P64 - Belgium - Bruxelles

Bruxelles, Belgium ( UNESCO WHS )

Brussels, officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is the de facto capital city of the European Union (EU) and the largest urban area in Belgium. It includes the City of Brussels municipality which is the capital of Belgium, of Flanders, and of the French Community of Belgium.

Brussels has grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by Charlemagne's grandson into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers a total area of 4,127 km2, covering the Capital-Region and 103 surrounding municipalities, and has a population of almost 2.7 million.

Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been an important centre for international politics. It hosts the main institutions of the European Union, and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Thus, Brussels is the polyglot home of many international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the EU's third-richest city in terms of per capita income.

Although historically the majority language in Brussels was a Brabantian dialect of the Dutch language, the city has now become in its majority Francophone following a long period of Frenchification. 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 communities of Belgium, reflecting the situation in the country at large. Brussels is the capital of Flanders and of the French Community of Belgium.

The architecture in Brussels is diverse, and spans from the mediaeval constructions on the Grand Place to the postmodern buildings of the EU institutions.

Main attractions include the Grand Place, since 1988 a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Gothic town hall in the old centre, the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral and the Laken Castle with its large greenhouses. Another famous landmark is the Royal Palace.

布魯塞爾（法語：Bruxelles；荷蘭語：Brussel）是比利時最大的城市，也是歐洲聯盟的主要行政機構所在地。位於布魯塞爾首都區的布魯塞爾市，是比利時的首都。布魯塞爾同時也是佛蘭德區的首府和比利時法語區的中心。

在不同的語境中，布魯塞爾有著不同的外延。她可能代表布魯塞爾市（比利時的布魯塞爾首都區中最大的地方自治體及首府，常住人口140,000），也可能代表布魯塞爾首都區（據2008年2月1日統計，常住人口為1,067,162），或者也可能用於表示布魯塞爾城市圈（常住人口1,350,000）。

歐洲聯盟三個主要的機構當中，歐盟委員會和歐盟部長理事會位於布魯塞爾，另一個重要機構歐洲議會在布魯塞爾也有分處（全體議會在法國斯特拉斯堡），所以它有歐洲首都的美譽。另外，北大西洋公約組織的總部也設在布魯塞爾。

布魯塞爾是一個雙語城市，通用法語和荷蘭語，法語的使用者佔較多數。

布魯塞爾的建築物，從帶有濃郁中世紀風格的大廣場到充滿後現代藝術意味的歐盟建築群，包含了多種元素和文化符號。

布魯塞爾最著名的建築包括布魯塞爾大廣場及在舊廣場中心的市政廳（1988年被評為世界文化遺產）、聖米迦勒聖古都勒主教座堂 、以巨大的玻璃溫室著稱的拉肯皇宮等。布魯塞爾的另一個地標性建築就是布魯塞爾皇宮。

References sources : wikipedia