Brussels

Brussels (French, Bruxelles ; Dutch, Brussel ). Located in the center of Belgium , it is the capital and main city of the country and the province of Brabant. It is located on the banks of the Senne River, near the city of Antwerp. Home to the headquarters of the European Union and NATO , this metropolis is often called the capital of Europe . It has earned this title for offering more than just government buildings, with more than 80 museums, the Royal Palace and a rich history, its cultural appeal is evident.

Summary

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• 1 History
  • 1 Recent history
    • 1.1 Terrorist attacks
  • 2 Cityscape
  • 3 Economy
  • 4 References
  • 5 External Links
  • 6 Sources

History

The name of the town probably derives from the term Broekzelle, which in Dutch means ‘swamp village’. It was originally a Gallo-Roman colony, founded before the 7th century AD, in a swampy area of ​​the Senne Valley. In the 12th century, there was already a flourishing artisanal and industrial activity in the city, which was later consolidated thanks to the charters granted by the Dukes of Brabant in the years 1312 and 1356 . The conditions of the charters established, on the one hand, the reduction of taxes that the city had to pay and, on the other, the right to have one’s own representation in the government. In 1383 it became the capital of the Duchy of Brabant, a condition previously held by Leuven, and for the next four centuries it was the seat of government. In 1430 Brabant became part of the duchy of Burgundy and in 1477 , it became a possession of the Habsburgs of Austria .

During the second half of the 16th century , Protestantism spread rapidly among the inhabitants of the city and other cities in the country, who were at that time under the leadership of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs (Charles I and Philip II) and who They established the main governing bodies in the city. The religious conflicts that broke out gave rise to the insurrection and, to combat it, the Spanish general Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, who in 1567 was sent to the Netherlands, established his headquarters in Brussels. His repressive policy led to the execution of some Flemish leaders such as Lamoral, Count of Egmont, and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn. In 1576 William of Orange entered the city, but in 1585 the Spanish army, under the command of General Alejandro Farnesio, conquered it again. The city was heavily bombarded during the French invasion of 1695 . In 1713 , the Treaty of Utrecht granted the government of the Spanish Netherlands to Austria. During the French Revolution in 1792 , the city fell to the French, who would exercise control over it until the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 . Among the conditions established by the Congress of Vienna ( 1815 ) was that the city be integrated into the kingdom of the Netherlands, which included present-day Belgium and the present-day Netherlands.

Later, it was the most prominent scene of the revolt for Belgian independence, and when this was achieved, it became the capital of the newly created Kingdom of Belgium ( 1831 ). During World War I , the Germans occupied the city from August 1914 to November 1918 . In the following world conflict, it was again occupied by the Germans from May 1940 to September 1944 . Population (2006), 145,717 inhabitants.

Recent history

Terrorist attacks

Main article: Terrorist attacks against Belgium .

 

On March 22 , 2016 , a series of terrorist attacks occurred in Brussels when it was shaken by two coordinated attacks that included two explosions at Zaventem Airport, and an hour later another explosion was recorded at the central Maalbeek Metro Station, also in the Belgian capital. The terrorist attacks left 35 dead and 270 injured ^[1] .

urban landscape

The city, whose physiognomy is characterized by the abundance of tree-lined boulevards, magnificent gardens, numerous monuments and beautiful buildings, is located in the center of northern Europe, and is the headquarters of important international organizations such as the European Union and the Treaty Organization of the North Atlantic (NATO). The center of Brussels is organized around the Plaza Mayor or Grand-Place, which constitutes one of the main European architectural complexes, in fact, it was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 . It features beautiful, richly decorated buildings from the 17th century , the guild houses, and other earlier ones, such as the town hall, from the 15th century , which constitutes one of the main manifestations of the country’s Brabanzón flamboyant Gothic. Among the religious monuments of great value, the Cathedral of San Miguel occupies a prominent place, an example of the Gothic style built in the 13th century and famous for its extraordinary stained glass windows; the church of Notre Dame de Finistère and that of Saint Jacques sur Coudenberg. Among those of a civil nature, the Hôtel de Ville stands out, in Gothic style and dating from the 15th century , the Royal Palace, the Palace of the Nation, from the 18th century, the Palace of Justice and the Stock Exchange, both from the 19th century. Important cultural and higher education institutions are the Free University of Brussels ( 1834 ), which since 1970 has been made up of two universities, one Dutch-speaking and the other French-speaking, the École Royale Militaire (Royal Military School, 1834 ), academies of letters, fine arts and medicine, the Royal Library and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.

Economy

In addition to being the main railway junction in the country, it is connected to the network of inland canals, and through them to the sea. The port area is located in the northern part of the city, near Vilvoorde. The export trade is based on products such as nails, iron, marble, coal, candles, glass and sugar. The imported one is based on minerals, palm oil and coffee. The city has long been famous for the artisanal production of lace and tapestries. Another part of the industrial activity is based on printing establishments, brewers, distilleries, sugar refining, iron and brass foundry, textiles, electronic material manufacturing and furniture.