Alright let’s get into it! But first let’s ascertain, Belgium isn’t all food, sweets and sugar, YES I’m talking about waffles and chocolate! It’s also a country with a very complex structure, it’s the birthplace of french fries!.. ..Ok, yeah that’s another food.
It’s the birthplace of the “smurfs”, AND it’s home to the smallest city in the world! And no, it’s not the smurf village!
Let us present the country of the belgian red devils, music festivals, an insane amount of different kinds of beer, high taxes, and a peeing boy.. ladies and gentlemen. THIS. IS. BELGIUM.
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First, let’s get ourselves a quick overview of Belgium! With its 30,528 square kilometers. This is one of the smallest countries Europe has! Ranking in at 34th place out of the 51 countries located in Europe.
Geographically it sits with Luxembourg and Germany on the east side, Netherlands on the north side and France on the South. And let’s just say that this country has some serious influences from these countries.
In fact, Belgium doesn’t have it’s “own” language persay, but instead they have three official languages being, Dutch, French and German.
The population ranks in at just above 11.5 million and with that, it’s considered one of the most heavily populated countries in Europe!
The biggest cities of the country are by order, Brussels, which is about twice the size in terms of population as the runner-up Antwerpen. After that we have Gent, Charleroi and then in fifth place, Liege.
And do you remember when I said Belgium has influences from the Dutch, French and German language? Well, pretty much every city in this country has multiple names, totally based on the person’s preference of language. So for Example, Brussels = Brussel = Bruxelles. Now that’s pretty cool, and VERY confusing if you’re trying to get around in the country with a GPS. Trust me, I’ve tried…
While we’re on the subject of differences, let’s dive into how this country is structured, because it’s really interesting.. aaand very confusing!
So the first article of the Belgian constitution reads: “Belgium is a federal state, composed of communities and regions”. And this sums it up pretty good, but what does it mean?
Well.. first we have the COMMUNITIES. And without jumping into history too much, when the power of the country was redistributed, it occurred along two lines. The first was related to language, or to be specific, to culture. The result of this was that several communities were created. Today, Belgium has three different communities, being the Flemish community, the French community and the German-speaking community.
Then there’s the REGIONS. These are the second line, and were created mostly from economic interests. There are three regions. Named the Flemish region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. The different regions work sort of like an American state. With its own executive organs.
And finally there’s the FEDERAL STATE. Its prime focus is to cover everything connected with public interests. Stuff that’s of general interest for all Belgians. Such as national security, foreign affairs and public health. The federal government also covers everything NOT covered by the different communities and regions, although it still has powers for exemptions and restrictions on these.
And if this wasn’t enough for you, the country is further divided into 10 provinces and 581 municipal councils.
Oh! And they have a King and Queen, because.. why not, right? But as most countries nowadays, the primary role of this monarchy is to be a symbol of the nation. Now.. let’s just leave this, because.. anymore of Belgian politics, and your brain might overheat..
Currency wise, Belgium uses the Euro. Which is probably understandable since the currency is the official currency of the European Union, and it’s headquarters is located in….. Yes, Brussels! Oh, and the Euro’s famous “E type” symbol was created by a Belgian guy named Alain Billiet!
The Belgian flag consists of three equal vertical bands of black, yellow, and red. The colors of the flag were taken from the “flag of brabant”, which was a province in what was called the “low countries”, a place we mentioned further in our Netherlands episode!
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But yeah! Flags are old stuff, so let’s jump into our history segment!
Okay guys, let me take you back to a time where the area that we today call Belgium, instead were called, “the Low Countries”. HERE, on a fertile plateau near Liege, lived a group of people called “Omalians”.
They were farmers and were experimenting with agriculture, and the use of various metals. But one day, they disappeared, leaving only their black, decorated pottery behind.
Jumping a bit in time, other people started to move into the area, the most known were of Spanish origin. They ate cooked meat, farmed their land and traded with other tribes. Just living their best lives!
But everything good usually comes to an end.. A Celtic people, called The Belgae.. Sounds familiar? Moved across the Rhine, all the way to England, invading everything. And they did this very well, thanks to a new weapon they’ve discovered, The Iron Sword..
Belgae’s were a VERY frightening people, and they were widely known for their fighting skills and warrior mindset. So they ruled Northern Gaul for a long time.. all up until one man came along. Julius Caesar! Most of us have heard of this guy, and he was indeed no joke. But let me tell you this.. He had trouble overcoming these Belgae’s, as they put up a serious fight against his Roman Empire!
And perhaps you think you’ve heard this story before?.. And you’re right to think so! If you ever watched the cartoon Asterix and Obelix, then you know this stuff! As there’s a lot of Roman vs Belgae’s fights in that one!
However Caesar was victorious in the end, and the area became part of the Roman Empire for over four centuries.
Eventually the Franks slowly moved their way into the area, cooperating with the Romans. They settled down in the area of today’s Flanders. And it was at this time, the division between the Flemish and Walloons really originated.
Taking another leap in time, to somewhere around 742, most likely near Liège, a boy was born. He got the name Charlemagne, and he grew up to be the ruler of all of Frankia. And one of the most important figures of European history! He united most of Western Europe, and played a vital role in the spread of christianity across Europe.
Jumping forward in history, between the years 1339-41 a severe plague killed huge numbers of people. And the survivors often turned to superstitious religion. Some of which is a distant base for several odd Belgian folkloric parades such as “La Doudou”
Now let’s speed things up a little, shall we? We have a really important guy name Philip the Good, who was the real founder of the Burgundian state, the place Belgium got its flag colors from, remember?
Then in the 1500s, in the city of Ghent, Charles V was born. He later became one of the most powerful rulers in European history, being both the Spanish Emperor as well as the Holy Roman Emperor!
In 1562, these guys, Egmont and Hoorn, didn’t like the Spanish involvement in the Netherlands, and obviously got executed for it.
But in 1566, after a few decades of fighting with Spain, the “Dutch Revolts” happened. And the Netherlands revolted against them to have their independence.
1713, after decades of war with France, a Europe-wide peace deal splits the Spanish Empire and with that, it’s Southern provinces, todays Belgium, were given to the Austrian Empire, and given the name Austrian Netherlands
Following the French Revolution, France invaded the place and as a result, the Austrian Netherlands became part of Napoleon’s Empire!
1815 is a very famous year in history, as it marks the end of Napoleon’s military career. As he was finally defeated at the “Battle of Waterloo” in the city with the same name, just outside of Brussels. Legend has it, Napoleon rode away from the battle in tears..
15 years later, marks a point in time very special to the Belgians, as this is when they revolted against the Dutch rule and became independent. On October 4th 1830, Belgium was born!
The following year they adopted a constitution, which for its time was very progressive.
Then there’s this guy, Léopold II. And his personal purchase of a big piece of land in Africa, which was named Belgian Congo. There’s been numerous speculations of how the local population of the time was treated. And the history part ways here. But it’s safe to say that there was abuse to the local population, as this was the case in pretty much every place colonized by European or American countries at the time.
Here comes WW1, with everything attached to it. Belgium stayed neutral throughout the war, but got invaded by Germany anyway. However the Germans did not expect such resistance from the country, as it held its grounds very well, something they received enormous international prestige for when the war was over.
In 1940, during WW2, Belgium was invaded again, making it one of few European countries invaded twice.
The final push of the Germans known as the “Battle of the Bulge” went down in the forest region of the Ardennes on the border of Belgium and France. And this battle is known as Hitler’s last major offensive against the Western front in the war.
In 1960 Independence was granted to the Belgian Congo after major anti-colonial demonstrations.
And 14 years later, the one and only Belgian cycling champion Eddy Merckx, wins the Tour de France for the Fifth(!) time.
And to sum this up, in 1993 Belgium became a three-part federal state with the regions we mentioned earlier.
Now Belgium ranks among the highest in the world when it comes to GDP as well as life expectancy, access to medicine, education and overall living standard! Oh! and they have waffles..
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Ok so enough with the seriousness and all this history talk! You know what time it is people… Time for the fun facts!
There were about 1 million facts we wanted to include in this segment, but that would’ve been pretty lengthy for a video. Sooo we either had to do this in “10-times-extra-speed-lightning-mode” or choose a few of them. Soooo here’s a few
The French Fry story! So.. There’s a dispute over the origin of the french fry. The most popular one however, is probably the one where the villagers along the River Meuse invented it. Usually, they ate fried fish, however during the winters, the river froze, so instead they fried potatoes. The dish was later discovered by American soldiers during World War 1 aaaand.. since the language of Southern belgium is mostly French, they named the dish “French Fries”. But yeah there’s a whoooole story to this.. But for now, congratulations to Belgium for the invention of this amazing food!
The national symbol of Belgium is a “peeing boy”. Yup, no jokes. The “Manneken pis” which translates to something like “small guy peeing”, is a statue that sits in Brussels and works as a symbol of the rebellious spirit of the city. His wardrobe counts more than 900 suits. Now that’s a fashionista if anything!
Belgium is a flat country, we know that! But did you know that the highest point in Belgium is SHORTER, than the world’s tallest building? Yup, “The signal de Botrange” is just 694 meters high!
Belgium has the world record of functioning without a government! They even broke their own record.. Sooo two-time champions I guess, hooray! First time they went 589 days, but the other time they went for 652 days without a federal government! Safe to say Iraq has nothing on these guys!!
Now this is a VERY cool thing. It’s commonly said that you can see the great wall of China from the moon. But did you know you can also see Belgium’s highway from there?! The almost 100% lit highway-network is one of few man-made structures seen that far at night! Although.. I haven’t really been to the moon, so I can’t back this up fully..
Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world! Forget about all the other cities you’ve seen in movies. Belgium is the home of diamonds! The city of Antwerp, polishes and shapes about 85% of the world’s rough diamonds. Kaascchiiiing!
Do you like shooting pool? If so, chances are you’ve played with a ball that’s originated in Belgium. Because this country is the world’s leading exporter of billiard balls!
Belgium got its name from the Romans. When Caesar came to conquer the northern part of Gaul. He decided to make a difference between the people living there. The tribe that lived in modern-day Belgium was called Belgae. So the Romans called the province Belgica. Later in history it became Belgium.
And heeeere’s the “speed-mode” run for you:
Spa
Castles
Courthouse
Congested traffic
Tram line
Industrial revolution
Skyscraper
Oostende mussels
Kids having light-beer in school
High divorce rate
Tour de France pros
Audio cassettes,
Taxes..
Flower carpets
Durbuy, the world’s smallest city
Cuberdons
WorldWideWeb
Music festivals
AND.. Belgians apparently LOVE cooking shows, The most famous being Jeroen Meus with his Dagelijkse Kost, a big thanks to Sibian de Gussem for that fact!
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So what’s Belgium famous for out in the world? And who’s some of their most famous people?
Well first of all Belgium is the birthplace to some of the world’s most famous identities. And to name a few we have, Audrey Hepburn, Jean-Claude van Damme, Gotye and Stromae, “Alors on danse” anyone?
Then there’s these amazing people that invented or created some truly incredible stuff. What about Georges Lemaître, the guy who first proposed, what we today know as the “Big Bang Theory ”, no not the tv-series.. Which for some reason fills up the entire first page when googling it.. But the explanation of how the universe began. AAAAALTHOUGH speaking of that show, Johnny Galecki, aka Leonard Hofstader, is borned in Belgium, but with American parents.. This coincidence was too good not to mention!
Then we have Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone. Without mr. Sax, perhaps there would be no jazz!
And Gerardus Mercator, the dude who created the very first atlas.
And don’t forget about the sports people from Belgium. Basically the entire national football team is internationally known, with star players in pretty much every position.
And guys, we missed this in the Netherlands episode, but we’re not doing it again. Max Verstappen, the current best F1 driver, was born in Belgium and holds both Belgian and Dutch nationality. Although he races under a Dutch license because, as he mentions it, “feels more dutch”.
But it’s not just people this country is recognized for, the super comic hits Tintin, Smurfs and Lucky Luke are made by Belgian cartoonists.
And then there’s the food! Basically everywhere you are in the world, if someone wants to serve a real kick-ass waffle, they put “Belgian” infront of it. That’s how huge these guys are on waffles. In fact there’s like 20+ waffles in any given supermarket in the country. And the two most popular waffles usually found around tourist places are the “Brussels waffle” and “Liege waffle”. So.. the next time you see someone having a “belgian waffle” on the menu, know that this is most likely a “Brussels Waffle”.
And yeah the Chocolate, They have the best chocolate in the world, according to themselves at least. Yes, yes! I see all you Swedes raising your eyebrows, mumbling something about ”Marabou”. But this really is some world class sweets, ask pretty much anyone….. from belgium.
And then there’s the beer. Now this one is insane.. There’s thousands of different kinds of beer made in Belgium. And get this.. Each one of them has its own individual glass for that particular beer. Imagine being a bartender in Belgium, you guys rock!
And as it usually is with countries, there’s about a million things we didn’t mention here. So let us know in the COMMENTS about some things, or people that absolutely should’ve been mentioned in here!
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We got so much good feedback from you guys, and one of the really great tips we got was that you wanted to see more traveling info! Such as top destinations to visit, tourist attractions and most visited places. So here’s our brand new traveling segment!
So what is there to do in this amazing country? Well besides indulging in an “all-you-can-eat-marathon” of chocolate, waffles and french fries. There’s also some places you definitely should check out.
The obvious one being Brussels, this city is very cool and holds a lot of interesting places such as the EU headquarters, which is just worth checking out to kind of check it off the list. Then there are more unusual places that’s definitely worth seeing. “The Comic Strip Route” is a celebration of the rich history Brussels has as the “home of the comic strip”. Here you’ll find over 50 murals painted with some of the famous comics originating in Belgium.
Then there’s the Atomium, a GIANT iron crystal, magnified about 165 billion times.
The atomium was built in 1958 for the Brussels World’s Fair, as the flagship construction. And was in fact not thought to remain there after the fair. But it was a good decision to keep it, as this symbol is the most popular tourist attraction in Brussels, with its 600k visitors per year.
Moving out of Brussels, there’s the city of Ghent which in itself is one of the coolest cities in Belgium! Besides walking around in the city, because you should walk, to get the full experience, you should visit “Gravensteen” , a fairytale-like castle, built as a show of power. However, the events happening in this castle were far from a fairytale. In fact the building was nearly torn down, thanks to its history of torture.
Trying to mention just one more place to visit or do in Belgium is very hard, as the country holds so many “must do’s”. But if you travel here in spring, more specifically late April into May, you should absolutely go to the town Halle, and visit “The Blue Forest”. The Hallerbos, as it’s called, looks like an actual dream.. With the sun shining through the trees, and letting it’s lights hit the MILLIONS of bluebells covering the ground. Yeah.. This place needs a visit to do it justice.
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Soo this sums everything up guys! Have you learned something from this video? At Least I learned I need to go back to Belgium as soon as possible!
As usual.. We’d love to hear what you thought of the video. So let us know in the comments! And if you did enjoy it, and want to help the channel grow, PLEASE like this video, and make sure you’re subscribed to the channel! Stuff like that helps more than you know!
We will see you in the next one, where we will leave the continent of Europe for a new exciting one! So goodbye for now guys, or au revoir, auf wiedersehen or tot ziens as someone in Belgium surely would say!