BELGIUM

l Belgium is a federal state divided into three regions: l Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, francophone Wallonia in the south and Brussels,

l the bilingual capital, where French and Dutch share official status. l There is also a small German-speaking minority in the eastern part of the country.

Culture of

Belgium

Carnival of Aalsl The Aalst Carnival is a yearly three-day event in the Belgian city on Aalst. The carnival is celebrated in the days preceding Ash Wednesday.

It is mainly a street happening. The celebrants dance on the city squares and visit café after café. In this parade, men walk around in

women's clothes with as attributes a bird cage, a herring, fake breasts, corsets, a fur coat, a worn umbrella and a stroller. In the evening, the

traditional puppet burning takes place to end the carnival event.

Carnaval of Binche

l The three-day carnival at Binche, near Mons, is held just before Lent. During the Gilles carnival men dressed in bright costumes lead participants. The majority of Belgians are Catholic.

lMonumentsl and

ltourist attractions.

The Lion's Mound

l The Lion's Mound is a large conical artificial, hill located in the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud, Belgium. King William I of the Netherlands ordered its construction in 1820, and it was completed in 1826. It commemorates the location on the battlefield of Waterloo where a musket ball hit the shoulder of William II of the Netherlands (the Prince of Orange) and

knocked him from his horse during the battle.

Miranda Castle

Miranda Castle, also known as Noisy Castle. Is it a 19th-century neo-Gothic castle in Celles. Province of Namur, Belgium, in the region of the Ardennes.

Charlerio

l Charleroi is the largest city in Wallonia and the second largest airport city in Belgium. With a great central location, you can visit all of Europe using Ryanair, departing from Brussels South.Charleroi Must-Sees:

l Museum of Fine Arts and Jules Destree Museum Those two museums are located in the Charleroi Town Hall and complement each other in terms of their collection.

Little Julian

At first its name was Little Julian and it was erected in the XIX century. It was made in 1618 by Jerome Duquesnoy but in 1747 it was confiscated and nowadays we observe the copy of the old monument from 1965.

There are many legends connected with this boy. The most told one is about the battle in the year 1142. The legend states that the basket with the two year old lord was hung on a tree and from there he urinated on the rivals and

they lost the battle.

Anglo-Belgian Memorial For the Belgian People who helped British soldiers in World War I

The Anglo-Belgian War Memorial is a monument in Brussels, Belgium, which was commissioned by the British Imperial War Graves Commission and designed by the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger (1885–1934).

Schaarbeek Station

Schaarbeek railway station is a railway station in the municipality of Schaerbeek, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium.

Royal Opera of Wallonia

The Opéra Royal de Wallonie, is an opera house in Liège, Belgium, one of four situated in that country.

lBernadeta Wilk III LalSource:lwww.visitbelgium.comlwww.belgium.comlwww.wikipedia.orgl l