Brussels Introduction

(Image source: Internet)

City Introduction

Brussels (French: Bruxelles; Dutch: Brussel) is the capital and the largest city of Belgium. Additionally, offices of over 200 international administrative centers and over 1,000 official organizations have been established here. Various kinds of international meetings are convened here every year.

Brussels lies alongside the Seine River. To the north is the flat Frand Plain and to the south is the hilly Brabond Mesa with an average elevation of 58 meters. The uptown, built along the slope, is the administrative district. There exists the Palace with an architectural style of Louis Seize, Royal Square, Egmont Palace, Royal Library, Modern and Ancient Art Museum. The “Grand Square” in city center is surrounded by numerous medieval Gothic architectural structures, among which the town hall is relatively more magnificent. City of Brussels in the capital district of Brussels possesses the most exquisite buildings and museums around Europe. The skyscrapers and the medieval historic buildings bring out the best in each other. Surrounding the palace, the whole city was built along the “Petit Ring” and walking tour is mostly favored.

History and Culture

The city lies alongside the Seine, Brussels, standing on the trade route among Brugge, Ghent and Kolner, and soon developed into a commercial center. In the 11th century, the city wall was built. From 1356 to 1383, the second rush of city wall construction was raised for further expansion. Gradually, Brussels developed into the political and commercial center among developed Low Countries and continued its fast pace of development. In August 1830, the public of Brussels launched the revolution to fight against the Dutch rulers. On July 21st, 1831, Leopold I ascend the throne in Brussels, who is the first king of Belgium, and started large-scale city construction. In the city of Brussels, there are over 40 museums, including Brussels Museum of Modern Art, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Koninklijke Museavoor Schone Kunsten van België), etc. All sorts of classics by various styles of artists have been collected there. The specialty foods of Brussels include the waffles, chocolate, chips and an assortment of beer. The broccoli, which was originally cultivated in Brussels, has been named “Brussels Broccoli”. As regards to language, French is the mother language for most of Brussels inhabitants as well as an essential language of this city. As indicated by the data from Brussels Archives, French was spoken by local rulers before it was popularized. Nevertheless, Dutch was still most commonly used among local administrative organizations. Since 1880, more and more Dutch speakers began to speak both languages. And finally after 1910, French-only users began to increase. Till 1950s, the number of French-only users exceeded that of bilingual users.

Natural Environment

Two thirds of the land areas in Belgium are covered by hills and flat lowlands, the lowest point of which is a little lower than sea level. The whole border of the country have been divided into three parts, including the Flanders Plain on the coastal region in the northwest, the hills in the middle and the Aden Plateau in the southeast. The highest altitude is 694 meters. Terrains are flat on western plains with plentiful rivers and abundant irrigation while the Aden Mountain with higher forest coverage rate elevates the terrain in the east.

Climate

Warm and humid, Brussels belongs to temperate maritime climate. The average annual temperature is 10℃ and annual precipitation meets 835 mm. The climate in Belgium is maritime foliage forest climate of temperate zone with four distinct seasons. The best time for tourism is in spring and autumn. Spring lasts from March 21st to June 21st with the temperature ranging from 7℃ to 20℃; Summer lasts from June 21st to September 21st with the temperature ranging from 15℃ to 35℃; Autumn lasts from September 21st to December 21st with the temperature ranging from 0℃ to 20℃; Winter lasts from December 21st to March 21st of the following year with the temperature ranging from -15℃ to 10℃.