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The Belgium Portal

Flag of Belgium
Location of Belgium within Europe

The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: Koninkrijk België; French: Royaume de Belgique; German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in northwest Europe bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France and is one of the founding and core members of the European Union. Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres (11,700 square miles).

Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Romance Europe, it is linguistically divided. Mainly two languages are spoken in Belgium: Dutch is spoken by the 6 million people in Flanders to the north, French by the 3.3 million Walloons in the south. The capital, Brussels, is officially bilingual, while the majority of its residents speak French. Around 70,000 people live in the German-speaking Community in the east of the country. This linguistic diversity often leads to political and cultural conflict and is reflected in Belgium's complex system of government and political history.

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Selected article for December

Belgian beer comprises the most varied and numerous collection of beers in the world. Belgian beer-brewing's origins go back to the Middle-Ages, when monasteries began producing beers. Unlike in other European countries, Belgian beer production remained alive due to the 1919 Belgian "Vandervelde Act", that prohibited the sale of spirits in pubs, inducing the market to produce beers with a higher level of alcohol. The Vandervelde Act was lifted as late as 1983.

High esteem of Belgian beer is supported by beer experts such as Michael Jackson. Although beer production in Belgium is now dominated by Inbev (the world's largest brewer by volume) and Alken Maes, there remain 125 breweries in the country, producing about 500 standard beers. When special one-off beer styles are included, the total number of types of Belgian beer exceeds 1000.

These days, Belgian beers are sold in brown (or sometimes dark green) tinted glass bottles (to avoid negative effects of light on the beverage) and sealed with a cork, a metal crown cap, or sometimes both. Some beers are refermented (subjected to a final fermentation phase) in the bottle. These are often labeled "bottle-conditioned." Although many major brands of beer are available at most supermarkets, beverage centers located throughout the country generally offer a far wider selection, albeit at somewhat higher prices.

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Belgium news

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Did you know...

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Things you can do

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Related portals

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Europe EU
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Anniversaries for December 13

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Selected picture for December

Chateau Wood Ypres 1917
Soldiers of an Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade on a duckboard track passing through Chateau Wood, near Hooge in the Ypres salient, 29 October 1917.

The photograph was taken by Frank Hurley.
Image credit: Gsl

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Categories

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New articles relating to Belgium

New articles or recently expanded: Karl-Heinz Lambertz - Altiora Averbode - Dany (comics artist) - Paul Cuvelier - Luc Cromheecke - François Craenhals - Jan Bosschaert - Stijn Coninx - Jules Destrée - Arthur Berckmans - 0110 concerts - Will Tura - Pierre Carette - Johan Vande Lanotte

New stubs (you can help and expand them): Eeuwfeestkliniek - Casimir Heymans - Jaak Boon - Fernand Feyaerts - Wim Feyaerts - Ronnie Commissaris - De Kotmadam - Annick Van Dam - Miel Louw - ABC-auto - Koninklijk Conservatorium (Brussel) - Luk De Konink - Marijke Hofkens - Mark De Bie - Guy Bernaert - Vincent Rouffaer - Alfa Papa Tango - L'Affaire Labricole - Abdijen in de lage landen - Antwerp International Airport - Aangename kennismaking - Aan tafel - Arlette Sterckx - Leo Madder - Spoed - Verschoten & zoon - Grietje Vanderheijden - Herman Van Rompuy - National Congress of Belgium - Marleen Vanderpoorten

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