Bruxelles

Brussels is the de facto capital city of the European Union (EU) and the largest urban area in Belgium. It comprises 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels proper, which is the capital of Belgium, Flanders and the French Community of Belgium.

Brussels has grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by a descendant of Charlemagne into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants. The metropolitan area has a population of over 1.8 million, making it the largest in Belgium.

Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been an important centre for international politics. The presence of the main EU institutions as well as the the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have made the city a polyglot home of many international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants.

Although historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels became more and more French-speaking over the 19th and 20th centuries. Today most inhabitants are native French-speakers, although both languages have official status. This process has led to a longstanding conflict between the French and Dutch speaking community, reflecting the situation in Belgium at large.


Source: Wikipedia