Belgium officially named The Kingdom of Belgium

1. Belgium officially named The Kingdom of Belgium Vale DenisaAlina Clasa a XI-a F

2. History The history of Belgium, from pre-history to the present day, is intertwined with the histories of its European neighbours, in particular those of Netherlands and Luxembourg. A feature of modern history is the number of wars between other European powers which have included campaigns on Belgian territory, causing it to be nicknamed "The Cockpit of Europe".

3. Bruxelles Waterloo

4. Geography Belgium is in Western Europe alongside Germany, the Netherlands and France and bordering the North Sea. Brusselsis the capital of Belgium and is thus also the center for the European Union. The climate is temperate with strong maritime influence, with significant precipitation throughout the year. Average monthlytemperatures vary between 3 ° C in January and 18 ° C in July. Belgian territory is divided inthree geographical regions: the coastal plains in northwest, central plateau and highlands in the south-east of the Ardennes. Following the example of the Netherlands, the coastal plain have furnished polders which allowed the recovery of territories in the North Sea, but their percentage is very small. Central Plateau is a fertile valley and the rocky highlands is a forested valley which lies to the north of France. The main rivers are the Scheldt and the Meuse.

5. Art • Museums Some of the most impressivemuseums in Belgium are The Royal Museum for Fine Arts, in Antwerp, which has an admirable collection of works by Peter Paul Rubens, and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, in Brussels, which has a cinema, a concert hall, and artworks of many periods, including a large René Magritte collection.

6. Cinematography Belgium cinema has already been rewarded several times at Cannes Film Festival and in other less-knownfestivals. Belgian movies are generally made with small budget, and aremostly funded by the regional governments and private corporations by means of sponsorship and product placement.

7. Music Many important classical composers were born in Belgium. The most famous is César Franck. Adolphe Sax, the inventor of he saxophone, was born in Belgium. Belgium has also influenced electronic music, and rock music. Belgian hip-hop started with the rise of Starflam, CNN. Tom Dice is a Belgian singer and songwriter. He ranked second in the 2008 dition of the contest The X Factor, the Belgian version. He represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Me and My Guitar"

8. Food … Belgium has been called a nation of gourmands: a country, in other words, where "big cuisine" comes before “fine cuisine". In Belgium this means that along with big portions, the diner can expect a high standard of ingredients and preparation. It has been said that Belgium serves food of French quality in German quantities. Belgian chocolate National specialities: Ardennes pâté Thick waffles Moules frites Endives with Béchamel sauce

9. … and drink Another Belgian speciality is beer. For a comparatively small country, Belgium produces a very large number of beers in a range of different styles – in fact, it has more distinct types of beer per head than anywhere else in the world. Wines of different styles are produced, but around 90 percent of the production is white wines. Those that receive the most attention are white wines produced from Chardonnay grapes.

10. Sports • Football Belgian Football Association was one of the founding members of the FIFA in 1904. Thefirst Belgian championship was held in 1895. • Rally The club with the most Belgian Cup titles is Club Brugge KV (10) followed by RSC Anderlecht -9- and R Standard Liège -5-. The 8 European titles won by Belgian clubs were claimed between 1976 and 1988. Rally is popular sport in Belgium and although no money prizes can be won, many talented drivers participate in the Belgian Championships. The rally sport is overseen by the RACB organization. Belgium is known for its technical special stages on narrow tarmac roads and steep ditches.

11. Tennis Cycling is a very popularsport in Belgium. It is governed by the Royal Belgian Cycling League.At the Olympic Games, Belgium has won 3 gold medals for road cycling, with 2 victories for the Belgium Men's team time trial and one for Andre Noyelle for the individual race.Belgium has had the most World Championships gold medals (25) with 3 victories by Rik Vann Steenbergen. • Cycling Belgium is well-known in tennis for the two champions Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, who were both WTA World No. 1 Belgium team won the 2001 Fed Cup and finished runner-up in 2006. The current Fed Cup team for Belgium is Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Yanina Wickmayer, and Kirsten Flipkens. Belgium hosted each year the Belgian Open from 1987 on, which was replaced by the Proximus Diamond Games in 2002.

12. Did you know that …? • …the name 'Belgium' is derived from the Roman province of Gallia Belgica • …Belgium is a constitutional monarchy • …Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg formed a union known as the "Benelux“ • …first industrial revolution occurred in Belgium • … Belgium has three official languages? Netherland , French and German language • …Belgian beer comprises over 500 specialty beer • …port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is one of the largest ports in the world

13. I hope you really Like it !