Belgium
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BBelgium is bordered by the
Netherlands and Germany to the north and east, Luxembourg and France to
the east and south and by the Channel and the North Sea to the west.
Belgium is divided into three main regions: Brussels Capital, Flanders
and Wallonia.
Brussels is the capital city; Antwerp, is Belgium’s leading port and a
major European port. The oldest cities in Belgium are Ghent and Bruges.
The Channel coastline is sixty-five kilometres long. Land along the
coast has been reclaimed from the sea using polders and dikes. Much of
Belgium is relatively flat but the Ardennes in the southeast are
forested and hilly with steep river valleys. The rivers which flow
through Belgium include the Scheldt, the Sambre and the Meuse.
The climate is temperate, with warm summers and cool winters.
Languages
The official languages of Belgium are Dutch, French and German. (Flemish
is a general name for the different local languages spoken in the
Flemish part of Belgium) Many Belgians speak English.
Religion
Belgium is seventy-five percent Roman Catholic and twenty-five percent
Protestant.
Religion has been another source of division in Belgium’s history, with
the people in the north of the country inclining towards Protestantism
and the teachings of Luther. The Inquisition and the suppression of
dissent in the sixteenth century was one of the reasons why the Northern
Low Countries fought for their independence as Holland. The Catholic
areas which became Belgium did not have the same incentive for revolt.
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