Brussels is the
capital of
Belgium, of the
French Community of Belgium, of the
Flemish Community, and is the headquarters of the
European Union's institutions. Brussels is in the centre of Belgium, and also the largest municipality of the
Brussels-Capital Region. This municipality inside Brussels is correctly named
The City of Brussels, which is one of 19
municipalities that make up the Brussels-Capital Region, with a total population of 1,018,804 inhabitants (1 January 2006). The municipality has a population of about 140,000. The Metropolitan area has about 2,090,000 inhabitants. Brussels is also the political seat of
NATO, the
Western European Union (WEU) and
EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
In 977 AD, the Holy Roman emperor Otto II gave the duchy of Lower Lotharingia on the empire's western frontier to Charles, the banished son of King Louis IV of France. Mention was already made of Brussels at the time: Bishop Saint-Gery of Cambrai-Arras settled a chapel on a small island (695). However, the founding of Brussels is usually said to be when a small castle was built by Charles around 979 on Saint-Géry island in the Zenne or Senne river.
Brussels is the
capital of
Belgium, of the
French Community of Belgium, of the
Flemish Community, and is the headquarters of the
European Union's institutions. Brussels is in the centre of Belgium, and also the largest municipality of the
Brussels-Capital Region. This municipality inside Brussels is correctly named
The City of Brussels, which is one of 19
municipalities that make up the Brussels-Capital Region, with a total population of 1,018,804 inhabitants (1 January 2006). The municipality has a population of about 140,000. The Metropolitan area has about 2,090,000 inhabitants. Brussels is also the political seat of
NATO, the
Western European Union (WEU) and
EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
In 977 AD, the Holy Roman emperor Otto II gave the duchy of Lower Lotharingia on the empire's western frontier to Charles, the banished son of King Louis IV of France. Mention was already made of Brussels at the time: Bishop Saint-Gery of Cambrai-Arras settled a chapel on a small island (695). However, the founding of Brussels is usually said to be when a small castle was built by Charles around 979 on Saint-Géry island in the Zenne or Senne river.