Brussels, Belgium

Brussels (French: Bruxelles, [bʁysɛl] Dutch: Brussel, [ˈbrɵsəl]), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale, Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the de jure capital of Belgium.The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community.

Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been a major centre for international politics and has become the polyglot home of numerous international organizations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions The secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are also located in Brussels. Historically a Dutch-speaking city, it has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is an officially bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region.

Brussels (Bruxelles), Belgium, Europe.

The Atomium – Giant stainless steel atom, particles connected by escalators, with exhibitions & views from 92m. The Atomium in Brussels was originally constructed for Expo 58, the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18 m (59 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. The name is a combination of atom and aluminium.

The Atomium – Giant stainless steel atom, particles connected by escalators, with exhibitions & views from 92m. The Atomium in Brussels was originally constructed for Expo 58, the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18 m (59 ft) diameter stainless steel clad spheres are connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. The name is a combination of atom and aluminium.

National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg. Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur à Koekelberg. Bruxelles, Belgium. Europe.

Children playing at the Charles Buls Fountain. Charles Buls or Karel Buls (13 October 1837 – 13 July 1914) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels. Bruxelles, Belgium, Europe.

La Maturite. Bruxelles Belgium.

Royal Square. Place Royale. Former site of Brussels’ main market & original royal palace, built to a design by Barnabe Guimard. Bruxelles, Belgium.

St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, Brussels, Place Sainte-Gudule, Brussels, Belgium.

St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, Brussels, Place Sainte-Gudule, Brussels, Belgium.

People laze on the grass in front of St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, Brussels, Place Sainte-Gudule, Brussels, Belgium.

Two girls shopping at the Godiva Belgian chocolate store at Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen. The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (French) or Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen (Dutch) is a glazed shopping arcade in Brussels that preceded other famous 19th-century shopping arcades such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and The Passage in St Petersburg. Like them it has twin regular façades with distant origins in Vasari’s long narrow street-like courtyard of the Uffizi, Florence, with glazed arcaded shopfronts separated by pilasters and two upper floors, all in an Italianate Cinquecento style, under an arched glass-paned roof with a delicate cast-iron framework.

Window shopping at Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen. The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (French) or Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen (Dutch) is a glazed shopping arcade in Brussels that preceded other famous 19th-century shopping arcades such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and The Passage in St Petersburg. Like them it has twin regular façades with distant origins in Vasari’s long narrow street-like courtyard of the Uffizi, Florence, with glazed arcaded shopfronts separated by pilasters and two upper floors, all in an Italianate Cinquecento style, under an arched glass-paned roof with a delicate cast-iron framework.

Famous pissing boy at Godiva Belgian chocolate store at Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen. Manneken Pis (little pee man in Flemish) is a Belgian icon created by Jerome Duquesnoy. The Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (French) or Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen (Dutch) is a glazed shopping arcade in Brussels that preceded other famous 19th-century shopping arcades such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan and The Passage in St Petersburg. Like them it has twin regular façades with distant origins in Vasari’s long narrow street-like courtyard of the Uffizi, Florence, with glazed arcaded shopfronts separated by pilasters and two upper floors, all in an Italianate Cinquecento style, under an arched glass-paned roof with a delicate cast-iron framework.

Guildhalls on the Grand Place, Brussels City Museum, Brussels, Belgium. De Gulden Boot – Grote Markt. Huge city square completely encircled by elegant historic buildings dating back to the 14th century.

Evening view at Grand Place, Bruxelles, Belgium. Huge city square completely encircled by elegant historic buildings dating back to the 14th century.

Panoramic evening view at Grand Place, Bruxelles, Belgium. Huge city square completely encircled by elegant historic buildings dating back to the 14th century.

Panoramic evening view at Grand Place, Bruxelles, Belgium. Huge city square completely encircled by elegant historic buildings dating back to the 14th century.

 

To view rest of the images in high resolution images please visit: http://www.photonicyatra.com/Destinations/Belgium-Brussels/