Finance          Automotive          Computers          Health          Shopping          Sports         News          Reference           Print Facts in English - BCUZ.COMlos hechos en Español

Flanders



For many Flemings, Flanders is more than just a geographical area or the federal institutions (Flemish Community and Region). Some even call it a nation: a people of over 6 million living in the Flemish Region and in the Brussels-Capital Region. Flemings share many political, cultural, scientific, social and educational views. Although most Flemings identify themselves more with Flanders than with Belgium, the largest group defines itself as both Flemish and Belgian. The idea of an independent Flanders finds its root in the romantic nationalism of the 19th century.[citation needed]

[

Administrative divisions

Main article: Provinces of Belgium#Provinces of the Flemish Region
Provinces of Flanders

The Flemish Region covers 13,522 km² (5,221 sq mi) and contains over 300 municipalities. It is divided into 5 provinces:

  1. Antwerp (Antwerpen)
  2. Limburg (Limburg)
  3. East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen)
  4. Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant)
  5. West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen)

Independently from the provinces, Flanders has its own local institutions in the Brussels-Capital Region, being the Vlaamse GemeenschapsCommissie (VGC), and its municipal antennae (Gemeenschapscentra, community centers for the Flemish community in Brussels). These institutions are independent from the educational, cultural and social institutions which depend directly on the Flemish government. They exert, among others, all those cultural competences that outside Brussels fall under the provinces.

[

Geography and climate

Antwerpen (Antwerp), Gent (Ghent), Brugge (Bruges) and Leuven are the largest cities of Flanders. Antwerpen has a population of more than 450,000 citizens and is the largest city, Gent has a population of 250,000 citizens, followed by Brugge with 100,000 citizens. Leuven is the smallest city with almost 100,000 citizens. Brussel (Brussels) is a part of Flanders as far as community matters are concerned, but does not belong to the Flemish Region.

Flanders has two main geographical regions: the coastal Yser basin plain in the north-west and a central plain. The first consists mainly of sand dunes and clayey alluvial soils in the polders. Polders are areas of land, close to or below sea level that have been reclaimed from the sea, from which they are protected by dikes or, a little further inland, by fields that have been drained with canals. With similar soils along the lowermost Scheldt basin starts the central plain, a smooth, slowly rising fertile area irrigated by many waterways that reaches an average height of about five metres (16.4 ft) above sea level with wide valleys of its rivers upstream as well as the Campine region to the east having sandy soils at altitudes around thirty metres[12] Near its southern edges close to Wallonia one can find slightly rougher land richer of calcium with low hills reaching up to 150 m (492 ft) and small valleys, and at the eastern border with the Netherlands, in the Meuse basin, there are marl caves (mergelgrotten). Its exclave around Voeren between the Dutch border and the Walloon province of Liège attains a maximum altitude of 288 m (945 ft) above sea level.[13][14]

The climate is maritime temperate, with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb; the average temperature is 3 °C (37 °F) in January, and 18 °C (64 °F) in July; the average precipitation is 65 millimetres (2.6 in) in January, and 78 millimetres (3.1 in) in July).

[

Economy

Total GDP of the Flemish Region in 2004 was € 165,847 million (Eurostat figures). Per capita GDP at purchasing power parity was 23% above the EU average.

Flanders was one of the first continental European areas to undergo the Industrial Revolution, in the 19th century. Initially, the modernization relied heavily on food processing and textile. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis and there was famine in Flanders (1846–50). After World War II, Antwerp and Ghent experienced a fast expansion of the chemical and petroleum industries. Flanders also attracted a large majority of foreign investments in Belgium, among others thanks to its well-educated and industrious labour force. The 1973 and 1979 oil crises sent the economy into a recession. The steel industry remained in relatively good shape. In the 1980s and 90s, the economic centre of the Belgium continued to shift further to Flanders. Nowadays, the Flemish economy is mainly service-oriented, although its diverse industry remains a crucial force. Flemish productivity per capita is between 20 and 25% higher than that in Wallonia.

Flanders has developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways and highways. Antwerp is the second-largest European port, after Rotterdam.

In 1999, the euro, the single European currency, was introduced in Flanders. It replaced the Belgian franc in 2002. The Flemish economy is strongly export oriented, in particular of high value-added goods. The main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. The main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. Since 1922, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a customs and currency union—the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union. Its main trading partners are Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States and Spain.

[

Demographics

The highest population density is found in the area circumscribed by the Brussels-Antwerp-Gent-Leuven agglomerations that surround Mechelen and is known as the Flemish Diamond, in other important urban centres as Bruges and Kortrijk to the west, and notable centres Turnhout and Hasselt to the east. As of April 2005, the Flemish Region has a population of 6,058,368 and about 15% of the 1,018,029 people in the Brussels Region are also considered Flemish.[15]

The (Belgian) laicist constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the various government generally respects this right in practice. Since independence, Catholicism, counterbalanced by strong freethought movements, has had an important role in Belgium's politics, since the 20th century in Flanders mainly via the Christian trade union (ACV) and the Christian Democrat party (CD&V). According to the 2001 Survey and Study of Religion,[16] about 47 percent of the Belgian population identify themselves as belonging to the Catholic Church while Islam is the second-largest religion at 3.5 percent. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered more religious than Wallonia, showed 55% to call themselves religious, 36% believe that God created the world.[17] (See also Religion in Belgium).

According to Npdata, 9.7% of the Flemish population is of foreign descent. 4.5% European (including 1.8% Dutch, 0.6% Italian and 0.4% French), and 5.1% from outside the European union, (including 1.8% Moroccan and 1.5% Turks).

Education is compulsory from the ages of six to 18, but most Flemings continue to study until around 23. Among the OECD countries in 1999, Flanders had the third-highest proportion of 18–21-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary education. Flanders also scores very high in international comparative studies on education. Its secondary school students consistently rank among the top three for mathematics and science. However, the success is not evenly spread: ethnic minority youth score consistently lower, and the difference is larger than in most comparable countries.

In addition, concern is rising over functional illiteracy. In the period 1994–98, 18.4 percent of the population lacks functional literacy skills.[18]

Mirroring the historical political conflicts between the freethought and Catholic segments of the population, the Flemish educational system is split into a laïque branch controlled by the communities, the provinces, or the municipalities, and a subsidised religious—mostly Catholic—branch controlled by both the communities and the religious authorities—usually the dioceses. It should however be noted that—at least for the Catholic schools—the religious authorities have very limited power over these schools. Smaller school systems follow 'methodical pedagogies' (Steiner, Montessori, Freinet, ...) or serve the Jewish and Protestant minorities.

[

Language and culture

Main articles: Dutch language and Flemish people

The standard language is in Flanders the same as in the Netherlands, i.e., Dutch. The Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium and the standard language with influences from these dialects, are often referred to as Flemish (Dutch: Vlaams).

At first sight, Flemish culture is defined by its language and its gourmandic mentality. Some claim Flemish literature does not exist, because it is said to be 'readable' by both the Dutch as well as Flemings. This is correct for the vast majority of the literature written by Flemings, although one might argue a distinct Flemish literature already began in the 19th century, when most of the European Nation-states arose, with writers and poets such as Guido Gezelle, who not only explicitly referred to his writings as Flemish, but actually used it in many of his poems, and strongly defended it:

Original
"Gij zegt dat ‘t vlaamsch te niet zal gaan:
‘t en zal!
dat ‘t waalsch gezwets zal boven slaan:
‘t en zal!
Dat hopen, dat begeren wij:
dat zeggen en dat zweren wij:
zoo lange als wij ons weren, wij:
‘t en zal, ‘t en zal,
‘t en zal!"

Translation
"You say Flemish will disappear:
It will not!
that Walloonish rantings will prevail:
It will not!
This we hope, this we crave:
this we say and this we swear:
as long as we defend ourselves, we:
It will not, It will not,
It will not!"

This distinction in literature is also made by some experts, such as Kris Humbeeck, professor in Literature of the University of Antwerp here. Nevertheless, the near totality of Dutch-language literature read (and appreciated to varying degrees) in Flanders is the same as in the Netherlands.

Some other writers representative of Flemish culture are Ernest Claes, Stijn Streuvels and Felix Timmermans. Their novels mostly describe rural life in Flanders in the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. They were widely read by the elder generation but are considered somewhat old fashioned by present day critics.
Some famous flemish writers from the early 20th century wrote in French, like nobel-prize winner (1911) Maurice Maeterlinck and Emile Verhaeren.
Still widely read and translated into other languages (including English) are the novels of authors like Willem Elsschot, Louis Paul Boon and Hugo Claus. The younger generation is represented by novelists like Tom Lanoye, Herman Brusselmans and the poet Herman de Coninck.

[

The Family Name "Fleming"

The Family Name "Fleming" is common in England, Scotland, Ireland and later-settled English-speaking countries, and also occurs in Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The wide distribution of the name indicates a long-standing Flemish diaspora.

[

See also

Look up Flanders in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[

References

  1. ^ Structuur van de bevolking – België / Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest / Vlaams Gewest / Waals Gewest (2000-2006) (asp) (Dutch). FOD/SPF Economie (Federal Government Service Economy) - Algemene Directie Statistiek en Economische Informatie (© 1998/2007). Retrieved on 15 May 2007.
  2. ^ The capital city of Flanders is Brussels. The Flemish Community. .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
  3. ^ Footnote: An Antverpian, derived from Antverpia, the Latin name of Antwerp, is an inhabitant of this city; the term is also the adjective expressing that its substantive is from or in that city or belongs to it.
  4. ^ a b c Antwerp — History. Find it in Flanders. Tourism Flanders & Brussels, Flanders House, London, UK. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  5. ^ http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Fictional_documentary_about_Flemish_independence_causes_consternation_in_Belgium
  6. ^ The Communities. .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
  7. ^ The Regions. .be Portal. Belgian Federal Government. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
  8. ^ (French) Report of study by the Université Catholique de Louvain
  9. ^ (Dutch) Article at Taaluniversum.org summarising report
  10. ^ *http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf Report of study by Universite Catholique de Louvain (in French)]
  11. ^ *Article at Taaluniversum.org summarising report (in Dutch)
  12. ^ The altitude of Mechelen, approximately in the middle of the central plain forming the large part of Flanders, is 7 m (23 ft) above sea level. Already closer to the higher southern Wallonia, the more eastern Leuven and Hasselt reach altitudes up to about 40 m (131 ft) Kingdom of Belgium map (politically outdated). Retrieved on 15 May 2007.
  13. ^ Ir. Jan Strubbe in collaboration with Dr. Frank Mostaert and Ir. Koen Maeghe. Flood management in Flanders with special focus on navigable waterways. Ministry of the Flemish Community, department Environment and Infrastructure (Waterbouwkundig Laboratorium, Flanders Hydraulics Research, Administratie Waterwegen en Zeewezen). “Flanders is covered by the three major catchment basins (Yser, Scheldt and Meuse). This rather lowlying nearly flat region (2 to 150 m/6–492 ft altitude above sea-level) ...”
  14. ^ Myriam Dumortier, Luc De Bruyn, Maarten Hens, Johan Peymen, Anik Schneiders, Toon Van Daele, Wouter Van Reeth, Gisèle Weyembergh and Eckhart Kuijken (2006). Biodiversity Indicators 2006 - State of Nature in Flanders (Belgium). Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels. “The altitude ranges from a few meters above sea-level in the Polders to 288 m (945 ft) above sea-level in the south eastern exclave.”
  15. ^ Official statistics of Belgium
  16. ^ Belgium. International Religious Freedom Report 2004. US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2004). Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  17. ^ Inquiry by 'Vepec', 'Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie' (Organisation for Promotion and Communication), published in Knack magazine 22 November 2006 p. 14 [The Dutch language term 'gelovig' is in the text translated as 'religious', more precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in a monotheistic sense, and/or in some afterlife].
  18. ^ United Nation Development Programme



BCUZ.com FACTS Encyclopedia content is licensed under the GFDL as approved by Wikipedia.
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy.
© 1996 - BCUZ.COM - We have all the FACTS you need about Small Business Financing, Behavior Disorder, Having Too Many Bills, Needing Cash Fast, Structured Settlements, Frequent Flier Programs, Top Steak Houses, The Mayan Indians, Norfolk and Suffolk England, Growing Longer Hair and a full reference English Encyclopedia and Spanish Encyclopedia.Privacy Policy