Brussels has grown from a 10th-century fortress town founded by Charlemagne's grandson into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants
Officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is the de facto capital city of the European Union (EU) and the largest urban area in Belgium.[4][5] It includes the City of Brussels municipality which is the capital of Belgium, of Flanders, and of the French Community of Belgium
The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers a total area of 4,127 km2, covering the Capital-Region and 103 surrounding municipalities, and has a population of almost 2.7 million
Since the end of the Second World War, Brussels has been an important centre for international politics. It hosts the main institutions of the European Union, and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Thus, Brussels is the polyglot home of many international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants
Brussels is the EU's third-richest city in terms of per capita income
Although historically the majority language in Brussels was a Brabantian dialect of the Dutch language, the city has now become in its majority Francophone following a long period of Frenchification. Today most inhabitants are native French-speakers, although both languages have official status
This process has led to a longstanding conflict between the French- and Dutch-speaking communities of Belgium, reflecting the situation in the country at large
Brussels is the capital of Flanders and of the French Community of Belgium.
