City of Brussels

The City of Brussels is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the Flemish Region (from which it is separate) and Belgium. The City of Brussels is also the administrative centre of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions in its European Quarter.

City of Brussels Ville de Bruxelles / Bruxelles-Ville (French) Stad Brussel / Brussel-Stad (Dutch) Foreign population The City of Brussels has a large immigrant population, with both the EU and non-European migrant communities outnumbering the native Belgians. Akin to neighbouring Ixelles, Etterbeek and Schaerbeek, the City of Brussels also has a large Muslim population, mainly of North African origin. As of 2023^[update], taking into account the nationality of birth of the parents, 55.84% of the City of Brussels's population is of non-European origin (predominantly Moroccan, Indian and Congolese), 27.21% is of European origin other than Belgian (mainly French, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, and Polish), while 16.94% is solely of native Belgian ancestry. Among all major migrant groups from outside the EU, a majority of the permanent residents have acquired Belgian nationality. Migrant communities in the City of Brussels with over 1,000 people as of 1 January 2020: France 9,049 Morocco 7,431 Romania 7,057 Italy 5,175 Spain 4,690 Poland 2,777 Portugal 1,832 Greece 1,758 Netherlands 1,704 India 1,591 Bulgaria 1,573 Germany 1,565 DR Congo 1,511 Turkey 1,389 Guinea 1,309 United Kingdom 1,177 Group of origin Year 2023 Number % Belgians with Belgian background 32,916 16.94% Belgians with foreign background 85,377 43.94% Neighbouring country 4,194 2.16% EU27 (excluding neighbouring country) 6,629 3.41% Outside EU 27 Non-Belgians 75,998 39.12% Neighbouring country 6.95% EU27 (excluding neighbouring country) Outside EU 27 Total 194,291 100% Politics As in every other Belgian municipality, the City of Brussels is headed by a mayor, who should not be confused with the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region or the Governor of Brussels-Capital. The current city council was elected in the October 2018 elections. The current mayor of the City of Brussels is Philippe Close, a member of PS, who is in coalition on the municipal council with Ecolo - Groen, DéFI and Forward. City of Brussels local election – 14 October 2018 Party Votes % Swing (pp) Elected 2018 Change PS 0.74 17 / 49 (35%) 1 Ecolo - Groen 4.42 9 / 49 (18%) 2 MR - Open Vld 9,772 4.02 7 / 49 (14%) 3 PVDA-PTB 8,159 10.02 6 / 49 (12%) 6 cdH - CD&V 6,543 9.29 8.72 5 / 49 (10%) 5 DéFI 5,317 7.55 0.08 3 / 49 (6%) N-VA 2,606 3.70 0.64 1 / 49 (2%) Vooruit (Change Brussels) 2,269 3.22 New 1 / 49 (2%) 1 Vlaams Belang 1,138 1.61 0.59 0 / 49 (0%) - ISLAM (political party) 1,125 1.60 1.30 0 / 49 (0%) - Others 1,694 2.40 1.56 0 / 49 (0%) - Environmental policy Brussels is ranked sixth in the index of cities which are becoming greener fastest as for the year 2022, even though in the past it had a reputation of a "traffic-choked city of high rises and concrete". The authorities released a plan composed of seven steps on how to make the city even more sustainable. Those include introducing "a use-based, circular and low-carbon economy" and making the city "proactive". The city should become a "10-minute city" meaning "making the facilities essential to urban life accessible to every inhabitant in less than 10 minutes". Green spaces should be expanded. The plan includes participation of the population in decision-making and high life level for all. Culture Museums There are many museums in and around Brussels' city centre. On the first Sunday of every month, free entry is granted to many of Brussels' museums. Below is a non-exhaustive list of museums in the City of Brussels: Royal Museums of Art and History: Art & History Museum Horta-Lambeaux Pavilion Halle Gate Museums of the Far East Musical Instruments Museum Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium: Oldmasters Museum Magritte Museum Fin-de-Siècle Museum Wiertz Museum Meunier Museum Royal Museum of Modern Art Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History Food Brussels is well known for its food. Brussels sprouts were named after the city. Like most of Belgium, moules-frites, waffles (gaufres), chocolate, French fries, and beer are common there. It is home to one 2-starred and four 1-starred Michelin restaurants. Honorary citizens Among the recipients of the honorary citizenship of the City of Brussels are: Date Name Notes Dwight D. Eisenhower Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein Charles de Gaulle Sir Winston Churchill Sir Arthur Coningham Simone Veil 5 October 1984 Maurice Béjart Gaston Thorn José Géal 8 September 2004 Annie Cordy José Van Dam Marc Sleen Alberto Uderzo Jacques Van der Biest Dick Annegarn 4 Februari 2006 Guy Loiseau President of the Order of the Friends of Manneken Pis Marcel Hastir Henri Vernes Bernard Foccroulle Jean-Baptiste Beken Companion of St. Lawrence Cécile Muller President of Miss Belgium 5 May 2007 Elisabeth t'Kint Manager of the Cirque Royal 7 May 2007 Julot Verbeeck Press officer of the Cirque Royal Expo 58 hostesses William Vance David Susskind Belgian Jewish leader and peace activist Stéphane Hessel Jean Van Hamme Agnès Varda Nathan Clumeck Professor and managing director of St. Peter's Hospital Grand Jojo Also known as Lange Jojo Woltje Puppet from the Royal Theatre Toone Arno Diane von Fürstenberg Symbols Heraldry Coat of arms of City of Brussels Coronet A Belgian Count's coronet Escutcheon Gules Saint Michael Or, slaying the Devil Sable Supporters Two lions rampant Or armed and langued Gules each holding a banner: dexter, the arms of the Duchy of Brabant, also those of Belgium, sinister, the city's arms Compartment A mount vert Symbolism Saint Michael is the city's patron saint. See: Saint Michael slaying the Devil Previous versions See below Previous versions The Original arms were plain Gules. From the 16th century on, it was customary to put the figure of the city seal representing Saint Michael, first as a shadow then in a more elaborate form. Note: many of the arms of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels were variants of these arms. 1730 arms Napoleonic arms Vexillology Flag of the City of Brussels Description: Green and red with at its centre Saint Michael slaying the dragon (Devil). Symbolism: Saint Michael is the city's patron saint. See: Saint Michael slaying the Devil See also Belgium portal Transport in Brussels Timeline of Brussels Bourgeois of Brussels Seven Noble Houses of Brussels Guilds of Brussels wikipedia, wiki, encyclopedia, book, library, article, read, free download, Information about City of Brussels, What is City of Brussels? What does City of Brussels mean? Home Page | Go up © 2025 www.dl1.en-us.nina.az — All rights reserved.