Belgium

BRUGES Submitted by Cloggie

Capital Brussels

Languages Flemish, French and German

Currency Euro

Surprisingly for such a small country, Belgium has been a major European battleground over the centuries. Occupied by Germany during both World Wars, it has experienced an economic boom in the last 50 years.
The country stretches from the dunes of the northern coastline through the Flemish lowlands and on to the forests of the rolling Ardennes hills in the south. There are three regions: Flanders in the north where the official language is Flemish; Wallonia in the south where French is the official tongue, and Brussels - the capital - where French and Flemish share official language status.
Belgium is noted for its strong culinary traditions and is particularly famous for its fine chocolate and array of beers.

USEFUL INFORMATION: I was told recently by a friendly Belgian policeman that many records were destroyed in Napoleon's time to avoid conscription into his army ... Caroline

Links

• IGI batch numbers for Belgium

• Digital Resources for The Netherlands and Belgium

• ArchiveNet Links to archives in Flanders and the Netherlands

• Spread of surnames on the civil register in Belgium in 1998 - includes expats

• Cyndi's List - Belgium / Belgique / België

• Genealogy Resources in Belgium

• Dutch genealogical word list

• French genealogical word list

• Some old Belgian records use the French Revolutionary Calendar which has different names for months and uses a different numbering for years and days. French Revolutionary Calendar 1793 - 1806 and Cyndi's List - Calendars & Dates

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