About Belgium

Following is a list about interesting and fun facts about Belgium. This list will grow over time, if you would like to add something, feel free to post a comment!

Fun Belgian Facts You Didn’t Know About

Beer

Trappist
Between 1997 and 2005, Belgium was the only country where Trappist beer was brewed. The only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium (La Trappe in Holland) had lost its “Authentic Trappist Product” label because the biggest part of the income didn’t go to social goals.

Kinds of beer
About 400 different kinds of beers are brewed in Belgium, when you consider the temporary and limited edition beers there are so many you can only guess the number. (Wikipedia guesses 1000.)

Movies

Stijn Helsen
The Belgian designer Stijn Helsen designed the costumes for Pirates of the Caribbean and the spider man suit for Spider Man III.

Place Names

Waterloo
This City in Belgium where Napoleon was defeated in 1815, has 124 cities and places named after it worldwide. Where under the Waterloo station in London.

Language

Official languages and their regions
Belgium consists of four linguistic areas: Dutch is the official language in Flanders, in Wallonia it is French, German in the East Cantons and in Brussels both French and Dutch are official languages.

Strict linguistic laws
In the bilingual region Brussels, Dutch and French have to be treated equal. For example:
In the train station Brussels North the announcements are first made in Dutch and then in French, in Brussels south first in French and afterwards in Dutch and what about Brussels central station you think? Well, there the order changes every year

Is a tiny country like Belgium worth visiting? That’s the question I often see on the faces of people when I say I’m Belgian. And I won’t deny it: with less than 350 square kilometers it is a small country. But yet we possess a lot of cultural treasures, due to the fact that it has always been densely populated. The UNESCO acknowledged this and gave out 9 rewards to properties in Belgium. So yes, our country is worth visiting and we’ll help you decide what to visit. In the following list we’ve put the touristic sites most worthy of visiting first.

1. The Historical City Center of Bruges

First on our list is the city named: “The Venice of The North”. Its many waters and canals, medieval churches and old houses make it just as special as Venice itself. And on top of that you also get innumerous chocolate and beer shops here! Everyone gets pampered: women will find beautiful lace and other souvenirs, for the guys there are some rare Belgian beers, night clubs will please young people and museums, parks and restaurants make the puzzle complete. If you are in doubt about where to go in Belgium, then pick Bruges. You will catch 3 UNESCO world heritage sites at once, because Bruges also has an impressive belfry and béguinage.

2. The Houses in Art Nouveau Style by Victor Horta in Brussels

Victor Horta was one of the most famous architects of the Art Nouveau style (also known as Modern Art, Liberty Style or Jugendstil). The buildings he designed were something totally new and were an expression of the 20th century’s new ideas, arts and society. You can admire all buildings from the outside and take a look inside the house and workshop of the master himself.

3. The Museum, House and Workshops of Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp

Antwerp is not only famous for its fashion designers, but also for its many shops, clubs, different nationalities and open-mindedness. So beware when you try to get to this museum: the way to it is paved with interesting things and last time I went there, I got there just before closing time. The one hour I had left to look around wasn’t sufficient. There’s a lot to see: the building itself with the original chambers and offices, medieval printing equipment that explains how Plantin and his son Moretus printed, and not to forget the marvellous old book collection. Just for this last one I could spend a whole day there!

4. The Big Market Square of Brussels

The UNESCO came a little late when it rewarded this monument in 1998. Victor Hugo already called this market square the most beautiful in Europe and Jean Cocteau thought of it as the most beautiful theater in the world. That’s because it was built at the height of the city’s prosperity. Two buildings date from the 15th century: the Gothic town hall and the bread house. In this last one you must visit the wardrobe of Manneken Pis: he has over 500 costumes of which the oldest one dates back till 1698. It’s in terrible shape, but the second oldest one makes up for it: the costume given by French king Louis XV in 1747. When Brussels got bombarded, the guilds resurrected the destroyed buildings in the fabulous Flemish-Italian style.

5. The Béguinages in Flanders

A béguinage is a kind of convent where beguines lived. The difference between nuns and beguines is that the latter didn’t take vows and were financially independent. Béguinages only exist in Flanders and the North of France. They flourished in the Middle Ages but now there are just a few beguines left. The beguinages however are still islands of tranquility in the hectic city centers of today. They are very pleasant to walk around in, along the old houses with protective saints, small alleys, romantic gardens and chapels. Often you will also find a little museum and shop.

6. The Cathedral of Our Lady in Tournai

This church its architecture is one of the most interesting in the country: it is nicely divided into two separate styles. The cathedral was built in the early 12th century in the Romanesque style and is gigantic. The five towers above the transept already interlude the Gothic period. The choir was constructed in the 13th century in early Gothic style and creates a fascinating contrast with the old part of the church. There’s one more exceptional detail: the fresco’s in this kind of church are normally removed due to fashion changes or disasters, but here they are still exposed for everyone to admire.

7. The Belgian Belfries

Before the 11th century big towers could only be constructed by the nobility or church, but since cities began flourishing they also wanted to show off their wealth. For this purpose they constructed belfries in the prettiest styles: this is Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance arquitecture at its best. In essence the belfry served as a watch tower and announced certain events: when the city gates opened and closed, when there was fire in the city, when the work day started and ended and every hour. Therefore the carillon inside the tower was used. This musical instrument of at least 23 cup-shaped bells still plays the traditional songs of the country. Take a seat in one of the sidewalk cafes and wait until the belfry plays its joyful song.

8. The Flint Mines Dating From The Neolithicum In Spiennes

In Spiennes you can visit a very special and ancient monument: the flint mines dating from 4000 before Christ outnumber the inhabitants of the small village. More or less 1000 holes were dug here by our ancestors from the stone age. With primitive flint and antler tools they dug up flint from up to 16 meters beneath ground level. For about 1800 years, Spiennes was a center of flint trade. A visit to these mines will definitely surprise you of the technical ingenuity of our ancestors.

9. Four Hydraulic Boat Elevators in La Louvière

This last property on the UNESCO world heritage list shows the advancement of technology on the end of the 19th century. Four boat elevators together lift the boats 66 meters higher up the river. They are now in use by recreational boat lovers, ask one if you can come aboard and experience this amazing piece of industrial archeology! The commercial boats use another elevator that was inaugurated in 2002 and can lift up boats of 1350 tons. Since then, the traffic on the canal increased tenfold.

The complete list of UNESCO world heritage patrimony.

Belgium is famous for its beers. No other country can stand the comparison. But why is it that Belgium turned into a Mekka for beer-lovers?

Let me begin by saying that we are the only nation with such an incredible collection of beers. With our 115 breweries (in 2006), over 400 different beers of various types and innumerous limited edition beers we live in a real beer paradise. If you like beer it’s impossible to get bored here: once you have tasted them all, you can start all over again!

Aside from that Belgium has developed a real beer culture. Belgians handle their beers with as much care as the French do with their wine. For example: each beer has its own typical glass and serving a beer in the wrong one is considered a big sin. The reason for this is that for us beer is not some ordinary drink to get you drunk quickly and that the shape of the glass influences the taste.

Then there’s the availability: where American supermarkets have aisles and aisles of breackfast cereals, we prefer to fill them with beers of all kinds. Lagers, ales, specialty beers, fruit beers, white blond and dark beers, abbey beers, and so on… Make sure to scedule enough time to check them all out Also in every restaurant, bar, nightshop or grocery store you are offered at least a basic selection of the most known beers from the categories above.

Beer has become a highly sofisticated product. It’s made with more ingredients than wine and these determine a large part of the taste of the beer. Centuries of beer brewing have given birth to innumerous brewing processes. And up till today there’s a lot of innovation going on in the industry. Brewing a new beer is like composing a jigsaw: a malt dried at high temperatures give your beer a caramel-like taste, using water with a lot of minerals result in stronger flavours, you have to choose the amount and kind of fermentations, hops, grains, yeast … should I continue?

And last we have the alcohol level: something foreigners are often deceived by. In general Belgian beer has a higher alcohol percentage. The Belgian specialty beers even undergo various fermentations. Next to normal fermentation, these can be spontaneous fermentations in open air, extra fermentations in the bottle and/or in Barrels. The beers with two fermentations are called “Double” and those with three “Triple”. No wonder Belgium makes the beer with the highest percentage of alcohol in the world: Bush Amber from brewery Dubuisson with 12% !

What are you thinking? Are you comming to visit my country?
Yes! Mission accomplished!

Why is it that Belgian beers are so superior compared to others? We answer the question often raised by people who don’t know the delights yet of our Belgian beers.

1. Alcohol percentage

Foreigners are often deceived when they drink their first Belgian beer. But they all admit that they really like it. In Belgium we like our beers strong, none of that weak dishwater that some other countries serve! With up to three fermentations - whereunder natural fermentations, extra fermentations in the bottle and in barrels - they are very effective in activating your taste buds and deactivating your braincells.

2. Service

Want to scare a Belgian? Serve him a beer in a coke glass. In Belgium this is not done! All beers have their own specially branded glasses wherein the beer is poured the way it should be: at the right temperature with a certain amount of foam to insulate and keep your beer cold.

3. Choise

Where other countries typically just have about 40 or even only 4 “good” beers, we have more than 400. Now we’re talking! It’s just impossible to get bored here so if you have alcoholic tendencies, make sure you never visit my country.

4. Availability

When shopping in a Belgian supermarket you’ll soon discover that the beer section takes more space than the breakfast cereals in an American supermarket. On top of that you only have to be 16 to buy beer and as Belgian youngsters are brought op with beer around them - letting them take a sip from daddy’s glass from time to time - they don’t have the urge to abuse it.

5. If wine is king, beer is emperor

Beer is off the hook, wine sucks big time. Oh, come on! Wine is highly overrated, beer has way more ingredients that all play a role in composing the taste. Malt can be made in innumerous ways, the chemical composition of the water is controlled, the yeasts, hops … need I say more?!

In general Belgians are modest people, but do not mess with our beers… ’cause we know we are simply the best!

Ben Vinken is a man with a mission. For years he worked for big breweries, he organises beer degustations, was chief-editor of the works of Michael Jackson (the famous beerguru who passed away last year), presents a show about beer on a belgian television channel and publicises the ‘Beerpassion‘ magazine. Now, his biggest goal in life is to convince the world that beer is at least just as special as wine.

Even in Belgium, beer was long seen as a just a way to quench your thirst or get drunk quickly. But the people are slowly changing: special beers are apreciated more and we got proud of our beer heritage. Ben Vinken wants the world to follow…

In the footpath of beer guru Michael Jackson who was fond of Belgian beer, he promotes beer as if his life depends on it. In his opinion we have to take the same care when drinking beer as we have when we drink wine. Therefore he launched the term “Beer Sommelier“, a word he even got the patent on in Dutch and English. (So let us hope he likes this article!)

“Being a beer sommelier means you are an expert in this area: you can communicate your knowledge to the customer and you have a rich vocabulary to describe tastes. Furthermore you controll the skills involved in the ritual of beer pooring and can give valuable advice.” In countries with just a few kinds of beers this may seem unbelievable but in Belgium it’s serious business. At the moment we already pour our special beers with care, but not enough yet.

What are the basics when trying to become a beer somelier? First of all you have to go for the big 75 cl bottles. This can’t be difficult as half of the more than 400 kinds of Belgian beers also come in this size. This is important if you want to place your beer in a bucket of ice preserving the right temperature. More difficult is “food pairing”: combining the right kind of beer with your food. This is not so abvious and Vinken even says you could match a beer with the apetizer and chose a wine with the main course. Last you have to use the right form of glass. There are various beerglass sets on the market that make this very easy.

At last we ask which beer Ben prefers: “That’s a tough question. I represent all beers. There’s a right beer for every moment. In the bar a Bolleke from the barrel, after sport a Hoegaarden, as apetizer an oude geuze, with fish a bottle Avec les Bons Voeux of brewery Dupont in Tourpes, with meat a Chimay Grande Réserve, with a sweet dessert an old kriek… But what do you drink after a Westmalle Tripple? It’s hard to do better than that.”