Page 21 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

INTRODUCING BEL GIUM AND L UXEMBOURG  19

A PORTRAIT OF BELGIUM

AND LUXEMBOURG

Tied together by a shared and complex history, Belgium and Luxembourg
are two of the most prosperous countries in western Europe. This is
manifest in their rich cultural traditions, the fine art and architecture
of the towns, the high quality of cuisine and the genuine warmth with
which visitors are welcomed.
Both countries are small. The Kingdom For centuries before this, they were
of Belgium, with its capital at Brussels, ruled by a succession of foreign
has a population of some 11 million. powers: Romans, Franks, French,
More than 90 per cent of the citizens Spanish, Burgundians, Austrians and
live in urban centres, leaving relatively the Dutch. They have been fought over
uninhabited the large areas of farmland ceaselessly, and suffered particularly
in the north as well as the wilder in the 20th century during the two
Ardennes in the south. The Ardennes World Wars.
spill over into the Grand Duchy of This bruising history at the hands
Luxembourg. This tiny yet independent of their neighbours made Belgium
country has a population of just 512,000. and Luxembourg avid supporters of
Its capital, Luxembourg City, has about the European Union (EU) from the start.
95,000 inhabitants. Today, both Brussels and Luxembourg
The histories of both countries are City play host to many of the EU’s major
closely linked. They are both fairly institutions. Along with Strasbourg
young nations, in that they became in France, they are effectively capitals
fully independent only in the 1830s. of the EU.

Remnants of medieval walls surrounding the Old Town of Luxembourg City
A group of brightly costumed men rehearse for the Ommegang pageant in Brussels

018-019_EW_Belgium.indd 19 18/10/16 3:00 pm