Belgium

country in western Europe

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium (Royaume de Belgique in French, Koninkrijk België in Dutch), is a federal monarchy in Western Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Netherlands, to the east by Germany and Luxembourg, to the south and southwest by France, and to the northwest by the North Sea. Belgium is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organizations such as NATO

flag of Belgium
La Brabançonne (National Anthem Of Belgium)
Location of Belgium
Great coat of arms of Belgium
Scene of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 (1834), by Gustaf Wappers
Portrait of Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg, First king of the Belgians.
"Belgium" is the rudest word in the universe, which is "completely banned in all parts of the Galaxy, except in one part, where they could not possibly know what it means. ~ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Belgium … the weak innocents who always seem to be located on a natural invasion route. ~ Captain Kirk

Quotes

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  • Rory: "Lorelai Gilmore". Nope, doesn't sound model-y enough. You need something that stands out more. How about "Waffle"? We could call you Waffle and say you're from Belgium.
    • Rory in Gilmore Girls, Like Mother, Like Daughter (2001), season 2 Episode 2
  • Ray: I do know a Belgium joke! Okay, what's Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse and they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids.
  • He said when he left that he wanted to repair the relationship, and that is very crucial. We need their help in Iraq. The more we can entice others to help us, the less of a target we could be.
    • Barbara Boxer's response to a question from CNN's Wolf Blitzer about what advice she would give President George W. Bush as he visited Belgium that day (February 20, 2005).
  • The years of slavery are past, The Belgian rejoices once more; Courage restores to him at last, The rights he held of yore. Strong and firm his grasp will be, Keeping the ancient flag unfurled, To fling its message on the watchful world: For king, for right, for liberty.
    • Alexandre Dechet, La Brabançonne (Belgian National Anthem), written during the Revolution of 1830. Music by François van Campenhout; translation by Florence Attenborough, reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 66.
  • "'If in Belgium they continue to eat chocolate, enjoy life and parade as great liberals and democrats while not taking account of the fact that some of the Muslims who are there are organising acts of terror, they will not be able to fight against them"
  • The wealth of our country and our institutional system lies particularly in the fact that our diversity is strength. Whenever we find a balance between unity and diversity, the strength of Belgium is precisely to give meaning to our diversity.
  • But perhaps we are wrong. Perhaps our memory deceives us. Dr. Goebbels and his Propaganda Machine have their own version of what happened twenty-five years ago. To hear them talk, you would suppose that it was Belgium that invaded Germany! There they were, these peaceful Prussians, gathering in their harvests, when this wicked, Belgium – set on by England and the Jews – fell upon them; and would no doubt have taken Berlin, if Corporal Adolf Hitler had not come to the rescue and turned the tables. Indeed, the tale goes further. After four years of war by land and sea, when Germany was about to win an overwhelming victory, the Jews got at them again, this time from the rear. Armed with President Wilson’s Fourteen Points they stabbed, we are told, the German armies in the back, and induced them to ask for an armistice, and even persuaded them, in an unguarded moment, to sign a paper saying that it was they and not the Belgians who had been the ones to begin the War. Such is history as it is taught in topsy-turvydom. And now it is holiday again, and where are we now? Or, as you sometimes ask in the United States – where do we go from here?
  • The law of Belgium is the same as that of France, except that the “grande natural isation” can only be conferred by act of the legislature.
  • Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired.
  • On July 31, 1950, I accepted to hand over the royal powers to my son. It was my will to renounce the throne for good as soon as it turned out that all Belgians would have united themselves around Prince Baudouin. I now establish that this unanimity has been achieved. The last words I wish to say as king of the Belgians will strongly indicate that the future of the fatherland depends on your national solidarity, I swear to agree to you, God protect Belgium and our Congo.
    • Histories: De Nacht van Laken (1997 Documentary about the Royal Question) Speech was given by Leopold III on July 16, 1951, on the day of his abdication.
  • If I do not promise Belgium a splendid government like that which founded its independence, nor a great King like him whom we mourn, then at least i believe to be a Belgian King in heart and soul, whose whole life belongs to the country.

See also

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