50 Fun Facts About Brussels

How many municipalities make up the Brussels-Capital Region?

The City of Brussels, the national capital, is just one of them.

The name Brussels most likely comes from Old Dutch words meaning what?

Bruocsella combined 'bruoc', marsh, and 'sella', home; a bishop first recorded 'Brosella' in 695.

On which river did Brussels grow up?

Its course through the city was completely covered over between 1867 and 1871 because it had become a health hazard.

Which mayor had the city's river covered over between 1867 and 1871?

The river had become a serious health hazard; a central boulevard now bears his name.

Which two languages are official in the Brussels-Capital Region?

Historically Dutch-speaking, the city shifted to French from the late 19th century; the region was created in 1989.

Which flower is the emblem of the Brussels Region and appears on its flag?

It refers to the flowers that grew on the marshy original site of the city.

Which two bodies besides the EU have their headquarters or secretariat in Brussels?

The EU's judicial branch sits in Luxembourg and its parliament also meets in Strasbourg.

According to legend, who built a chapel on an island in the river around 580?

The official founding is dated to about 979, when the relics of Saint Gudula were moved to that chapel.

Which Habsburg emperor abdicated his possessions at the Coudenberg Palace in 1555?

He had been declared of age there in 1515; the palace, famous across Europe, burned down in 1731.

Which French king's bombardment of 1695 destroyed the Grand-Place and a third of the city?

About 4,000 buildings were lost in the most destructive event in the city's history.

The Belgian Revolution of 1830 broke out after a performance of which opera?

Auber's opera had been banned by King William I of the Netherlands for its inciting content.

Who became the first King of the Belgians in 1831?

He ordered the city walls demolished and many new buildings put up.

What distinction does the 1835 Molenbeek to Mechelen line hold?

The Brussels-Charleroi Canal had opened in 1832.

Which battlefield south of the region ended French rule over Brussels in 1815?

The Congress of Vienna then put the Southern Netherlands under William I of Orange.

The Grand-Place has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since which year?

It is often called one of the world's most beautiful squares; the Town Hall and the King's House face each other across it.

Which sculptor's bronze Manneken Pis was put in place in 1619?

A statue on the spot is attested from the mid-15th century.

Roughly how many costumes are in Manneken Pis's wardrobe?

The little statue is regularly dressed for occasions and visiting delegations.

What is Jeanneke Pis?

The modern counterpart to Manneken Pis was commissioned by Denis-Adrien Debouvrie in 1985.

Het Zinneke, the 1999 sculpture completing the trio, shows what?

Tom Frantzen's bronze mutt is an example of the local folk humour known as zwanze.

For which event was the Atomium built?

The 103-metre structure on the Heysel Plateau symbolised scientific progress and Belgian engineering.

The Atomium's nine spheres show the unit cell of which crystal, magnified 165 billion times?

Each stainless-steel-clad sphere is 18 metres across.

Who designed the Atomium?

The engineer worked with the architects André and Jean Polak.

At what scale are the monuments of Mini-Europe, at the foot of the Atomium, built?

About 80 cities and 350 buildings are represented, drawing 350,000 visitors a year.

Which EU institution is housed in the Berlaymont building?

Asbestos discovered in 1990 forced a long renovation.

Which architect's Art Nouveau town houses in Brussels are UNESCO-listed?

His demolished Maison du Peuple became a symbol of the reckless redevelopment called Brusselisation.

What does the term 'Brusselisation' describe?

The 1965 loss of Horta's Maison du Peuple is the emblematic case.

Who designed the Palace of Justice, built between 1866 and 1883?

The eclectic Greco-Roman pile is Belgium's most important court building, seat of the Court of Cassation.

The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert shopping arcade opened in which year?

Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar's 213-metre passage took thirteen months to build.

The Cinquantenaire park was laid out for a national exhibition marking what?

Its U-shaped complex was commissioned under the second king; the name means Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary.

The Brussels Metro's first proper metro lines opened in which year?

The De Brouckère to Schuman section had run as premetro trams since 1969; it is Belgium's only rapid-transit system.

Which comic-strip hero's creator, Hergé, was born in the municipality of Etterbeek?

He began with illustrations for Scouting magazines and The Adventures of Totor in 1926.

Which Hollywood star was born into an aristocratic family in Ixelles, Brussels?

She spent parts of her childhood in Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands.

Which singer-songwriter was born in Schaerbeek, Brussels, in 1929?

The chanson master died in 1978.

The Magritte Museum in the Royal Quarter is devoted to which movement's leading Belgian?

René Magritte's bowler hats and pipes are its main draw.

How many league titles had RSC Anderlecht, Belgium's most successful club, won by 2025?

It also holds the record for consecutive titles and has won five European trophies.

Anderlecht's ground was renamed Lotto Park in 2019 from what?

That stadium had opened in 1983 to replace the Emile Versé Stadium.

What does the Ommegang procession every July commemorate?

The medieval pageant recalls the visit of the emperor and his son Philip II.

Where is the biennial Flower Carpet laid out every August?

The Zinneke Parade, a multicultural procession held since 2000, is the other big biennial event.

Which vegetable, possibly first grown near the city, is named after Brussels?

The plant is native to the Mediterranean and only reached northern Europe in the 5th century.

The vegetable named after the city was being cultivated nearby in which century?

The cabbage relative had first appeared in northern Europe in the 5th century.

Which four foods are singled out as the city's culinary calling cards?

The city has numerous types of beer and its own local waffle.

Which characters are among those the self-styled capital of the comic strip claims?

Spirou, Gaston, Marsupilami, Blake and Mortimer and Cubitus are also on the list.

What is the approximate area of the Brussels-Capital Region?

It has over 1.2 million people, the densest population in Belgium, and a metropolitan area of over 2.5 million.

Brussels forms an enclave within which part of Belgium?

Wallonia lies less than 4 kilometres to the south.

Which town's Bishop, Saint Vindicianus, first recorded the name Brosella in 695?

At the time the place was still a hamlet.

Which municipality is the only one in the region whose name is not of Dutch origin?

It may be Celtic or Old Frankish.

Which two industries made Brussels famous across Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries?

Brussels tapestry hung on castle walls throughout the continent.

How many world's fairs has Brussels hosted?

In 1910, 1935 and 1958; the city also staged the Solvay conferences on physics and chemistry.

Which theatre staged the 1830 opera performance that sparked the revolution?

Known in Dutch as De Munt, it remains the city's opera house.

Which body sits at the top of the Belgian judiciary in the Palace of Justice?

The building also houses the Court of Assizes, the Court of Appeal and the Tribunal of First Instance.