Belgium
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Photo: Antwerp quays in the South of Antwerp, at the former Zuidersluis
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Wikipedia
Featured:  Illustration: Portrait fantaisiste du marquis de Sade (1866) by H. Biberstein |
The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres.
Straddling the cultural boundary between Romance and Germanic Europe, Belgium is linguistically divided. It has two main languages: ca. 60% of its population , mainly in the region Flanders, speak Dutch (while Belgians often refer to it as Flemish), while French is spoken by 40%.
Belgium is well-known for its fine art and architecture. The region corresponding to today's Belgium has seen the flourishing of major artistic movements that have had tremendous influence over European art.
See also
