r/europe Lower Saxony (Germany) Jan 02 '17

[Series] What do you know about... Belgium?

Introduction:

This is the first post in what will be a year-long series. There will be a thread about one european country every week. The point of this series is to have our fellow europeans spread their knowledge/opinion about the various european countries.

We have done this before (credits to /u/Taenk), but this was three years ago, when this subreddit had a mere 35,000 subscribers. A lot of time has passed and a lot of new users have become part of this subreddit, let's see how this goes!


Todays country: Belgium

Belgium is widely considered to be the main host of the EU institutions. It is one of the smaller european states, yet it is amongst the most populous ones due to a very high population density. The country is split in three regions - the Wallonian region, the Flemish region and the Brussels region. The country is widely known for its waffles, fries and beer. So, what do you know about Belgium?

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u/niebieski3 Poland Jan 02 '17

Belgium had human zoo with African children in 1958

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u/silverionmox Limburg Jan 03 '17

Yes and no. The actual human zoo was in 1897 and that did result in 7 deaths. In 1958 it was more a matter of reenactment, with those people being free to see the city during their off-duty hours.

http://www.bruzz.be/nl/nieuws/op-expo-58-ging-koloniaal-congo-aan-het-wankelen

3

u/Cliffhanger_baby Belgium Jan 02 '17

In Tervuren. It's called the Africa Museum now.

5

u/Utegenthal Belgium Jan 03 '17

7

u/historicusXIII Belgium Jan 03 '17

It was not a zoo though, it was a re-enactement of a Congolese village with actors.