Aalst is a city and municipality on the Dender River, 31 kilometres (19 mi) northwest from Brussels in the Flemishprovince of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, Erembodegem, Gijzegem, Herdersem, Hofstade, Meldert, Moorsel and Nieuwerkerken. Aalst is crossed by the Molenbeek-Ter Erpenbeek in Aalst and Hofstade. The town has a long-standing (folkloric) feud with Dendermonde (north along the river), which dates from the Middle Ages. read more…
The Sablon or Zavel (Dutch) is a neighbourhood and hill in the historic upper town of Brussels in Belgium. At its heart are the twin squares of the larger Grand Sablon (“Large Sablon”) square in the northwest and the smaller Petit Sablon (“Small Sablon”) square and garden in the southeast, divided by the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon. The Sablon neighbourhood was remodelled in the 19th century as Regentschapstraat was driven through the area, creating a Haussmann-style artery between the Royal Palace of Brussels and the new Palace of Justice. The new street skirted the church: all buildings immediately adjacent to it were demolished starting in 1872, opening up new views of the church. Buildings not directly adjacent to the church were renovated and improved. read more…
Verviers is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. The Verviers municipality includes the old communes of Ensival, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Heusy. It is also the center of an agglomeration that includes Dison and Pepinster making it the second biggest in the province and an important regional center, located roughly halfway between Liège and the German border. Water has played an important role in the town’s economy, notably in the development first of its textile and later tourist industries. As a result, many fountains have been built in Verviers, leading it to be named Wallonia‘s “Water Capital”. The seats of the two Walloon public institutions for water distribution and water treatment are located in the town. read more…
The European Route of Historic Thermal Cities is a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. The route is supported by the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA), founded in 2011, a nonprofit organization with currently 26 members in 11 European countries (including Turkey). In the spring of 2013 EHTTA was awarded the “Cultural Route of Europe” by the “European Institute of Cultural Routes”. The Press Office of the City of Baden-Baden calls the European Route of Historic Thermal Baths the European Bathing Route. read more…
Parc du Cinquantenaire (French for “Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary”) or Jubelpark (Dutch for “Jubilee Park”) is a large public, urban park (30 hectares) in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels. read more…
The International Crisis Group (ICG; also simply known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1995 that carries out field research on violent conflict and advances policies to prevent, mitigate or resolve conflict. It advocates policies directly with governments, multilateral organisations and other political actors as well as the media. read more…
The College of Europe (French: Collège d’Europe) is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges in Belgium. It was founded in 1949 by such leading European figures and founding fathers of the European Union as Salvador de Madariaga, Winston Churchill, Paul-Henri Spaak and Alcide De Gasperi in the wake of the Hague Congress of 1948 to promote “a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding between all the nations of Western Europe and to provide elite training to individuals who will uphold these values” and “to train an elite of young executives for Europe.” It has the status of “Institution of Public Interest”, operating according to Belgian law. Since 1993 the college has also had an additional smaller campus in Natolin in Poland. Students are usually selected in cooperation with their countries’ ministries of foreign affairs, and admission is highly competitive. The number of students each year used to be very low—for several decades less than 100—but has increased since the early 1990s. The College of Europe is bilingual, and students must be proficient in English and French. Students receive a master’s degree (formerly called Diploma and Certificat) following a one-year programme. Traditionally, students specialise in either European law, international economics (i.e., European economic studies), or European political and administrative studies; in recent years, additional programmes have been created. read more…
The Grand Place or Grote Markt is the central square of Brussels. It is surrounded by opulent guildhalls and two larger edifices, the city’s Town Hall, and the Breadhouse (French: Maison du Roi, Dutch: Broodhuis) building containing the Museum of the City of Brussels. The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 361 ft), and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. The Grand Place was voted the most beautiful square in Europe in 2010. A survey by a Dutch website asked its users to rate different squares across Europe. read more…
The International Crisis Group (ICG; also simply known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in 1995 that carries out field research on violent conflict and advances policies to prevent, mitigate or resolve conflict. It advocates policies directly with governments, multilateral organisations and other political actors as well as the media. read more…
