Belgium

country of northwestern Europe. It is one of the smallest and most densely populated European countries, and it has been, since its independence in 1830, a representative democracy headed by a hereditary constitutional monarch. Initially, Belgium had a unitary form of government. In the 1980s and ’90s, however, steps were taken to turn Belgium into a federal state with powers shared among the regions of Flanders, Wallonia, and the Brussels-Capital Region.

Culturally, Belgium is a heterogeneous country straddling the border between the Romance and Germanic language families of western Europe. With the exception of a small German-speaking population in the eastern part of the country, Belgium is divided between a French-speaking people, collectively called Walloons (approximately one-third of the total population), who are concentrated in the five southern provinces (Hainaut, Namur, Liège, Walloon Brabant, and Luxembourg), and Flemings, a Flemish- (Netherlandic-) speaking people (more than one-half of the total population), who are concentrated in the five northern and northeastern provinces (West Flanders, East Flanders [West-Vlaanderen, Oost-Vlaanderen], Flemish Brabant, Antwerp, and Limburg). Just north of the boundary between Walloon Brabant (Brabant...

municipality, Brabant province, central Belgium. First mentioned in the early 12th century, Etterbeek is one of the 19 suburban communes that, with Brussels proper, make up Greater Brussels. Primarily industrial, it has chemical, clothing, metalwork, machinery, and furniture manufacturing. There is a large army barracks in the southeast section bordering the new campus of the Free University of Brussels. Pop. (1990 est.) mun., 39,641.

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A rampant lion appeared in the seal of Count Philip of Flanders as early as 1162, while its colours (a gold shield and a black lion) are known to have existed since 1171. In 1234 the gold lion on a black shield of Brabant, later the basis for the national coat of arms of Belgium, was recorded in use. Subsequently many local flags in Belgium included the colours black and yellow, often accompanied by the red that appeared in the tongue and claws of the lion. In 1787 cockades of black-yellow-red were worn by the citizens of Brussels when they rose in revolt against their Austrian overlords. Two years later another revolution broke out under the same colours, although the resultant United Belgian States never officially adopted a flag of its own.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands formed after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe encompassed Belgium, but that territory resisted rule from the north. Two months after its war of independence began, Belgium officially adopted the cockade on October 27, 1830, and a national flag of those colours was recognized in the constitution adopted on January 23, 1831. Many of the early Belgian flags had a horizontal format (red-yellow-black), but after 1838 the present vertical positioning became standard. This was undoubtedly influenced, at least indirectly, by the popularity of the French Tricolor as a symbol of national unity and independence. Belgium is only one of many countries that adopted it, substituting their own national or popular colours for the French blue-white-red.

municipality, Hainaut province, south central Belgium, between the industrial region of Charleroi and the hills sloping toward Waterloo. Built on the site of a Gallo-Roman agricultural settlement and first mentioned in 868, it was chartered in 1115 and was the scene of several important battles.

Notable architectural remains include the Romanesque church (c. 1150–1200), of which only the tower and central nave stand; the Cistercian Soleilmont Abbey; the Naveau Windmill (1667; Napoleon’s observatory during the Waterloo Campaign); and the memorial (1936) to the three French military victories. In 1690 the French under Marshal Luxembourg defeated the Germans and Dutch in Fleurus. A later victory was that of the revolutionary army (led by Marshal Jourdan), over the Austrians in 1794. Then, in 1815, prior to Waterloo, Napoleon defeated the Prussians commanded by Field Marshal Blücher. Fleurus is a junction of several local railways; industries include coal mining and the manufacture of machinery, domestic appliances, and furniture. Pop. (1983 est.) mun., 22,245.