Belgium

Welkom! Dutch, French and German: three official languages, three Communities and three Regions in one kingdom.

Bienvenue !

Willkommen!

België · Belgique · Belgien (Kingdom of Belgium)

Emblems

Emblems

• The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb: Ghent, East Flanders
• Brugse Zot: Bruges, West Flanders
• Brabo's Tale: Antwerp
• The Heroic Pee: Brussels, Brussels-Capital
• Each Emblem keeps its Passport's look: a tap opens its own page.

Regions

Regions

• The three Regions, each with its official flag; inside them the ten provinces, each with its own. The Communities speak for the languages, not for land, so they have no card.
• Vlaams Gewest (Flemish Region)
• Région wallonne (Walloon Region)
• Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest · Région de Bruxelles-Capitale (Brussels-Capital Region)

Belgium in a minute

Black, yellow, red

• Flag of Belgium: Three equal vertical bands of black, yellow and red: the colours of the arms of the Duchy of Brabant, named the nation's colours in Article 193 of the Constitution.
• Black · Yellow · Red
• Coat of arms: The Belgian lion, gold on black, is the state's arms (Constitution, Article 193). This picture is the greater arms, with the crown, the lions and the motto.
• Motto: In the three official languages. The ribbon of the arms carries the French.
• Eendracht maakt macht
• L’union fait la force
• Einigkeit macht stark
• Nationale feestdag · Fête nationale · Nationalfeiertag: Belgium celebrates the oath of King Leopold I with civic ceremonies and public events.
• The Brabançonne: The national anthem, with official words in Dutch, French and German; music by François Van Campenhout.
• De Brabançonne · La Brabançonne · Das Lied von Brabant
• Capital city: Brussel · Bruxelles
• Languages: Dutch, French and German
• Population: 11.9 million (2024)
• Currency: Euro

Say it like a local

• Hallo (hello, in Dutch)
• Dank u (thank you)
• Bonjour (hello, in French)
• Merci (thank you)
• Hallo (hello, in German)
• Danke (thank you)

Food & drink

Food & drink

• Moules-frites: Mussels steamed in their pot with celery, onion and white wine, served with frites.
• Frieten · Frites: Potatoes cut thick and fried twice until crisp, eaten from a paper cone.
• Carbonade flamande: Beef stewed slowly in dark beer with onions and bread spread with mustard.
• Lambic: Wild-fermented beer of Brussels and the Pajottenland
• Wafels · Gaufres: The light Brussels waffle and the sugary Liège waffle
• Pralines: Chocolates with soft fillings, sold in a box