Interesting Facts on Belgium

November 9, 2009 | In: Countries facts

Belgium is known as the “Essence of Europe” .

Belgium is one of the founding members of the European Community, and its capital, Brussels, is also the capital of the European Union.

Belgium produces 220,000 tonnes of chocolate every year.

Belgium is home to the world’s first Beer Academy.

The most famous monument in Brussels is the Manneken Pis, a statue of a young boy urinating.

Brussels holds annually the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Music Contest one of the greatest musical contests in the world.

Indeed 50 percent of all polished diamonds of the world pass through Antwerp.

Hercule Poirot, the famous moustache-sporting detective, is Belgian.

The Battle of Waterloo was fought in Belgium in 1815.

Belgium has three official languages, which are, in order from the largest speaker population to the smallest, Dutch, French and German.

Belgium is the only country that has never imposed censorship for adult films.

Fried potato strips we know as French fries is actually not French at all but invented by the Belgian.

The smallest town in the world is in Belgium, called Durbuy.