 500,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into nine districts. The Belgian arrondissements, a level between province and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well. The municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants were grouped in so-called canton municipalities, in 1800, these canton municipalities were abolished again and the number of autonomous municipalities became 2,776. Not much changed during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, only a number of municipalities were merged. In 1831, Belgium was divided into 2,739 municipalities, New municipalities were created until 1928. There were 2,528 municipalities in 1850,2,572 in 1875,2,617 in 1900 and this also includes the municipalities of the East Cantons that were added to Belgium following the First World War. In 1961, the so-called Unitary Law, of which the chapter was dedicated to the territorial organisation of the municipalities, was adopted. The authority to abolish municipalities was entrusted to the branch for a period of 10 years. Municipalities could be merged on financial grounds or on grounds of a geographical, linguistic, economic, in 1964 and in 1969 and 1970, roughly 300 municipalities ceased to exist and were subsumed into other municipalities. The number of municipalities was reduced from 2,663 in 1961 to 2,586 in 1965, article 4 of the constitution states that each municipality must belong to only one of the four official language areas that were established in 1962–63. In the three officially unilingual language areas, a couple of municipalities in the vicinity of another language area must provide limited facilities for speakers of that other language. Lucien Harmegnies, Minister of the Interior in the government of Gaston Eyskens decided to continue the process of reorganization of Belgium. In 1971, the provisions of the Unity Law were extended and modified to apply to large agglomerations and it was another Minister of the Interior, Joseph Michel, who managed the process. On December 30,1975, the law regarding the merger of the municipalities was adopted, the merger became effective on January 1,1977. The merger of 1977 further reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium from 2,359 to 596, because of the specific nature of the reorganization in Antwerp, the law of December 30,1975 didnt enter into force for Antwerp until January 1,1983. The formerly independent municipalities were called districts and were given an advisory function, however, on January 1,2001 they were given an administrative function again. The Mayor is not only the head of the municipality, he or she is also the representative of the Regional, in that capacity, he or she is responsible for the execution of laws, decrees, ordinances and orders. The Mayor is also responsible for the maintenance of order in his or her municipality
Municipalities of Belgium
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Communities
Municipalities of Belgium
–
Map showing the provinces and the municipalities of
Belgium.
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
3.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
Belgium
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Charlemagne and
Charles V
Belgium
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Flaga
Belgium
Belgium
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Episode of the
Belgian Revolution of 1830 (1834), by
Egide Charles Gustave Wappers
4.
Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
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Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities, three regions, and four language areas. For each of these types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country, in other words. The language areas were established by the Second Gilson Act, which entered force on August 2,1963. The division into language areas was included in the Belgian Constitution in 1970 and this is a schematic overview of the basic federal structure of Belgium as defined by Title I of the Belgian Constitution. Each of the entities either have their own Parliament and Government or their own Council, the language areas have no offices or powers and exist de facto as geographical circumscriptions, serving only to delineate the empowered subdivisions. The institutional communities are thus equally geographically determined, Belgian Communities do not officially refer directly to groups of people but rather to specific political, linguistic and cultural competencies of the country. There is no subnationality in Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each comprise five provinces. The Brussels-Capital Region is not a province, nor does it contain any, the three regions are further subdivided into 589 municipalities, which in general consist of several sub-municipalities. These sub-municipalities were independent municipalities in the past, but no longer serve an official purpose, the Federal State retains a considerable common heritage. This includes justice, defence, federal police, social security, public debt and other aspects of public finances, nuclear energy, the State is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs and they supervise the provinces, municipalities and intercommunal utility companies. In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specificities, each level can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers. Communities were created in 1970 as cultural communities with limited power, in 1980, more power was transferred from the federal state to these entities and they became simply communities. Both the Flemish and French Community have jurisdiction over the area of the Brussels-Capital Region, consequently, they do not have a defined number of inhabitants. The German-speaking Community is the community with an area over which they have sole jurisdiction as a community. It is located within the Walloon Region, which has transferred some regional powers to the German-speaking Community with regards to its area. The Flemish Region or Flanders occupies the part of Belgium. It has an area of 13,522 km2, or 44. 29% of Belgium
Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium
–
Dutch-speaking
5.
Flemish Community
–
The term community should then not be capitalized. State reforms in Belgium turned the country from a state into a federal one. Cultural communities were the first type of decentralisation in 1970, forming the Dutch, French, later on, in 1980, these became responsible for more cultural matters and were renamed to simply Community, the Dutch Community also being renamed to the Flemish Community. In the same state reform of 1980, the Flemish and Walloon Region were set up, in Flanders it was decided that the institutions of the Flemish Community would take up the tasks of the Flemish Region, so there is only one Flemish Parliament and one Flemish Government. Legally speaking, in the region of Brussel-Capital, the Flemish Community is responsible not for people but for Flemish institutions such as schools, theatres, libraries. The reason is no distinct sub-national status exists in Belgium. Yet, individuals living in Brussels can opt by their own choice for certain policies of the Flemish Community, Dutch is the official language of the Flemish Community. Minorities speak French, Yiddish, Turkish, Arabic, Berber, Italian, Spanish, English, though most of these groups are recent immigrants, since the Middle Ages, Jews have formed the oldest minority to retain its own identity. Compared with most areas in the Netherlands, the dialects of Flemish people still tend to be strong. In Dutch, these are often called tussentaal or, rather derogatorily, more recently, a number of local initiatives have been set up to save the traditional dialects and their diversity. In Brussels, the dialect is heavily influenced by French. Nowadays, most Flemings in Brussels do not speak the local dialect and this is due in part to the relatively large numbers of young Flemings coming to Brussels, after a long period of many more others moving out while French-speakers moved in. In certain municipalities along the border with the Walloon and the Brussels-Capital regions and these cover rights such as to receive official documentation in their own tongue. The community competencies there, are exercised by the two affected institutional communities, the Flemish Community therefore established a local elected council and executive to cater for intermediate-level decision making & public services. The VGC then recognised local, municipal institutions to care of the purely local public service in these community areas. Flanders has a radio and television broadcasting company, the Vlaamse Radio en Televisieomroep or VRT in Dutch. Since 1989, several companies for region-wide radio and television broadcasting have become established. There are also so-called regional broadcast companies of which the range is limited to smaller parts of the Flemish Region
Flemish Community
–
Flemish Community Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Dutch)
6.
Flemish Region
–
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is simply referred to as Flanders. It occupies the part of Belgium and covers an area of 13,522 km2. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 470 inhabitants per square kilometer, immediately after its establishment in 1980, the region transferred all its constitutional competencies to the Flemish Community. Thus, the current Flemish authorities represent all the Flemish people, hence, the Flemish Region is governed by the Flemish Community institutions. However, members of the Flemish Community parliament elected in the Brussels-Capital Region have no right to vote on Flemish regional affairs, the Flemish Region comprises five provinces, each consisting of administrative arrondissements that, in turn, contain municipalities. Brussels city, the seat of the Flemish parliament, is located within the Brussels-Capital Region, Brussels contains both the Flemish Community and the French Community, both having their institutions in Brussels. Flanders is home to a modern economy, with emphasis put on research. Many enterprises work closely with local knowledge and research centres to develop new products, De Lijn serves as the main public transport company, run by the Flemish government. It consists of buses and trams, TEC is the equivalent company in Wallonia, and MIVB-STIB in Brussels. The railway network run by the NMBS, however, is a federal responsibility, the Flemish government is also responsible for about 500 kilometers of regional roads and about 900 kilometers of highways in the territory of the Flemish Region. Other types of roads are roads and municipal roads. Approximately 5,500,000 people live in the area, the official language is Dutch, sometimes colloquially referred to as Flemish. The main dialect groups include West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian, French may be used for certain administrative purposes in a limited number of the so-called municipalities with language facilities around the Brussels-Capital Region and on the border with Wallonia. Rim municipalities are Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel, Brussels was originally a Dutch-speaking city, but it was frenchified in the 19th and 20th century and is now largely French-speaking. A few municipalities in the Flemish agglomeration of Brussels are now also frenchified, municipalities with language facilities on the border with Wallonia are Bever, Herstappe, Mesen, Ronse, Spiere-Helkijn, Voeren. Communities and regions of Belgium Provinces of regions in Belgium De Vlaamse Leeuw Count of Flanders Flanders Flemish Flemish authorities, toerisme Vlaanderen French Flanders Frans-Vlaanderen The Flemish region reaches 6 million inhabitants
Flemish Region
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Bus of "De Lijn"
Flemish Region
–
Flag
7.
Provinces of Belgium
–
The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, the third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself. Many of the provinces evolved from earlier duchies and counties of the name and similar location. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant and these divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual. The division into provinces is fixed by Article 5 of the Belgian Constitution, the provinces are subdivided into 43 administrative arrondissements, and further into 589 municipalities. These each had their own identities and governments, though in the modern period almost all the Belgian states became part of larger entities. Each of the provinces of Belgium takes its name from one of these predecessors. At the time of the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in 1830, the first article of the Belgian Constitution said, Belgium is divided into provinces. These provinces are Antwerp, Brabant, West Flanders, East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège, Limburg, Luxembourg, Namur, in 1839 half of the province of Limburg became part of the Netherlands, which consequently has its own province of Limburg. In 1920, following the First World War, Belgium annexed the Eupen-Malmedy territory, during the second half of the 20th century, Belgium transitioned from a unitary state to a federal state with three Communities and three Regions. As part of the reforms, the province of Brabant was split in 1995 three ways, into two provinces and into the Brussels-Capital Region. The two new Brabant provinces became part of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region respectively, the remaining eight provinces became part of these regions as well, so the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each contain five provinces. The Provincial Councils are the bodies of the population of the provinces. This is the equivalent of the States-Provincial in the Netherlands, the numbers of seats in the Provincial Councils are proportional to the population of the province, the numbers were reduced in both Flanders and Wallonia, starting 2013. They are directly elected each six years, at the time of the municipal elections. Before 1994, the elections instead coincided with the national elections. Until then, the provincial councils also appointed Provincial Senators to the Belgian Senate, the executive branch was previously called the Permanent Deputation. In the Flemish Region it is now called the Deputation and it consists of the Governor
Provinces of Belgium
8.
Flemish Brabant
–
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut, Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. It has an area of 2,106 km² which is divided into two administrative districts containing 65 municipalities, the split was made to accommodate the eventual division of Belgium in three regions. It is a province with a cultural history and a great diversity of typical products. The province is made up of two arrondissements, the Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement has Brussels in its middle and is therefore mainly a residential area, even though it also has large industrial zones and contains Belgiums main airport. The other arrondissement is the Leuven Arrondissement, centered on Leuven, other such special municipalities can be found along the border between Flanders and Wallonia, and between Wallonia and the German-speaking area of Belgium. Halle-Vilvoorde mostly surrounds Brussels, which is officially bilingual but whose inhabitants mostly speak French, the history of Brabant can be found at the Duchy of Brabant article, see also Duke of Brabant. The Governor is the representative or commissioner of the Federal and the Flemish Government in Flemish Brabant and he is appointed by the Flemish Government, on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. The current Governor is Lodewijk De Witte, he has been the Governor of Flemish Brabant since it was created in 1995 as a result of the splitting up of the Province of Brabant. He also presides over the Deputation, however, he doesnt have the right to vote in the Deputation except in cases where the Deputation exercises a judicial function. Flemish Brabant is that only province that has a Deputy Governor as well and he is responsible for ensuring that the language legislation is observed in the peripheral municipalities of Flemish Brabant. The Provincial Council of Flemish Brabant consists of 72 members elected for a term of office of 6 years, the last election was held on Sunday 14 October 2012. She is assisted by a Bureau which consists of two Vice-Presidents, four Secretaries, three Quaestors and the leaders of the fractions in the Provincial Council. The governing majority in the Provincial Council for 2013–2018 is formed by CD&V, Open VLD, sp. a and these parties together have a majority of 43 out of 72 seats. The Deputation is the organ responsible for the daily administration of the province. It consists of the Governor and six Deputies elected by the Provincial Council from among its midst. For the 2013–2018 legislative term, the Deputies are divided among the majority parties as follows, Flemish Brabant has 65 municipalities,35 in the Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde and 30 in Leuven. Official web site of the Flemish Brabant province
Flemish Brabant
9.
Arrondissements of Belgium
–
Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements and these may or may not relate to identical geographical areas. The 43 administrative arrondissements are a level between the municipalities and the provinces. Brussels-Capital forms a single arrondissement for all 19 municipalities in the region by that name, Belgium had 27 judicial arrondissements until April 1,2014. Until 1999 the electoral districts for the election of the parliaments were electoral arrondissements, the arrondissement of Brussels-Capital is not part of any province and consequently forms its own electoral district
Arrondissements of Belgium
–
Administrative arrondissements of Belgium
10.
Louis Tobback
–
Louis Marie Joseph Tobback is a Belgian politician. Tobback is a Flemish social democrat and member of the political party SP. A and he is currently the mayor of Leuven. He graduated in Romance philology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and he is the father of Bruno Tobback, the president of the Flemish socialist party Different Socialist Party. He started his career in 1965 in the OCMW/CPAS council. In 1971 he was elected a member of the city council of Leuven, in 1974, he became the leader of the Belgian Socialist Party faction in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, and became a controversial but respected politician. Tobback is known for his oneliners in which he states his opinion. It was known that he liked cooperating with Jean-Luc Dehaene, who was Prime Minister from 1992 until 1999, in 1994 he became president of the Flemish social-democratic party. In that time, the party had a time due to the Agusta scandal in which several Flemish. Despite this, the party did not lose too many votes in the federal and regional elections in 1995, as president of the SP, he also started a campaign of ideological and organisational innovation within the party. In 1995, Tobback also became the mayor of Leuven, in April 1998, he again became Minister of the Interior, after Johan Vande Lanotte resigned because of the escape of Marc Dutroux during his transport from jail to the court hall. In September 1998 he resigned himself after a Nigerian immigration candidate died during her forced repatriation, as of 27 September 1998, Tobback is the Mayor of Leuven. He considers the break-up of the Netherlands and Belgium a historical mistake, if the United Kingdom of the Netherlands would have endured, we would have been a member of the G8 today, Tobback said in 2006. 1995, Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold,2003, Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Leopold II. Louis Tobback Louis Tobback Media related to Louis Tobback at Wikimedia Commons
Louis Tobback
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Louis Tobback
Louis Tobback
–
The face of the squat 'Villa Squattus Dei' in
Leuven (Belgium). Also depicted:
caricature of Louis Tobback.
11.
Socialistische Partij Anders
–
Socialist Party Differently is a social-democratic Flemish political party in Belgium. From December 2011 to September 2014, sp. a was part of the Di Rupo Government, sp. a has been several times part of the Flemish Government. The party was the big winner in the 2003 election, running on the SP. A-Spirit joint list with the social-liberal party Spirit and their share of the vote went up from 9% to almost 15%, a second place in the number of votes. The main victim of this resurgence was the Green, in 2004, the sp. a along with its partner Spirit lost the elections for the Flemish Parliament. Although they won more seats in comparison to the Flemish elections of 1999, the reputation of then party leader Steve Stevaert took a beating too. The party was led by Caroline Gennez, after former president Steve Stevaert left to become governor of Limburg. Johan Vande Lanotte, who served as Minister of the Budget in the federal Government, was elected President and he resigned 11 June 2007, after sp. a-Spirit lost the elections for the federal parliament of 10 June 2007. In these federal elections, the cartel won 14 out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 4 out of 40 seats in the Senate, afterwards, Caroline Gennez was elected President by the party members. As of May 2009, sp. a was in opposition in federal politics, in January 2009 the party had apparently changed its name to Socialisten en Progressieven Anders. This name change was however retracted, and the party baseline instead was changed from Sociaal Progressief Alternatief to Socialisten en Progressieven Anders, in the 2010 federal election sp. a won 13 seats with 9% of the overall vote. The party was a member of the Di Rupo Government formed on 6 December 2011, from 2009-2014, sp. a participated in the Flemish Government, in an uneasy coalition with the CD & V and the N-VA. ° In Limburg sp. a formed a cartel with Groen, * In cartel with Spirit Johan Vande Lanotte, Vlugschrift – over welvaart en geluk,96 p. ISBN 978-90-486-0629-0. Patrick Vander Weyden & Koen Abts, De basis spreekt — onderzoek naar de leden, mandatarissen en kiezers van sp. a, Acco,239 p. ISBN 978-90-334-7571-9
Socialistische Partij Anders
–
The main six Flemish political parties and their results for the Chamber of Representatives. From 1978 to 2014, in percentages for the complete 'Kingdom'.
12.
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams
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Christian Democratic and Flemish is a Christian democratic Flemish political party in Belgium. The party has ties to both trade unionism and trade associations and the Farmers League. Until 2001, the party was named the Christian Peoples Party and it was traditionally the largest political party of Flanders, until it was overtaken by the New Flemish Alliance in the 2010s. CD&V participated in most governments and has generally the largest number of mayors, most Prime Ministers of Belgium and Ministers-President of Flanders have been CD&V politicians. Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014, is one of the politicians of CD&V. CD&V is a member of the European Peoples Party and Centrist Democrat International, the history of the CD&V dates back to the 19th century. It originated in the 19th century catholic party, or Parti conservateur, at the end of the century, the new fraction of the so-called Christian democrats shifted the focus of the party slightly to the left. In the interwar years the party was renamed Catholic Bloc, then, the Christian Social Party existed from 1945 until 1968. In 1968, the PSC-CVP was split into to the French-speaking Christian Social Party, in 2001 the CVP changed its name to the CD&V. The party was almost continually in power from its establishment until 1999, in 1999, the Flemish Liberals and Democrats became the largest party in Belgium, and formed a majority purple government of liberals, social democrats and greens. The same happened in the Flemish Government, but with the addition of Flemish nationalists, in 2003 CD&V again lost the federal elections which continuated the federal center-left coalition, but this time without the Greens. In 2004, Flemish elections were held and the CD&V once more became the largest political party by representation in the Flemish Parliament, after successful local elections in 2006, the party became the largest party in the Belgian Chambre of Representatives after the federal elections of 2007. The CD&V led the subsequent coalition talks, which repeatedly stalled, on the 20 March 2008, a new federal government was finally assembled, led by Yves Leterme. Kris Peeters subsequently became the next minister-president of Flanders, from 30 December 2008 till 25 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy led his first cabinet before becoming the first permanent president of the European Council. Afterwards, Yves Leterme led his second government, in June 2009, Flemish elections were held and the CD&V remained the largest party of Flanders. Kris Peeters stayed as Flemish minister-president, the party also remained the largest Flemish party in the European Parliament after the 2009 European elections. In 2010, the Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats decided to out of the federal coalition. The federal elections of 2010 resulted in a loss of historic proportions for CD&V
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams
–
Christian Democratic and Flemish Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams
13.
List of postal codes in Belgium
–
For more see Postal codes in Belgium 1000 Brussel / Bruxelles 1005 Ver. Verg. Gemeensch. Gemeensch. Comm. Commune Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Raad / Conseil Region Bruxelles-Capitale 1006 Raad Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie 1007 Ass,1047 Europees Parlement - Parlement Européen 1048 E. U. -Raad / U. E. -Conseil 1049 E. U. -Commissie / U. E. S. D
List of postal codes in Belgium
–
2-digit postcode areas
Belgium (defined through the first two postcode digits)
14.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
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Regions where French is the main language
French language
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Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
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An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
15.
German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
German language
–
Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)
German language
–
The widespread popularity of the
Bible translated into German by
Martin Luther helped establish modern German
German language
–
Examples of German language in
Namibian everyday life
German language
–
German-language newspapers in the U.S. in 1922
16.
Italian language
–
By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
Italian language
–
Dante Alighieri (above) and
Petrarch (below) were influential in establishing their
Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of
Italy in the
Late Middle Ages
Italian language
–
The geographic distribution of the Italian language in the world: large Italian-speaking communities are shown in green; light blue indicates areas where the Italian language was used officially during the Italian colonial period.
Italian language
Italian language
–
Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage
17.
Brussels
–
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
Brussels
–
A
collage with several views of Brussels, Top: View of the
Northern Quarter business district, 2nd left: Floral carpet event in the
Grand Place, 2nd right:
Brussels City Hall and
Mont des Arts area, 3rd:
Cinquantenaire Park, 4th left:
Manneken Pis, 4th middle:
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, 4th right:
Congress Column, Bottom:
Royal Palace of Brussels
Brussels
–
Charles of Lorraine founded what would become Brussels c. 979
Brussels
–
Grand Place after
the 1695 bombardment by the French army
Brussels
–
Episode of the
Belgian Revolution of 1830,
Wappers (1834)
18.
Municipality
–
It is to be distinguished from the county, which may encompass rural territory and/or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets. The term municipality may also mean the governing or ruling body of a given municipality, a municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district. The term is derived from French municipalité and Latin municipalis, a municipality can be any political jurisdiction from a sovereign state, such as the Principality of Monaco, or a small village, such as West Hampton Dunes, New York. The power of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state, municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. Similar terms include Spanish ayuntamiento, also called municipalidad, Polish gmina, Dutch/Flemish Gemeente, in Australia, the term local government area is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia, incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility. In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, the Province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers. Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities, nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units. In India, a Nagar Palika or Municipality is a local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more. Under the Panchayati Raj system, it directly with the state government. Generally, smaller cities and bigger towns have a Nagar Palika. Nagar Palikas are also a form of local self-government entrusted with duties and responsibilities. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status, or can retain its district title, in Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of government in this jurisdiction. In the United States, municipality is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, in the Peoples Republic of China, a direct-controlled municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing. In Taiwan, a municipality is a city with equal status to a province, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei. In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ, when referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used
Municipality
–
The
Ponce City Hall, in the city of
Ponce, is the seat of the government for both the city and the surrounding
barrios making up the municipality.
19.
City
–
A city is a large and permanent human settlement. Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, housing, a big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs. Such cities are associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas. Once a city expands far enough to another city, this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis. Damascus is arguably the oldest city in the world, in terms of population, the largest city proper is Shanghai, while the fastest-growing is Dubai. There is not enough evidence to assert what conditions gave rise to the first cities, some theorists have speculated on what they consider suitable pre-conditions and basic mechanisms that might have been important driving forces. The conventional view holds that cities first formed after the Neolithic revolution, the Neolithic revolution brought agriculture, which made denser human populations possible, thereby supporting city development. The advent of farming encouraged hunter-gatherers to abandon nomadic lifestyles and to settle near others who lived by agricultural production, the increased population density encouraged by farming and the increased output of food per unit of land created conditions that seem more suitable for city-like activities. In his book, Cities and Economic Development, Paul Bairoch takes up position in his argument that agricultural activity appears necessary before true cities can form. According to Vere Gordon Childe, for a settlement to qualify as a city, it must have enough surplus of raw materials to support trade and a relatively large population. To illustrate this point, Bairoch offers an example, Western Europe during the pre-Neolithic, when the cost of transport is taken into account, the figure rises to 200,000 square kilometres. Bairoch noted that this is roughly the size of Great Britain, the urban theorist Jane Jacobs suggests that city formation preceded the birth of agriculture, but this view is not widely accepted. In his book City Economics, Brendan OFlaherty asserts Cities could persist—as they have for thousands of years—only if their advantages offset the disadvantages, OFlaherty illustrates two similar attracting advantages known as increasing returns to scale and economies of scale, which are concepts usually associated with businesses. Their applications are seen in more basic economic systems as well, increasing returns to scale occurs when doubling all inputs more than doubles the output an activity has economies of scale if doubling output less than doubles cost. To offer an example of these concepts, OFlaherty makes use of one of the oldest reasons why cities were built, in this example, the inputs are anything that would be used for protection and the output is the area protected and everything of value contained in it. OFlaherty then asks that we suppose the protected area is square, the advantage is expressed as, O = s 2, where O is the output and s stands for the length of a side. This equation shows that output is proportional to the square of the length of a side, the inputs depend on the length of the perimeter, I =4 s, where I stands for the quantity of inputs. So there are increasing returns to scale, O = I2 /16 and this equation shows that with twice the inputs, you produce quadruple the output
City
–
1908 map of
Piraeus, the port of
Athens, showing the grid plan of the city
City
–
Ancient
Ur of
Sumer in present-day Tell el-Mukayyar in
Iraq, one of the world's earliest cities
City
–
Mohenjo-daro, a
World Heritage site that was part of the
Indus Valley Civilization
City
–
A map dating 1669 showing the location of
Multan, Pakistan
20.
Heverlee
–
Heverlee is a town in Belgium. It is a deelgemeente of the city of Leuven, Heverlee is bordered by Herent, Bertem, Oud Heverlee and several other municipalities that are part of Leuven. The town is the location of the Heverlee War Cemetery for Commonwealth casualties from the Second World War, the town also harbours a significant part of the university campus of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. The Arenberg campus is the area for research and educational facilities for exact sciences. These contain the Faculty of Engineering (see Arenberg Château, the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, a part of the Biomedical Group, namely the Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences also has its main facilities on the campus. Another higher education facility has facilities in Heverlee. The Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven lies next to the Heilig Hart-Instituut, which is a school for secondary education, also, St John Berchmans University College, Heverlee is situated outside the centre. Also situated in Heverlee is the Den Dreef stadium, home of the Belgian 1st Division football team Oud-Heverlee Leuven, the Cyclocross Leuven is a cyclo-cross race held in January. Heverlee also has industrial parks with all kinds of companies, some of which are affiliated with the university, IMEC, Thrombogenics and Option N. V. are some of the most important ones. The Brabanthal is a hall, mostly for recreational events
Heverlee
–
St-Lambertus church
21.
Kessel-Lo
–
Kessel-Lo is a town in Belgium. It is a borough of Leuven, situated to the east, Kessel-Lo is bordered by Holsbeek, Lubbeek, and several other municipalities that are part of Leuven. Its name is derived from Kessel and Lo, Kessel-Lo is home to the Provinciaal Domein Kessel-Lo, a large provincial park with ponds, playgrounds, soccer fields, and other areas for recreational activities. The town is known for Vlierbeek Abbey, an old Benedictine abbey built in 1125. Several youth organisations are present in Kessel-Lo, such as Chiro Don Bosco, Chiro Vlierbeek, Scouts Vlierbeek, Chiro Blauwput, Chiro Hekeko, Scouts De Vlievleger, a local brewery has recently been founded called De Vlier. They brew a beer called Kessels Blond. Kessel-Lo is also the home of the Rugby Club Leuven
Kessel-Lo
–
Fields surrounding Vlierbeek Abbey
22.
Korbeek-Lo
–
Korbeek-Lo is a large village located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, a short distance to the east of Leuven. The total area is 39.75 km² which gives a density, using 2006 values. As a result of local government boundary changes in 1977 Korbeek-Lo. Since then the built up western part of Korbeek-Lo has been subsumed into Leuven while the more rural eastern part of the former municipality is now part of Bierbeek. The history of Korbeek-Lo starts a long way back, on the St. -Martinusberg plateau traces have been found of prehistoric homesteads. There is also evidence of Roman settlement, and there is evidence of habitation during the subsequent Frankish period. There is little consensus on the origins of the name, one theory is that Korbeek is an old term for a gentle murmuring brook, while ‘Lo’ is an old word for a copse. Korbeek might simply mean ‘short brook’,1107 finds a surviving record of the name, written as Corbeke’, while alternative early orthographies also include Cortbeke en Cortebeke. There was already a church here, in 1102, which was required to make payments to the abbey at Sint-Truiden. By the end of the century several breweries were present. Korbeek-Lo also suffered from the European wars of the twentieth century, in 1914,24 and 25 August saw central Louvain/Leuven set alight, and during the ensuring days it was the turn of the villages along the road towards Tienen to suffer similar assaults. Almost every house in Korbeek-Lo was plundered and 132 homes, along with 3 schools and 4 chateaux, were destroyed, by the end of the nineteenth century the van De Mol quarter also contained several small brick works, but these had all ceased to operate. Today Korbeek-Lo is a residential and commercial centre on the side of Leuven. The village is bisected by the road connecting Leuven and Brussels to the west with Tienen, Sint-Truiden. As a main road with a surface, this section dates back to 1716. Korbeek-Lo is also on the railway line running from Brussels to Liege. Trains no longer serve the community here, however, since the station has been closed. The nearest access point is Junction 23, roughly 5 km /3 miles to the south-west
Korbeek-Lo
–
Hoeve Trappeniers, one of several traditional farmsteads in Korbeek-Lo. The rural character of the village is currently under threat.
Korbeek-Lo
–
In 1977 Korbeek-Lo was abolished for administrative purposes, with the western part of the municipality subsumed into
Leuven and the eastern part into the newly expanded rural municipality of
Bierbeek.
23.
Wijgmaal
–
Leuven or Louvain is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometres east of Brussels, the municipality itself comprises the historic city and the former neighboring municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal. It is the 10th largest municipality in Belgium and the fourth in Flanders with more than 100,244 inhabitants, Leuven is home to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the largest and oldest university of the Low Countries and the oldest Catholic university still in existence. The related university hospital of UZ Leuven, is one of the largest hospitals in Europe, the city is also known for being the headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the worlds largest brewer and one of the five largest consumer-goods companies in the world. The earliest mention of Leuven is from 891, when a Viking army was defeated by the Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia, according to a legend the citys red and white arms depict the blood-stained shores of the river Dyle after this battle. Situated beside this river, and near to the stronghold of the Dukes of Brabant, a token of its former importance as a centre of cloth manufacture is shown in that ordinary linen cloth is known in late-14th-century and 15th-century texts as lewyn. In the 15th century a new era began with the founding of what is now the largest and oldest university in the Low Countries. In the 18th century the brewery Den Horen flourished, Leuven has several times been besieged or occupied by foreign armies, these include the Battle of Leuven, Siege of Leuven and Battle of Leuven. Both world wars in the 20th century inflicted major damage upon the city, upon Germanys entry into World War I, the town was heavily damaged by rampaging soldiers. In all, about 300 civilians lost their lives, the university library was also destroyed on 25 August 1914, using petrol and incendiary pastilles. 230,000 volumes were lost in the destruction, including Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts, a collection of 750 medieval manuscripts, and more than 1,000 incunabula. The destruction of the library shocked the world, with the Daily Chronicle describing it as war not only against civilians and it was rebuilt after the war, and much of the collection was replaced. Great Britain and the United States were major providers of material for the replenishment of the collection. In World War II, after the start of the German offensive, Leuven formed part of the British Expeditionary Forces front line and was defended by units of the 3rd Division and Belgian troops. From 14 to 16 May 1940, the German Army Group B assaulted the city with heavy air, the British withdrew their forces to the River Senne on the night of 16 May and the town was occupied the next day. The new university building was set on fire by shelling on 16 May. Given the presence of the KULeuven, an important European institution for research and education. There are several biotech and ICT companies, Gasthuisberg, the hospital and research centre
Wijgmaal
–
Leuven Town Hall
Wijgmaal
–
Leuven on the
Ferraris map (around 1775)
Wijgmaal
–
View over Leuven, late 19th century
Wijgmaal
–
Destruction of the university library, 1914
24.
Flanders
–
Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
Flanders
–
The
Sack of Antwerp in 1576, in which about 7,000 people died.
Flanders
–
Flag
Flanders
–
Winter scene by
Sebastian Vrancx, 1622
Flanders
–
1609 map of the county of Flanders
25.
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
–
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, also known as KU Leuven or University of Leuven, is a Dutch-speaking university in Leuven, Flanders, Belgium. The University of Leuven was founded at the centre of the town of Leuven in 1425. Since the fifteenth century, Louvain, as it is often called by French speaking Belgians, has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. It is considered the oldest Catholic university still in existence, with 55,484 students in 2014–2015, the KU Leuven is the largest university in Belgium and the Low Countries. In addition to its campus in Leuven, it has satellite campuses in Kortrijk, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, Geel, Diepenbeek, Aalst, Sint-Katelijne-Waver. The university now offers several programs in English. KU Leuven is consistently considered to be within the top 100 universities of the world, the KU Leuven is a strongly research-oriented university. Among its many accolades is to be reckoned among the top universities of Europe and its current 2015-2016 QS World University Ranking position is 82nd. KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy current ranks 24th in the world, in 2016, KU Leuven was ranked first on the Reuters list of Europes most innovative universities. KU Leuven Law School currently ranks 26th in the world, most courses, however, are taught in Dutch. The KU Leuven is a member of the Coimbra Group as well as of the LERU Group, since August 2013, the university has been led by Rik Torfs who replaced former rector Mark Waer. The Belgian archbishop, André-Joseph Léonard is the current Grand Chancellor, the KU Leuven is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, under her traditional attribute as Seat of Wisdom, and organizes an annual celebration on 2 February in her honour. On that day, the university awards its honorary doctorates. The seal used by the university shows the statue of the Sedes Sapientiae, Leuven. Despite its Catholic origin, the university students from different faith communities. For the history of the university see Catholic University of Leuven. Pieter De Somer became the first rector of the KU Leuven, in 1972, the KU Leuven set up a separate entity, Leuven Research & Development, to support industrial and commercial applications of university research. It has led to numerous spin-offs, such as the technology company Metris, on 11 July 2002, the KU Leuven became the dominant institution in the KU Leuven Association
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
–
Inner view of the Adrian VI College
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
–
KU Leuven Universiteit Leuven
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
–
Kasteel van Arenberg, part of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
–
The University Library
26.
Low Countries
–
Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
Low Countries
–
The Low Countries as seen from space with modern day boundaries drawn in thin blue.
27.
UZ Leuven
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Universitaire ziekenhuizen Leuven, often shortened to UZ Leuven, is an academic hospital in Leuven, Belgium, associated with the university KU Leuven. It consists of five campuses as of 2016, Gasthuisberg, Lubbeek, Pellenberg, Sint-Pieter, the hospital has 1,995 beds and over 8,800 employees. Literally translated guest house hill, its name has become synonymous with UZ Leuven and it is the biggest and most well known of all the campuses. Aside from the KU Leuven, the KHLeuven also has teaching facilities on the campus where nursing. Still expanding, this campus is known for being almost permanently under construction since the start of its construction in the early 1970s, located in Lubbeek, about 11 km from the city center, it is the furthest from the city of all campuses. Campus Pellenberg is located in the district of Pellenberg, about 8 km from the city center of Leuven and it is located in a more rural area and is most known for being a recovery clinic. Sint-Pieter is the oldest campus dating back to the year 1080 and it is located in the city center. Sint-Rafaël is located next to campus Sint-Pieter within the city of Leuven. There are some older auditoria and laboratories which are still in use, the human dissections of the faculty of medicine take place here. 1426, Courses are taught at the Saint-Peters Hospital,1836, The city of Leuven and the university decide to build a new Saint-Peters Hospital. 1928, The university builds the Saint-Rafael campus and this is the official start of UZ Leuven. 1945, Partially destroyed after the Second world war, a new hospital is built,1958, Sanatorium Saint Barbara in Pellenberg, for the treatment of tuberculosis, is now part of UZ Leuven. 1971, A site just outside the city, known as Gasthuisberg, is found to be the location for a new campus for the university hospital. 1975, Phase I of the new project, a department, is now in use. 1980, Phase II adds capacity and a room, gynecology, maternity, internal medicine. 1989, the start of phase III, some departments from Pellenberg and Sint-Rafaël are moved to Gasthuisberg. The Centrum voor Menselijke Erfelijkheid is now housed in Gasthuisberg together with other laboratories,2001, A phase IV project should move remaining departments from Sint-Pieter to Gasthuisberg
UZ Leuven
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A view of UZ Leuven, campus Gasthuisberg
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Anheuser-Busch InBev
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Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is a multinational beverage and brewing company with global headquarters in Leuven, Belgium. Additional main offices are located in New York City, São Paulo, St. Louis, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Toronto, Buenos Aires, the company was enlarged in October 2016 when AB InBev purchased SABMiller and concluded a merger of the two entities. It was the worlds largest brewer even before the acquisition of SABMiller and is considered one of the largest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods companies in the world. The estimated annual sales for the company in 2017 will be US$55 billion, prior to the merger, the company is expected to have an estimated global market share of 28 percent, according to Euromonitor International. The company has announced a commitment to secure 100% of the company’s purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. In October 2015, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced a successful bid to acquire multinational competitor SABMiller for £69 billion. Shareholders for both companies approved the merger on 28 September 2016, the deal closed on October 10,2016. The new entity has approximately 500 beer brands in 50 countries as of January 2017, SABMiller ceased trading on global stock markets. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV is a listed company, with its primary listing on the Euronext Brussels. It has secondary listings on Mexican Stock Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, AB InBev was formed following the acquisition of American brewer Anheuser-Busch by Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev, which is a merger of AmBev and Interbrew. Interbrew was formed in 1987 from a merger of the two largest breweries in Belgium, Artois and Piedboeuf, the Artois brewery, previously known as Den Hoorn, was established by 1366. In 1995, Interbrew expanded by acquiring Labatt Brewing Company, the largest brewer in Canada, in 2002 it acquired Becks, the maker of the worlds top selling German beer. AmBev was created in 1999 with the merger of the two biggest Brazilian brewers, Antarctica and Brahma, Anheuser-Busch was established in 1852 in St. Louis, Missouri as Anheuser & Co In 2004, Interbrew and AmBev merged, creating the worlds largest brewer, InBev. The deal was valued at $11.5 billion and combined the 3rd largest, the deal consolidated the top brands from Belgium, Canada, Germany and Brazil. In 2007, subsidiary Labatt acquired Lakeport in Canada, and InBev increased its shareholding in QUINSA, strengthening the company’s foothold in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Under the terms of the agreement, all shares of Anheuser-Busch were acquired for 70 USD per share in cash. In 2013, Anheuser-Busch InBev joined leading alcohol producers as part of a producers commitments to reducing harmful drinking, the following is a diagram of Anheuser-Buschs major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors, produced prior to the acquisition of SABMiller. After the merger in 1987, Interbrew acquired a number of breweries in Belgium
Anheuser-Busch InBev
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Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV
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Ferraris map
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The Ferraris map or map of the Austrian Netherlands is a historical map created between 1770 and 1778 by the count Joseph de Ferraris in response to a request by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. It is the first systematic, large scale mapping in Belgium, there are three original versions of the map. The Royal Library of Belgium, the Austrian National Library and National Library of the Netherlands each have one, the topographic survey was performed on a territory corresponding to todays Belgium and Luxembourg as well as some territories now belonging to Germany and the Netherlands. The map was published at the scale of 1/11.520. Napoleon Bonaparte consulted the maps and subsequently used his knowledge in his military campaigns. Looking at the maps today, it is obvious how much the areas have changed over time as people began to have a impact on the environment. Environmental organisations like to use the maps to point out the state of an area. The maps can help identify archaeological finds. This works both ways, archaeologists use the maps to search for remains of buildings. Engineers can consult the maps to check for stability, since the maps feature mining pits that no longer exist. Media related to Category, Ferraris at Wikimedia Commons The Ferraris map on the website of the Royal Library of Belgium
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Count Joseph de Ferraris.
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Bruges on the Ferraris map
listen)) or Louvain (French: Louvain, pronounced [luvɛ̃]; German: Löwen; Italian: Lovanio) is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium. It is located about 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Brussels, the municipality itself comprises the historic city and the former neighboring municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal. It is the 8th largest city in Belgium and the fourth in Flanders with more than 100,244 inhabitants (Federal Ministry of Home Affairs, 1/11/2016).
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Louvain". Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "
Leuven
