BELGIUM
Casa Europa México presents...
Belgium is a Central European country divided into ten provinces, two cultural regions (Flanders, the Flemish part, and Wallonia, the French part), and a third region, Brussels-Capital. It has three official languages: Dutch (Flemish), French, and German. It borders the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, and France to the south, and it has coastlines on the North Sea. Its capital is Brussels, which is also the capital of the European Union. The second most populous city is Antwerp, which also boasts the second-largest port in Europe after Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
There are countless interesting facts about Belgium that you might already know. For example, it is considered the birthplace of the comic strip. Among its most famous comic authors worldwide are Peyo, the creator of The Smurfs, and Hergé, the creator of Tintin.
Geographical borders are not always rivers or mountains. There are other factors. One of the most unusual borders in the world, if not the most, is found between Belgium and the Netherlands.
And as good Mexicans who love beer, Belgium has countless breweries and different types of beer. In the world, there are only ten beers that can be called Trappist (brewed in abbeys by monks), and six of them are in Belgium. They are delicious!
And to accompany a good beer, how about mussels with French fries, one of the most popular dishes in Brussels? Did you know that French fries, as we know them, were actually invented in Belgium?
The history of Belgium is long and interesting, as is that of all European countries. It has gone through occupations, wars, and monarchies (it still retains the monarchical system, one of the few left in Europe). Its history is closely linked to that of the Austrian Habsburgs and the French and Spanish monarchies since the time of Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy in the 15th century, who had their seat in the medieval and bucolic city of Bruges (Brugge), where some of the best tapestries in the world, also known as gobelins, are made.
In the 19th century, the marriage between Charlotte of Belgium and Maximilian of Habsburg reinforced alliances. This is mentioned because this imperial couple is part of Mexico's history, a tragic and idealized history.
Due to the interest in this historical passage of Mexico related to Charlotte of Belgium, let's look at some photographs of the castles where she spent her final years and where her remains rest.
The Tervuren Castle, which currently houses the Royal Museum for Central Africa, is where she lived from 1867 after her return from Mexico.
The Bouchout Castle in Meise is where she spent her old age and where she passed away in 1927.
In the Church of Laeken in Brussels, the crypts of the Belgian royal family are found, and there rest the remains of Charlotte of Belgium.
Aside from the history that connects us Mexicans with Belgium and some of its places, it is a country with many attractions beyond Bruges, a museum city rich in history, or Leuven, where one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in 1425, is located.
For a cultural feast lasting several days, in Brussels, a must-visit is the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, a complex of six museums located in the center of the Belgian capital. There you can spend hours enjoying works from great masters to modern art, not forgetting Magritte, a notable Belgian surrealist.
Casa Europa Mexico recommends… BELGIAN ARTISTS
Van Eyck (1390-1441) is one of the great Belgian masters and the founder of the Flemish school. The few works that are preserved in the world are concentrated in the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, which has opened its virtual doors for us to enjoy from home.
If you want to enjoy more of the great Flemish masters, including Van Eyck, of course, visit this site:
https://www.descubrirelarte.es/2018/07/21/los-grandes-maestros-flamencos.html.
And for a bit of music with a Belgian singer, we have this concert by L'Arpeggiata, in which the classical soprano Céline Scheen, who was born in Verviers (province of Liege/Leija) in 1976, sings. She has distinguished herself to the extent of being nominated for a Grammy, although this is not precisely her calling card, which is rather her powerful voice. Let us enjoy this Belgian singer...…
Internet References:
Image credits appear at the bottom of the corresponding image.
Text adaptation: Homero Adame