Discover Belgium: 50 Reasons Why It's More Than Just Fries and Waffles!

the kingdom of Belgium is one of the small Nations hidden in the Northwestern part of Europe this country is most known for its wide variety of beers delicious waffles and the picturesque medieval castles littered across the country I tell you that there are more magnificent things hidden in this country stay with me as I am about to take you on a long journey into the kingdom of Belgium one Belgium which is officially known as the kingdom of Belgium is a country located in the Northwestern part of Europe the country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north Luxembourg to the southeast Germany to the east France to the southwest and the North Sea to the Northwest 2. Brussels is the capital city of Belgium and also the largest city in the country three the land area of Belgium is 30 528 kilometers squared with a population of about 11 million 738 147 making it one of the small smallest and most densely populated countries in Europe 4. the people of Belgium are called belgians 5. Belgium waffles are the best waffles in the world in fact it should be considered a crime for one to visit Belgium and not have a taste of it and take one home some of the popular brands are Belgian waffles Brussels waffles galettes kempin waffles and liege waffles 6. according to the oag punctuality League report of 2016 88.65 percent of flights at Brussels South Charleroi airport take off on time making them the third most punctual airport in the world 7. one of Europe's largest rose gardens is located in Coloma Castle Belgium this Garden contains over 66 000 roses which include ancient species in rare varieties picked from different parts of the world 8. did you know that french fries originated in Belgium yes the name is French fries but its origin is Belgium according to Belgian folklore the underprivileged villagers in Muse Valley survived on French fries then one winter fishing became impossible because the river froze this made them seek alternative food to survive on the villagers turned to potatoes so they would slice and fry them the way they fried their fish voila the origin of french fries 9. some Belgium national dishes are mussels meatballs Flemish stew gray shrimp Croquettes eel in the green waffles and rabbit with prunes 10. on their wedding day Belgian ladies normally carry two flowers as she makes her way down the aisle the bride will present her mother with one flower she then gives the other flower to her future mother-in-law when the vows are said and done this act represents the two families coming together and acceptance of one another 11. you are likely to see the statue of a little peeing man when you travel to Belgium don't think it's just an art because there is a story behind it this iconic sculpture is called Mannequin peace which means little man P one Legend said that the statue represents a young boy who by peeing on an explosives fuse spared Brussels from fire and disaster another Legend also claimed that the boy was the victim of a witch's spell who was frozen in time as retaliation for peeing on her door no matter what the story is the statue is still cliche as it is not just a famous sculpture visited by tourists but also printed on polos to remind belgians of his iconic work 12. if you are thinking of visiting Belgium in 2024 then you should see the Brussels flower carpet this is a huge carpet made out of flowers this spectacle is done bi-annually and 2024 is the next year for it maybe you should make plans to visit then 13. belgians have three official languages and they are Dutch German and French 14. a mix of Dutch in French which is the language of belgians is called Flemish some of the regular words or phrases are hello is hello good morning is good morgan goodbye is tatzian there is a yearly Carnival in Belgium called Carnival of beach this Carnival happens in beach and it usually happens three days before Ash Wednesday because of its important to belgians the citizens put in weeks of preparation to make it come out well enduring the carnival on shrove Tuesday more than one thousand guys clown-like characters parade the street and this is one of the highlights of the event as expected all the efforts put into this Carnival and the total Outlook don't go unnoticed early this year UNESCO added the carnival as part of the world's intangible and oral Heritage 16. if you are a beer lover then Belgium will do you good because there are more than one thousand different beers in the country some popular ones are oval triple carmeliette shimei blue delirium tremens Boone Creek West Mall triple cantuyon goose and xx bitter 17. Belgium taxes its citizens on their worldwide income residents of Belgium are taxable on their entire income but non-residents are taxable only on Belgian Source income 18. Belgium is one of the highest tax paying countries in the world in 2022 the tax rate was 50 percent 19. there are 27 countries that make up the European Union and Belgium is part of them 20. during the Christmas celebrations Santa Claus does not come to Belgium instead an old man with white long hair and a beard dressed in a bishop-like robe wearing a white glove and a huge ruby ring called sinterclass visits and just like Santa Claus he comes bearing gifts for the kids 21. Robert Caillou is the Belgian informatics engineer computer scientist and author who proposed the first hypertext system for CERN in 1987. he later collaborated with Tim berners-lee to create the internet web which turned out to be the world wide web www 22. if you are out in public and have to use public toilets in Belgium just know that it isn't free owners of petrol stations restaurants and the rest charge people from 50 cents to 1 euro to use the toilet in their facilities although some of them make exceptions for their customers so to avoid being embarrassed it is advised that you carry Small Change while going out there 23. the official currency in Belgium is the Euro which was introduced in 2002 before then belgians used the Belgian Franc as their legal tender 24. Adolf Sachs whose full name is Antoine Joseph Sachs from the city of dinant in Belgium single-handedly invented the saxophone if you travel to Belgium and visit Dinan you will notice that saxophones are littered everywhere 25. due to its Multicultural and multilingual nature belgians call places or things according to their own language the name of the country isn't an exception people that speak Dutch calls it belgi french-speaking people call it belzique in the part that speaks German calls it Belgian different names for the same country depending on the language 26. Belgium is part of the founding member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Nato 27. one of the must-see places in Belgium is the ipra this is where most of the awful combat of World War One happened going to this location will make you come face to face with battlefields memorials and conflict-related landmarks 28. Belgium is famous for its Handmade Chocolates no wonder it's part of the top 4 chocolate producing countries in the world it is also a huge contributor to their nation's economy me there are about 2 000 chocolate shops in the country and some of the notable brands are Cote dur Godiva new house bruyere corn Point Royale vitamir Pierre marcolini Etc you must have a taste of this delight anytime you visit the country 29. Belgium is not only known for its rich chocolate but also for its fantastic cheese even though small the country makes over 300 cheeses which is almost the same amount produced in France why theirs isn't famous as that of France is because they hardly export them if you want to try some of them out while in the country then here is a list for you buvord limberger brucell's costs Rubens passandale Maru desus and Prince Sean 30. despite being a small country Belgium boasts of many castles in it and these castles are one of the things that tourists love to visit when in the country some of the biggest ones open to the public are gosby Castle grevenstein van gint International Rose Garden of Coloma castle and Gardens of Freer sumus Groot binge Garden Castle and Gardens Chateau de baluel Chateau de la rule in Domaine de Chateau dumudav 31. Brussels City in Belgium produces beautiful handmade pillow lace called Brussels lace way back in 1800 about 150 000 women in the country earned a living from designing bobbins and pillow lace with their hands 32. Antwerp City in Belgium is the diamond capital of the world this city earned this title because it holds the biggest Port where diamonds are traded internationally the diamond trade in this area started almost 500 years ago when the first raw Stones were brought in from India gradually the local Diamond Traders became famous due to their meticulous attention to detail and wide range of options to the point where even King Francois the first of France began ordering his diamonds from the master Cutters in Antwerp rather than from Paris 33 in Belgium guests are expected to bring flowers and good quality chocolates to their host 34. talking about gifting people flowers avoid gifting chrysanthemums because they signify death 35. Belgium is part of the country's located in the Northwestern part of Europe which is the lowlands in other countries like Luxembourg in the Netherlands some of the lands in these countries are below sea level 36. Belgium legalized same gender marriage in 2003 making them the second country with such a law after the Netherlands 37. bohanteran Tower built in the heart of antwer between 1929 and 1932 was the first skyscraper in the whole of Europe 38. men at ustenkirk which is located along the west coast on the North Sea still practice shrimp fishing on Horseback this tradition started about 500 years ago and is still being practiced in that area till today at low tide the shrimp fishermen ride their horses into the water chest deep wearing their yellow raincoats and high boots the horse walks the sand while pulling a net and dragging a chain the chain causes the vibration that frightens the shrimp which in turn dive into the net once the shrimp is caught it is transferred into the baskets attached to the saddle 39. one of the traditional Belgian cookies is the kuk to dinant which is very famous for its very hard texture and is given to babies to nibble on while they are teething other traditional Belgian cookies are antwerps hinge and speculas 40. with 13 to 15 ratios the Belgian flag is considered to be unusual unlike other countries the shape isn't Square yet it's not a rectangle shape 41. the eurocoin was designed by a Belgian called Luke loiks 42. Brussels Airlines change the dots on its logo from 13 to 14 because customers from the United United States filed the complaint saying that they don't feel comfortable with the number 13 because they believe it brings them bad luck 43. some of the famous belgians you might not know are Jean-Claude Van Damme Jan van Ike Peter Paul rubins Renee Magritte Liz Claiborne dries van Newton Jacques brell George simna none Etc 44. Belgium's system of government is constitutional hereditary and popular monarchical the Monarch is called king or queen and serves as the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian Armed Forces since their independence in 1830 they have had seven monarchs and the current one is King Philippe who ascended the throne on 21st July 2013. 45 most people actually don't think about beaches when traveling to Belgium if you'd want to dive into the waters or you want a sunbathe then you should try going to Austin de pan blankenberg de Han ostenkirk Newport middlekirk norgeist coxygi or zubrick Beach you will certainly love it 46. under Belgian law women are not expected to change their surnames after marriage although the woman or man can choose to use the surname for colloquial or social purposes 47. Belgium's Wildlife is filled with different wild animals like Dormouse Pond bats Wildcats rabant Eurasian otters Belgian Malinois oryx Atlantic Cod eel and lots others 48. belgians regard red poppy popovit Royce as their national flower because of the important role it played in their country's history the flowers vibrant red color and its unique shape symbolize strength and hope for the country 49 the dominant religion in Belgium is Christianity about 50 percent of the citizens are Catholics they also have anglicans and Protestants amongst them other styles of religion belgians practice is our Buddhism atheist Islam and Jewish 50. the bride is expected to carry a handkerchief with her name stitched on it which is one of the most well-known wedding traditions in Belgium the handkerchief is framed and hung at the newlyweds home after the ceremony they will take the handkerchief and have their own name embroidered on it when the bride's daughter or niece or any female relative gets married Belgian ladies do this to pass the handkerchief down from mother to daughter thank you for watching this interesting video about this small European country Belgium did you learn anything new which of the facts about this country is your favorite kindly let us know in the comments below and make sure to subscribe to the channel

Channel: All About Europe

Views: 15,639

Keywords: Belgium, Europe, country facts, geography, travel, tourism, Belgium travel, Belgium Tavel guide, Belgium documentary, where to visit in Belgium, Bruges, Belgian beer, Brussels, Bruges travel, Brussels travel, Belgium 2023, Antwerp, Belgian food, Ghent, Leuven, dinant, ardennes, Mechelen, Travel documentary, Belgium best places Visit belgium, belgium travel tips Belgium history, undiscovered, Belgium tourism, visit Belgium discover Belgium, facts, europe, world, brussels belgium

Id: _fdxFQdjy8k

Length: 14min 42sec (882 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 03 2023