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> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Flanders" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Flanders" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. 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id="toc-Modern_Belgium" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Modern_Belgium"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Modern Belgium</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Modern_Belgium-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Historical" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Historical"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Historical</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Historical-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dutch-speaking_part_of_Belgium" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dutch-speaking_part_of_Belgium"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>Dutch-speaking part of Belgium</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Dutch-speaking_part_of_Belgium-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>History</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-History-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle History subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Early_history" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_history"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Early history</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Early_history-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Historical_Flanders" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Historical_Flanders"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Historical Flanders</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Historical_Flanders-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Low_Countries" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Low_Countries"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Low Countries</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Low_Countries-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Beeldenstorm" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Beeldenstorm"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3.1</span> <span>Beeldenstorm</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Beeldenstorm-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Eighty_Years'_War_and_its_consequences" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Eighty_Years'_War_and_its_consequences"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3.2</span> <span>The Eighty Years' War and its consequences</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Eighty_Years'_War_and_its_consequences-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Southern_Netherlands_(1581–1795)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Southern_Netherlands_(1581–1795)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3.3</span> <span>Southern Netherlands (1581–1795)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Southern_Netherlands_(1581–1795)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-French_Revolution_and_Napoleonic_France_(1795–1815)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#French_Revolution_and_Napoleonic_France_(1795–1815)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3.4</span> <span>French Revolution and Napoleonic France (1795–1815)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-French_Revolution_and_Napoleonic_France_(1795–1815)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-United_Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands_(1815–1830)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands_(1815–1830)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3.5</span> <span>United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-United_Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands_(1815–1830)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Kingdom_of_Belgium" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Kingdom_of_Belgium"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>Kingdom of Belgium</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Kingdom_of_Belgium-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Rise_of_the_Flemish_Movement" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rise_of_the_Flemish_Movement"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4.1</span> <span>Rise of the Flemish Movement</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rise_of_the_Flemish_Movement-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-World_War_I_and_its_consequences" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#World_War_I_and_its_consequences"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4.2</span> <span>World War I and its consequences</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-World_War_I_and_its_consequences-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Right-wing_nationalism_in_the_interbellum_and_World_War_II" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Right-wing_nationalism_in_the_interbellum_and_World_War_II"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4.3</span> <span>Right-wing nationalism in the interbellum and World War II</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Right-wing_nationalism_in_the_interbellum_and_World_War_II-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Flemish_autonomy" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Flemish_autonomy"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4.4</span> <span>Flemish autonomy</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Flemish_autonomy-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Government_and_politics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Government_and_politics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Government and politics</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Government_and_politics-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Government and politics subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Government_and_politics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Politics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Politics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Politics</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Politics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Flemish_independence" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Flemish_independence"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Flemish independence</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Flemish_independence-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Geography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Geography"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Geography</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Geography-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Geography subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Geography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Administrative_divisions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Administrative_divisions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Administrative divisions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Administrative_divisions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Climate" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Climate"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Climate</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Climate-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Economy" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Economy"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Economy</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Economy-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Economy subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Economy-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Infrastructure" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Infrastructure"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>Infrastructure</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Infrastructure-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Demographics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Demographics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Demographics</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Demographics-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Demographics subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Demographics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Religion" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Religion"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span>Religion</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Religion-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Education" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Education"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.2</span> <span>Education</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Education-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Healthcare" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Healthcare"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.3</span> <span>Healthcare</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Healthcare-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Culture" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Culture"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Culture</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Culture-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Culture subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Culture-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Language_and_literature" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Language_and_literature"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.1</span> <span>Language and literature</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Language_and_literature-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Languages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Languages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.1.1</span> <span>Languages</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Languages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Media" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Media"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.2</span> <span>Media</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Media-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sports" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sports"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.3</span> <span>Sports</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sports-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Music" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Music"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8.4</span> <span>Music</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Music-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Explanatory_notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Explanatory_notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Explanatory notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Explanatory_notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Flanders</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 92 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-92" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">92 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-als mw-list-item"><a href="https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Alemannic" lang="gsw" hreflang="gsw" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Alemannisch" data-language-local-name="Alemannic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Alemannisch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ang mw-list-item"><a href="https://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandras" title="Flandras – Old English" lang="ang" hreflang="ang" data-title="Flandras" data-language-autonym="Ænglisc" data-language-local-name="Old English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ænglisc</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1_(%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%83%D8%A7)" title="فلاندر (بلجيكا) – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="فلاندر (بلجيكا)" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-an mw-list-item"><a href="https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandres" title="Flandres – Aragonese" lang="an" hreflang="an" data-title="Flandres" data-language-autonym="Aragonés" data-language-local-name="Aragonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Aragonés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandes" title="Flandes – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Flandes" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandriya" title="Flandriya – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Flandriya" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ban mw-list-item"><a href="https://ban.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Balinese" lang="ban" hreflang="ban" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Basa Bali" data-language-local-name="Balinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Basa Bali</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaanderen" title="Vlaanderen – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Vlaanderen" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F_(%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%86%D1%8C)" title="Фландрыя (гістарычная вобласць) – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Фландрыя (гістарычная вобласць)" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F_(%D0%B3%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%8C%D1%86%D1%8C)" title="Фляндрыя (гістарычная вобласьць) – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Фляндрыя (гістарычная вобласьць)" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Фландрия – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Фландрия" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bs mw-list-item"><a href="https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrija" title="Flandrija – Bosnian" lang="bs" hreflang="bs" data-title="Flandrija" data-language-autonym="Bosanski" data-language-local-name="Bosnian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bosanski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrez" title="Flandrez – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Flandrez" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandes" title="Flandes – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Flandes" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vl%C3%A1msko" title="Vlámsko – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Vlámsko" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fflandrys" title="Fflandrys – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Fflandrys" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cymraeg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A6%CE%BB%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%B1" title="Φλάνδρα – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Φλάνδρα" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandes" title="Flandes – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Flandes" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrio" title="Flandrio – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Flandrio" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1" title="فلاندر – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="فلاندر" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandre_(Belgique)" title="Flandre (Belgique) – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Flandre (Belgique)" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fy mw-list-item"><a href="https://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaanderen" title="Flaanderen – Western Frisian" lang="fy" hreflang="fy" data-title="Flaanderen" data-language-autonym="Frysk" data-language-local-name="Western Frisian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Frysk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%B3ndras" title="Flóndras – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Flóndras" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaeilge</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gv mw-list-item"><a href="https://gv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yn_Flandyryn" title="Yn Flandyryn – Manx" lang="gv" hreflang="gv" data-title="Yn Flandyryn" data-language-autonym="Gaelg" data-language-local-name="Manx" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaelg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandres" title="Flandres – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Flandres" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-got mw-list-item"><a href="https://got.wikipedia.org/wiki/%F0%90%8D%86%F0%90%8C%BB%F0%90%8C%B0%F0%90%8C%B4%F0%90%8C%BC%F0%90%8C%B9%F0%90%8C%BD%F0%90%8C%B2%F0%90%8C%BE%F0%90%8C%B0%F0%90%8C%BB%F0%90%8C%B0%F0%90%8C%BD%F0%90%8C%B3" title="𐍆𐌻𐌰𐌴𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳 – Gothic" lang="got" hreflang="got" data-title="𐍆𐌻𐌰𐌴𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳" data-language-autonym="𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺" data-language-local-name="Gothic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌹𐍃𐌺</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%94%8C%EB%9E%80%EB%8D%B0%EB%9F%B0" title="플란데런 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="플란데런" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%96%D5%AC%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A4%D6%80%D5%AB%D5%A1_(%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%B4%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A6)" title="Ֆլանդրիա (պատմական մարզ) – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Ֆլանդրիա (պատմական մարզ)" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrija" title="Flandrija – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Flandrija" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-io mw-list-item"><a href="https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Ido" lang="io" hreflang="io" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Ido" data-language-local-name="Ido" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ido</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ie mw-list-item"><a href="https://ie.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Interlingue" lang="ie" hreflang="ie" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Interlingue" data-language-local-name="Interlingue" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Interlingue</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%A6mingjaland" title="Flæmingjaland – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Flæmingjaland" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiandre" title="Fiandre – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Fiandre" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94" title="פלנדריה – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="פלנדריה" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%A4%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%93%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%90_(%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%A2%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%A3%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98_%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9A%E1%83%A5%E1%83%98)" title="ფლანდრია (ისტორიული ოლქი) – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="ფლანდრია (ისტორიული ოლქი)" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kk mw-list-item"><a href="https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Фландрия – Kazakh" lang="kk" hreflang="kk" data-title="Фландрия" data-language-autonym="Қазақша" data-language-local-name="Kazakh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Қазақша</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrija" title="Flandrija – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Flandrija" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lb mw-list-item"><a href="https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Luxembourgish" lang="lb" hreflang="lb" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Lëtzebuergesch" data-language-local-name="Luxembourgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lëtzebuergesch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-li mw-list-item"><a href="https://li.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaondere_(gewes)" title="Vlaondere (gewes) – Limburgish" lang="li" hreflang="li" data-title="Vlaondere (gewes)" data-language-autonym="Limburgs" data-language-local-name="Limburgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Limburgs</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lmo mw-list-item"><a href="https://lmo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiander" title="Fiander – Lombard" lang="lmo" hreflang="lmo" data-title="Fiander" data-language-autonym="Lombard" data-language-local-name="Lombard" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lombard</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Фландрија – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Фландрија" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AB%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B8" title="फ्लांडर्स – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="फ्लांडर्स" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1" title="فلاندر – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="فلاندر" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mzn mw-list-item"><a href="https://mzn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1" title="فلاندر – Mazanderani" lang="mzn" hreflang="mzn" data-title="فلاندر" data-language-autonym="مازِرونی" data-language-local-name="Mazanderani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مازِرونی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders" title="Flanders – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Flanders" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaanderen" title="Vlaanderen – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Vlaanderen" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nds-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nds-nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaanderen" title="Vlaanderen – Low Saxon" lang="nds-NL" hreflang="nds-NL" data-title="Vlaanderen" data-language-autonym="Nedersaksies" data-language-local-name="Low Saxon" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nedersaksies</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%AB" title="フランドル – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="フランドル" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-frr mw-list-item"><a href="https://frr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Northern Frisian" lang="frr" hreflang="frr" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Nordfriisk" data-language-local-name="Northern Frisian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nordfriisk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandra_(region_istorica)" title="Flandra (region istorica) – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Flandra (region istorica)" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Occitan</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pap mw-list-item"><a href="https://pap.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaanderen" title="Vlaanderen – Papiamento" lang="pap" hreflang="pap" data-title="Vlaanderen" data-language-autonym="Papiamentu" data-language-local-name="Papiamento" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Papiamentu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pms mw-list-item"><a href="https://pms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiandre" title="Fiandre – Piedmontese" lang="pms" hreflang="pms" data-title="Fiandre" data-language-autonym="Piemontèis" data-language-local-name="Piedmontese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Piemontèis</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nds mw-list-item"><a href="https://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannern" title="Flannern – Low German" lang="nds" hreflang="nds" data-title="Flannern" data-language-autonym="Plattdüütsch" data-language-local-name="Low German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Plattdüütsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria_(region)" title="Flandria (region) – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Flandria (region)" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandres_(B%C3%A9lgica)" title="Flandres (Bélgica) – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Flandres (Bélgica)" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandra" title="Flandra – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Flandra" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_(%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C)" title="Фландрия (историческая область) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Фландрия (историческая область)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sco mw-list-item"><a href="https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders" title="Flanders – Scots" lang="sco" hreflang="sco" data-title="Flanders" data-language-autonym="Scots" data-language-local-name="Scots" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Scots</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandria" title="Flandria – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Flandria" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-scn mw-list-item"><a href="https://scn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiandri" title="Fiandri – Sicilian" lang="scn" hreflang="scn" data-title="Fiandri" data-language-autonym="Sicilianu" data-language-local-name="Sicilian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sicilianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders" title="Flanders – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Flanders" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrija" title="Flandrija – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Flandrija" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb mw-list-item"><a href="https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%DB%8E%D8%B1%D8%B3" title="فلاندێرس – Central Kurdish" lang="ckb" hreflang="ckb" data-title="فلاندێرس" data-language-autonym="کوردی" data-language-local-name="Central Kurdish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>کوردی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Фландрија – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Фландрија" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandrija" title="Flandrija – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Flandrija" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanderi" title="Flanderi – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Flanderi" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandern" title="Flandern – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Flandern" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tl mw-list-item"><a href="https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandes" title="Flandes – Tagalog" lang="tl" hreflang="tl" data-title="Flandes" data-language-autonym="Tagalog" data-language-local-name="Tagalog" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tagalog</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%A3%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%81" title="பிளாண்டர்சு – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="பிளாண்டர்சு" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%AA%E0%B9%8C" title="แฟลนเดอส์ – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="แฟลนเดอส์" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandre" title="Flandre – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Flandre" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D1%96%D1%8F_(%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C)" title="Фландрія (історична область) – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Фландрія (історична область)" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ur mw-list-item"><a href="https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86%DA%88%D8%B1%D8%B3" title="فلینڈرس – Urdu" lang="ur" hreflang="ur" data-title="فلینڈرس" data-language-autonym="اردو" data-language-local-name="Urdu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>اردو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaanderen" title="Vlaanderen – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Vlaanderen" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vo mw-list-item"><a href="https://vo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flan%C3%A4n" title="Flanän – Volapük" lang="vo" hreflang="vo" data-title="Flanän" data-language-autonym="Volapük" data-language-local-name="Volapük" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Volapük</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wa mw-list-item"><a href="https://wa.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flande" title="Flande – Walloon" lang="wa" hreflang="wa" data-title="Flande" data-language-autonym="Walon" data-language-local-name="Walloon" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Walon</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vls mw-list-item"><a href="https://vls.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vloandern" title="Vloandern – West Flemish" lang="vls" hreflang="vls" data-title="Vloandern" data-language-autonym="West-Vlams" data-language-local-name="West Flemish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>West-Vlams</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-war mw-list-item"><a href="https://war.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaanderen" title="Vlaanderen – Waray" lang="war" hreflang="war" data-title="Vlaanderen" data-language-autonym="Winaray" data-language-local-name="Waray" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Winaray</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B3%95%E5%85%B0%E5%BE%B7%E6%96%AF" title="法兰德斯 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="法兰德斯" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>吴语</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-yi mw-list-item"><a href="https://yi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9F" title="פלאנדערן – Yiddish" lang="yi" hreflang="yi" data-title="פלאנדערן" data-language-autonym="ייִדיש" data-language-local-name="Yiddish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ייִדיש</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B3%95%E8%98%AD%E5%BE%B7%E6%96%AF" title="法蘭德斯 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="法蘭德斯" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zea mw-list-item"><a href="https://zea.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaonderen" title="Vlaonderen – Zeelandic" lang="zea" hreflang="zea" data-title="Vlaonderen" data-language-autonym="Zeêuws" data-language-local-name="Zeelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Zeêuws</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%9B%E5%85%B0%E5%BE%B7" title="佛兰德 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="佛兰德" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q234#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> 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data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Flanders&params=51_00_N_4_30_E_type:adm1st_source:GNS_scale:2500000_region:BE-VLG"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">51°00′N</span> <span class="longitude">4°30′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">51.000°N 4.500°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">51.000; 4.500</span></span></span></a></span></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Dutch-speaking region of Belgium</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Flandre" and "Flandern" redirect here. For the ship, see <a href="/wiki/SS_Flandre" class="mw-redirect" title="SS Flandre">SS <i>Flandre</i></a>. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Flanders_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Flanders (disambiguation)">Flanders (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Community and region in Belgium</div><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1043192559">.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement{width:23em;border-collapse:collapse;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement td,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement th{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-header,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-label,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedtoprow .infobox-below{border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0.4em 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedrow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedrow .infobox-label{border:0;padding:0 0.6em 0.2em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedbottomrow .infobox-full-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedbottomrow .infobox-data,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .mergedbottomrow .infobox-label{border-top:0;border-bottom:1px solid #a2a9b1;padding:0 0.6em 0.4em 0.6em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .maptable{border:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-header,.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-below{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-above{font-size:125%;line-height:1.3em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement .infobox-subheader{background-color:#cddeff;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-native{font-weight:normal;padding-top:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-other-name{font-size:78%}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-official{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-caption{padding:0.3em 0 0 0}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-caption-link{padding:0.2em 0}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-nickname{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-fn{font-weight:normal;display:inline}</style><table class="infobox ib-settlement vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above"><div class="fn org">Flanders</div> <div class="nickname ib-settlement-native" lang="nl"><span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl">Vlaanderen</i></span> <span class="languageicon" style="font-size:100%; font-weight:normal">(<a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>)</span></div><div class="nickname ib-settlement-other-name"><span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">Flandre</i></span> <span class="languageicon" style="font-size:100%; font-weight:normal">(<a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>)</span><br /><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Flandern</i></span> <span class="languageicon" style="font-size:100%; font-weight:normal">(<a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>)</span></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><div class="category"><a href="/wiki/Communities,_regions_and_language_areas_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium">Community and region</a></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data maptable"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1028600610">.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols{text-align:center;display:table;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols-row{display:table-row}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols-cell{display:table-cell;vertical-align:middle}.mw-parser-output .ib-settlement-cols-cellt{display:table-cell;vertical-align:top}</style> <div class="ib-settlement-cols"> <div class="ib-settlement-cols-row"><div class="ib-settlement-cols-cell"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Flanders.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Flag of Flanders"><img alt="Flag of Flanders" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_Flanders.svg/140px-Flag_of_Flanders.svg.png" decoding="async" width="140" height="93" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_Flanders.svg/210px-Flag_of_Flanders.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_Flanders.svg/280px-Flag_of_Flanders.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="941" data-file-height="627" /></a></span><div class="ib-settlement-caption-link"><a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Flanders" title="Flag of Flanders">Flag</a></div></div><div class="ib-settlement-cols-cell"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Vlaanderen_wapen.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Coat of arms of Flanders"><img alt="Coat of arms of Flanders" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Vlaanderen_wapen.svg/75px-Vlaanderen_wapen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="75" height="82" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Vlaanderen_wapen.svg/113px-Vlaanderen_wapen.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Vlaanderen_wapen.svg/150px-Vlaanderen_wapen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="177" data-file-height="193" /></a></span><div class="ib-settlement-caption-link"><a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Flanders" title="Coat of arms of Flanders">Coat of arms</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">Anthem: <i><a href="/wiki/De_Vlaamse_Leeuw" title="De Vlaamse Leeuw">De Vlaamse Leeuw</a></i><br />("The Flemish Lion")<br /><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><span><audio id="mwe_player_0" controls="" preload="none" data-mw-tmh="" class="mw-file-element" width="220" style="width:220px;" data-durationhint="137" data-mwtitle="Volkslied_-_De_Vlaamse_Leeuw.ogg" data-mwprovider="wikimediacommons"><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Volkslied_-_De_Vlaamse_Leeuw.ogg" type="audio/ogg; codecs="vorbis"" data-width="0" data-height="0" /><source src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/24/Volkslied_-_De_Vlaamse_Leeuw.ogg/Volkslied_-_De_Vlaamse_Leeuw.ogg.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" data-transcodekey="mp3" data-width="0" data-height="0" /></audio></span></span></div></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Present-day Flanders (dark red) shown within Belgium. Brussels is only part of the Flemish Community, and not of the Flemish Region."><img alt="Flanders shown within Belgium and Europe" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg/250px-Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg/375px-Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg/500px-Vlaamse_Gemeenschap_in_Belgium.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1136" data-file-height="988" /></a></span><div class="ib-settlement-caption">Present-day Flanders (dark red) shown within Belgium. <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a> is only part of the Flemish Community, and not of the Flemish Region.</div></td></tr><tr class="mergedbottomrow"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">Coordinates: <span class="geo-inline"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Flanders&params=51_00_N_4_30_E_type:adm1st_source:GNS_scale:2500000_region:BE-VLG"><span class="geo-default"><span class="geo-dms" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location"><span class="latitude">51°00′N</span> <span class="longitude">4°30′E</span></span></span><span class="geo-multi-punct"> / </span><span class="geo-nondefault"><span class="geo-dec" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location">51.000°N 4.500°E</span><span style="display:none"> / <span class="geo">51.000; 4.500</span></span></span></a></span></span></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Country</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County of Flanders</a></th><td class="infobox-data">862–1795</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Community</a> in Belgium</th><td class="infobox-data">1970</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Region</a> in Belgium</th><td class="infobox-data">1980</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Largest cities</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Seat</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/City_of_Brussels" title="City of Brussels">City of Brussels</a> (partly <a href="/wiki/List_of_capitals_outside_the_territories_they_serve" title="List of capitals outside the territories they serve">outside the territory</a>)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Government<div class="ib-settlement-fn"></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Executive</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Flemish Government</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Diependaele_Government" title="Diependaele Government">Governing parties <small>(2024-2029)</small></a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/N-VA" class="mw-redirect" title="N-VA">N-VA</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vooruit" title="Vooruit">Vooruit</a>, <a href="/wiki/CD%26V" class="mw-redirect" title="CD&V">CD&V</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Minister-President_of_Flanders" title="Minister-President of Flanders">Minister-President</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Matthias_Diependaele" title="Matthias Diependaele">Matthias Diependaele</a> (N-VA)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Legislature</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • <a href="/wiki/Speaker_of_the_Flemish_Parliament" title="Speaker of the Flemish Parliament">Speaker</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Liesbeth_Homans" title="Liesbeth Homans">Liesbeth Homans</a> (N-VA)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Area<div class="ib-settlement-fn"><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"> • Total</div></th><td class="infobox-data">13,626 km<sup>2</sup> (5,261 sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Population<div class="ib-settlement-fn"><span class="nowrap"> </span>(1 January 2024)<sup id="cite_ref-statbel.fgov.be_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-statbel.fgov.be-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"> • Total</div></th><td class="infobox-data">6,821,770</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Density</th><td class="infobox-data">501/km<sup>2</sup> (1,300/sq mi)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Official language<div class="ib-settlement-fn"></div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Demonym" title="Demonym">Demonyms</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemish</a> (adjective), Fleming (person)<br /><i>Vlaams</i> (adjective), <i>Vlaming</i> (person)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">GDP<div class="ib-settlement-fn"><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></th></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"> • Total</th><td class="infobox-data">€330.495 billion (2022)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Time_zone" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/UTC%2B01:00" title="UTC+01:00">UTC+01:00</a> (<a href="/wiki/Central_European_Time" title="Central European Time">CET</a>)</td></tr><tr class="mergedrow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"> • Summer (<a href="/wiki/Daylight_saving_time" title="Daylight saving time">DST</a>)</span></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/UTC%2B02:00" title="UTC+02:00">UTC+02:00</a> (<a href="/wiki/Central_European_Summer_Time" title="Central European Summer Time">CEST</a>)</td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/ISO_3166" title="ISO 3166">ISO 3166 code</a></th><td class="infobox-data nickname"><a href="/wiki/ISO_3166-2:BE" title="ISO 3166-2:BE">BE-VLG</a></td></tr><tr class="mergedtoprow"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Website</th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="url"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.vlaanderen.be">Vlaanderen.be</a></span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-below">The area and population figures are given for the Flemish Region, not the Community.</td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546"><table class="infobox" style="background:#fff6d9"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="background:#fee8ab">Person</th><td class="infobox-data">Fleming (<span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl">Vlaming</i></span>)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="background:#fee8ab">People</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemings</a> (<span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl">Vlamingen</i></span>)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="background:#fee8ab">Language</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Flemish_dialects" title="Flemish dialects">Flemish</a> (<span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl">Vlaams</i></span>),<br /><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Sign_Language" title="Flemish Sign Language">VGT</a> (<span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl">Vlaamse Gebarentaal</i></span>)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="background:#fee8ab">Country</th><td class="infobox-data">Flanders (<span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl">Vlaanderen</i></span>)</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Flanders</b> (<span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt" lang="en-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ˈ/: primary stress follows">ˈ</span><span title="'f' in 'find'">f</span><span title="'l' in 'lie'">l</span><span title="/ɑː/: 'a' in 'father'">ɑː</span><span title="'n' in 'nigh'">n</span><span title="'d' in 'dye'">d</span><span title="/ər/: 'er' in 'letter'">ər</span><span title="'z' in 'zoom'">z</span></span>/</a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key" title="Help:Pronunciation respelling key"><i title="English pronunciation respelling"><span style="font-size:90%">FLAHN</span>-dərz</i></a><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or <span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt" lang="en-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ˈ/: primary stress follows">ˈ</span><span title="'f' in 'find'">f</span><span title="'l' in 'lie'">l</span><span title="/æ/: 'a' in 'bad'">æ</span><span title="'n' in 'nigh'">n</span><span title="'d' in 'dye'">d</span><span title="/ər/: 'er' in 'letter'">ər</span><span title="'z' in 'zoom'">z</span></span>/</a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key" title="Help:Pronunciation respelling key"><i title="English pronunciation respelling"><span style="font-size:90%">FLAN</span>-dərz</i></a>;<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>: <i lang="nl">Vlaanderen</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="nl-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Dutch" title="Help:IPA/Dutch">[ˈvlaːndərə(n)]</a></span> <span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-1" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt ext-phonos-PhonosButton-emptylabel oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/6\/6a\/Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg\/Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt","ext-phonos-PhonosButton-emptylabel"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6a/Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg/Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg" title="File:Nl-Vlaanderen.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span>)<sup id="cite_ref-fn1_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fn1-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>c<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of <a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> and one of the <a href="/wiki/Communities,_regions_and_language_areas_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium">communities, regions and language areas of Belgium</a>. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics, and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The <a href="/wiki/Demonym" title="Demonym">demonym</a> associated with Flanders is <a href="/wiki/Flemings" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemings">Fleming</a>, while the corresponding adjective is <a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemish</a>, which can also refer to the collective of Dutch dialects spoken in that area, or more generally the Belgian variant of Standard Dutch. </p><p>Most Flemings live within the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a>, which is a federal state within Belgium with its own elected government. However, like Belgium itself, the official capital of Flanders is the <a href="/wiki/City_of_Brussels" title="City of Brussels">City of Brussels</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which lies within the <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels-Capital Region</a>, not the Flemish Region, and the majority of residents there are French speaking. The powers of the Flemish Government in Brussels are limited mainly to Flemish culture and education.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Geographically, Flanders is mainly flat, and incorporates the whole coast of Belgium on the <a href="/wiki/North_Sea" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>. It borders the <a href="/wiki/Departments_of_France" title="Departments of France">French department</a> of <a href="/wiki/Nord_(French_department)" title="Nord (French department)">Nord</a> to the south-west near the coast, the Dutch provinces of <a href="/wiki/Zeeland" title="Zeeland">Zeeland</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_Brabant" title="North Brabant">North Brabant</a> and <a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Netherlands)" title="Limburg (Netherlands)">Limburg</a> to the north and east, and the <a href="/wiki/Wallonia" title="Wallonia">Walloon</a> provinces of <a href="/wiki/Hainaut_Province" title="Hainaut Province">Hainaut</a>, <a href="/wiki/Walloon_Brabant" title="Walloon Brabant">Walloon Brabant</a> and <a href="/wiki/Li%C3%A8ge_Province" title="Liège Province">Liège</a> to the south. Despite accounting for only 45% of Belgium's territory, more than half the population lives there – 6,821,770 (or 58%) out of 11,763,650 Belgian inhabitants, as of January 2024. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated at 501/km<sup>2</sup> (1,300/sq mi). The Brussels Region is an officially bilingual <a href="/wiki/Enclave" class="mw-redirect" title="Enclave">enclave</a> within the Flemish Region.<sup id="cite_ref-fn2_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fn2-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>d<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Flanders also has exclaves of its own: <a href="/wiki/Voeren" title="Voeren">Voeren</a> in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and <a href="/wiki/Baarle-Hertog" title="Baarle-Hertog">Baarle-Hertog</a> in the north consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. Not including Brussels, there are five present-day <a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Belgium" title="Provinces of Belgium">Flemish provinces</a>: <a href="/wiki/Antwerp_Province" title="Antwerp Province">Antwerp</a>, <a href="/wiki/East_Flanders" title="East Flanders">East Flanders</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Brabant" title="Flemish Brabant">Flemish Brabant</a>, <a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Belgium)" title="Limburg (Belgium)">Limburg</a> and <a href="/wiki/West_Flanders" title="West Flanders">West Flanders</a>. The official language is Dutch. </p><p>The area of today's Flanders has figured prominently in European history since the <a href="/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>. The original <a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County of Flanders</a> stretched around AD 900 from the <a href="/wiki/Strait_of_Dover" title="Strait of Dover">Strait of Dover</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Scheldt" title="Scheldt">Scheldt</a> <a href="/wiki/Estuary" title="Estuary">estuary</a> and expanded from there. This county also still corresponds roughly with the modern-day Belgian provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders, along with neighbouring parts of France and the Netherlands.<sup id="cite_ref-fn3_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fn3-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>e<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In this period, cities such as <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a> of the historic County of Flanders, and later <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Brabant" title="Duchy of Brabant">Duchy of Brabant</a> made it one of the richest and most urbanised parts of Europe, trading, and weaving the <a href="/wiki/Wool" title="Wool">wool</a> of neighbouring lands into cloth for both domestic use and export. As a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of <a href="/wiki/Northern_Italy" title="Northern Italy">northern Italy</a>. </p><p>Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th-century <a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a>, but this occurred mainly in French-speaking Wallonia. In the second half of the 20th century, and due to massive national investments in port infrastructure, Flanders' economy modernised rapidly, and today Flanders and Brussels are much wealthier than Wallonia, being among the wealthiest regions in Europe and the world.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In accordance with late 20th century <a href="/wiki/State_reform_in_Belgium" title="State reform in Belgium">Belgian state reforms</a>, Flanders was made into two political entities: the Flemish Region (Dutch: <i lang="nl">Vlaams Gewest</i>) and the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Flemish Community</a> (Dutch: <i lang="nl">Vlaamse Gemeenschap</i>). These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a broader cultural mandate, covers Brussels, whereas the Flemish Region does not. </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886046785">.mw-parser-output .toclimit-2 .toclevel-1 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-3 .toclevel-2 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-4 .toclevel-3 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-5 .toclevel-4 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-6 .toclevel-5 ul,.mw-parser-output .toclimit-7 .toclevel-6 ul{display:none}</style><div class="toclimit-3"><meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Terminology">Terminology</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Terminology"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Modern_Belgium">Modern Belgium</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Modern Belgium"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term "Flanders" has several main modern meanings: </p> <ul><li>The "Flemish community" or "Flemish nation", i.e. the social, cultural and linguistic, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the <a href="/wiki/Flemings" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemings">Flemings</a>. For most purposes this is considered to include the 6.5 million Belgians (approximately 60%) who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, including many people living in the <a href="/wiki/Brussels-Capital_Region" class="mw-redirect" title="Brussels-Capital Region">Brussels-Capital Region</a>.</li> <li>In the context of the political subdivisions of Belgium there are the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a> (competent in mainly economic matters) and the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Flemish Community</a> (competent in mainly cultural matters). The first does not comprise Brussels (which forms a <a href="/wiki/Brussels-Capital_Region" class="mw-redirect" title="Brussels-Capital Region">Region by itself</a>), whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels.</li> <li>The political institutions that govern both subdivisions: the operative body or "<a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Flemish Government</a>", and the legislative organ or "<a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a>".</li> <li>Within Belgian discussions, the two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, <a href="/wiki/West_Flanders" title="West Flanders">West Flanders</a> and <a href="/wiki/East_Flanders" title="East Flanders">East Flanders</a>, forming the central portion of the historic <a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County of Flanders</a> are also still collectively referred to as Flanders.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Historical">Historical</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Historical"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County of Flanders</a></div> <p>The name originally applied to the <i><a href="/wiki/Ancien_r%C3%A9gime" title="Ancien régime">ancien régime</a></i> territory called the <a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County of Flanders</a>, that existed from the 8th century (Latin <i>Flandria</i>) until its absorption by the <a href="/wiki/French_First_Republic" title="French First Republic">French First Republic</a>. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of what are now France and the Netherlands. </p> <ul><li>In France, one of the historically Flemish regions is now in the <a href="/wiki/Nord_(French_department)" title="Nord (French department)">Nord department</a>. This is referred to as <a href="/wiki/French_Flanders" title="French Flanders">French Flanders</a>, and can be divided into two smaller regions: <a href="/wiki/Walloon_Flanders" title="Walloon Flanders">Walloon Flanders</a> and <a href="/wiki/Westhoek_(region)" title="Westhoek (region)">Maritime Flanders (Westhoek)</a>. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century. The <a href="/wiki/Lille" title="Lille">city of Lille</a> identifies itself as "Flemish", and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station <a href="/wiki/TGV" title="TGV">TGV</a> <i><a href="/wiki/Gare_de_Lille_Flandres" class="mw-redirect" title="Gare de Lille Flandres">Lille Flandres</a></i>.</li> <li>The historically Flemish region which became part of the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Republic" title="Dutch Republic">Dutch Republic</a>, now part of the Dutch province of <a href="/wiki/Zeeland" title="Zeeland">Zeeland</a>, sometimes called <a href="/wiki/Zeelandic_Flanders" title="Zeelandic Flanders">Zeelandic Flanders</a>.</li></ul> <p>However, the term came to be used for a bigger territory, and this is critical to the evolution of modern terminology. Once the Counts of Flanders (who were also Dukes of Burgundy) expanded their regional power to create the bigger entity, now referred to by historians as the <a href="/wiki/Burgundian_Netherlands" title="Burgundian Netherlands">Burgundian Netherlands</a>, "Flanders", along with Latin "Belgium", were the first two common names to describe this regional block.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> With the breakaway of the northern Netherlands in the <a href="/wiki/Early_modern_period" title="Early modern period">early modern period</a>, the term Flanders continued to be associated with the whole southern part of the <a href="/wiki/Low_Countries" title="Low Countries">Low Countries</a>—the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Netherlands" title="Southern Netherlands">Southern</a>, <a href="/wiki/Spanish_Netherlands" title="Spanish Netherlands">Spanish</a> or <a href="/wiki/Austrian_Netherlands" title="Austrian Netherlands">Austrian Netherlands</a>, which were the successors of the Burgundian state, and also predecessors of modern Belgium. The restriction of the term Flanders to the Germanic speaking part of the population occurred later. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Dutch-speaking_part_of_Belgium">Dutch-speaking part of Belgium</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Dutch-speaking part of Belgium"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The term "Flemish" came to be a term for the language Dutch, and during the 19th and 20th centuries, it became increasingly common to refer exclusively to the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium as "Flanders". Belgium divided itself into official French- and Dutch-speaking parts starting in the early '60s. Today Flanders extends over the northern part of Belgium, including not only the Dutch-speaking Belgian parts of the medieval <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Brabant" title="Duchy of Brabant">Duchy of Brabant</a>, which was united with Flanders since the Middle Ages, but also <a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Belgium)" title="Limburg (Belgium)">Belgian Limburg</a>, which corresponds closely to the medieval <a href="/wiki/County_of_Loon" title="County of Loon">County of Loon</a>, and was never under Burgundian control. </p><p>The ambiguity between this wider cultural area and that of the county or province still remains in discussions about the region. In most present-day contexts however, the term Flanders is taken to refer to either the political, social, cultural, and linguistic community (and the corresponding official institution, the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Flemish Community</a>), or the geographical area, one of the three institutional regions in Belgium, namely the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a>. </p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/History_of_art" title="History of art">history of art</a> and other fields, the adjectives Flemish and <a href="/wiki/Netherlandish" class="mw-redirect" title="Netherlandish">Netherlandish</a> are commonly used to designate all the artistic production in this area before about 1580, after which it refers specifically to the southern Netherlands. For example, the term "Flemish Primitives", now outdated in English but used in French, Dutch and other languages, is a synonym for "<a href="/wiki/Early_Netherlandish_painting" title="Early Netherlandish painting">Early Netherlandish painting</a>", and it is not uncommon to see <a href="/wiki/Mosan_art" title="Mosan art">Mosan art</a> categorized as Flemish art. In music the <i><a href="/wiki/Franco-Flemish_School" title="Franco-Flemish School">Franco-Flemish School</a></i> is also known as the <i>Dutch School</i>. </p><p>Within this Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, French has never ceased to be spoken by some citizens, and Jewish groups have been speaking <a href="/wiki/Yiddish" title="Yiddish">Yiddish</a> in Antwerp for centuries. Regardless of nationality or linguistic background, according to Belgian Law education in schools located in the Flemish Region must be mainly in the Dutch language. In Brussels, teaching is also done in French. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/History_of_Flanders" title="History of Flanders">History of Flanders</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_history">Early history</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Early history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Belgae" title="Belgae">Belgae</a></div> <p>When <a href="/wiki/Julius_Caesar" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a> conquered the area he described it as the less economically developed and more warlike part of <i><a href="/wiki/Gallia_Belgica" title="Gallia Belgica">Gallia Belgica</a></i>. His informants told him that especially in the east, the tribes claimed ancestral connections and kinship with the <a href="/wiki/Germanic_peoples" title="Germanic peoples">"Germanic" peoples</a> then east of the <a href="/wiki/Rhine" title="Rhine">Rhine</a>. Under the <a href="/wiki/Roman_empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Roman empire">Roman empire</a> the whole of <i>Gallia Belgica</i> became an administrative province. The future counties of Flanders and Brabant remained part of this province connected to what is now France, but in the east modern Limburg became part of the Rhine frontier province of <i><a href="/wiki/Germania_Inferior" title="Germania Inferior">Germania Inferior</a></i> connected to what is now the Netherlands and Germany. <i>Gallia Belgica</i> and <i>Germania Inferior</i> were the two most northerly continental provinces of the <a href="/wiki/Roman_empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Roman empire">Roman empire</a>. </p><p>In the future county of Flanders, the main <a href="/wiki/Belgic_tribe" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgic tribe">Belgic tribe</a> in early Roman times was the <a href="/wiki/Menapii" title="Menapii">Menapii</a>, but also on the coast were the <a href="/wiki/Marsacii" title="Marsacii">Marsacii</a> and <a href="/wiki/Morini" title="Morini">Morini</a>. In the central part of modern Belgium were the <a href="/wiki/Nervii" title="Nervii">Nervii</a>, whose territory corresponded to medieval Brabant as well as French-speaking Hainaut. In the east was the large district of the <a href="/wiki/Tungri" title="Tungri">Tungri</a> which covered both French- and Dutch-speaking parts of eastern Belgium. The Tungri were understood to have links to Germanic tribes east of the Rhine. Another notable group were the <a href="/wiki/Toxandrians" class="mw-redirect" title="Toxandrians">Toxandrians</a> who appear to have lived in the <a href="/wiki/Campine" title="Campine">Kempen</a> region, in the northern parts of both the Nervian and Tungrian districts, probably stretching into the modern Netherlands. The Roman administrative districts (<i><a href="/wiki/Civitas" title="Civitas">civitates</a></i>) of the Menapii, Nervii and Tungri therefore corresponded roughly with the medieval counties of Flanders, Brabant and <a href="/wiki/County_of_Loon" title="County of Loon">Loon</a>, and the modern Flemish provinces of East and West Flanders (Menapii), Brabant and Antwerp (the northern Nervii), and Belgian Limburg (part of the Tungri). Brabant appears to have been separated from the Tungri by a relatively unpopulated forest area, the <a href="/wiki/Silva_Carbonaria" title="Silva Carbonaria">Silva Carbonaria</a>, forming a natural boundary between northeast and southwest Belgium. </p><p>Linguistically, the tribes in this area were under <a href="/wiki/Celtic_languages" title="Celtic languages">Celtic</a> influence in the south, and <a href="/wiki/Germanic_languages" title="Germanic languages">Germanic</a> influence in the east, but there is disagreement about what languages were spoken locally (apart from <a href="/wiki/Vulgar_Latin" title="Vulgar Latin">Vulgar Latin</a>), and there may even have been an intermediate "<a href="/wiki/Nordwestblock" title="Nordwestblock">Nordwestblock</a>" language related to both. By the first century AD, <a href="/wiki/Germanic_languages" title="Germanic languages">Germanic languages</a> appear to have become prevalent in the area of the Tungri. </p><p>As Roman influence waned, Frankish populations settled in the Tungiran area east of the Silva Carbonaria, and eventually pushed through it under <a href="/wiki/Chlodio" title="Chlodio">Chlodio</a>. They had kings in each Roman district (<i>civitas</i>). In the meantime, the Franks contributed to the Roman military. The first Merovingian king <a href="/wiki/Childeric_I" title="Childeric I">Childeric I</a> was king of the Franks within the military of Gaul. He became leader of the administration of <i>Belgica Secunda</i>, which included the <i>civitas</i> of the Menapii (the future county of Flanders). From there, his son <a href="/wiki/Clovis_I" title="Clovis I">Clovis I</a> managed to conquer both the Roman populations of northern France and the Frankish populations beyond the forest areas. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Historical_Flanders">Historical Flanders</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Historical Flanders"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County of Flanders</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_(cropped).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="314" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_%28cropped%29.jpg/330px-Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_%28cropped%29.jpg/440px-Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-90_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="613" data-file-height="876" /></a><figcaption>A Flemish lady and gentleman in the year 1400, illustrated in the manuscript "Théâtre de tous les peuples et nations de la terre avec leurs habits et ornemens divers, tant anciens que modernes, diligemment depeints au naturel". Painted by <a href="/wiki/Lucas_de_Heere" title="Lucas de Heere">Lucas d'Heere</a> in the 2nd half of the 16th century. Preserved in the <a href="/wiki/Ghent_University_Library" title="Ghent University Library">Ghent University Library</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>The County of Flanders was a <a href="/wiki/Feudal" class="mw-redirect" title="Feudal">feudal</a> <a href="/wiki/Fief" title="Fief">fief</a> in <a href="/wiki/West_Francia" title="West Francia">West Francia</a>. The first certain Count in the comital family, <a href="/wiki/Baldwin_I_of_Flanders" class="mw-redirect" title="Baldwin I of Flanders">Baldwin I of Flanders</a>, is first reported in a document of 862, when he eloped with a daughter of his king <a href="/wiki/Charles_the_Bald" title="Charles the Bald">Charles the Bald</a>. The region developed as a medieval economic power with a large degree of political autonomy. While its trading cities remained strong, it was weakened and divided when districts fell under direct French royal rule in the late 12th century. The remaining parts of Flanders came under the rule of the counts of neighbouring imperial <a href="/wiki/County_of_Hainaut" title="County of Hainaut">Hainaut</a> under <a href="/wiki/Baldwin_V_of_Hainaut" class="mw-redirect" title="Baldwin V of Hainaut">Baldwin V of Hainaut</a> in 1191. </p><p>During the late <a href="/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>, Flanders's trading towns (notably <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ypres" title="Ypres">Ypres</a>) made it one of the richest and most urbanized parts of Europe, weaving the <a href="/wiki/Wool" title="Wool">wool</a> of neighbouring lands into cloth for both domestic use and export. As a consequence, a sophisticated culture developed, with impressive art and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Ghent, Bruges, Ypres and the <a href="/wiki/Franc_of_Bruges" class="mw-redirect" title="Franc of Bruges">Franc of Bruges</a> formed the <a href="/wiki/Four_Members" title="Four Members">Four Members</a>, a form of parliament that exercised considerable power in Flanders.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Increasingly powerful from the 12th century, the territory's autonomous urban <a href="/wiki/Medieval_commune" title="Medieval commune">communes</a> were instrumental in defeating a French attempt at annexation (1300–1302), finally defeating the French in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Golden_Spurs" title="Battle of the Golden Spurs">Battle of the Golden Spurs</a> (11 July 1302), near <a href="/wiki/Kortrijk" title="Kortrijk">Kortrijk</a>. Two years later, the <a href="/wiki/Franco-Flemish_War_(1297-1305)" class="mw-redirect" title="Franco-Flemish War (1297-1305)">uprising was defeated</a> and Flanders indirectly remained part of the French Crown. Flemish prosperity waned in the following century, due to widespread European population decline following the <a href="/wiki/Black_Death" title="Black Death">Black Death</a> of 1348, the disruption of trade during the Anglo-French <a href="/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War" title="Hundred Years' War">Hundred Years' War</a> (1337–1453), and increased English cloth production. Flemish weavers had gone over to <a href="/wiki/Worstead" title="Worstead">Worstead</a> and <a href="/wiki/North_Walsham" title="North Walsham">North Walsham</a> in Norfolk in the 12th century and established the woolen industry. </p><p>The County of Flanders started to take control of the neighbouring <a href="/wiki/County_of_Brabant" class="mw-redirect" title="County of Brabant">County of Brabant</a> during the life of <a href="/wiki/Louis_II,_Count_of_Flanders" title="Louis II, Count of Flanders">Louis II, Count of Flanders</a> (1330–1384), who fought his sister-in-law <a href="/wiki/Joanna,_Duchess_of_Brabant" title="Joanna, Duchess of Brabant">Joanna, Duchess of Brabant</a> for control of it. </p><p>The entire area, straddling the ancient boundary of France and the Holy Roman Empire, later passed to <a href="/wiki/Philip_the_Bold" title="Philip the Bold">Philip the Bold</a> in 1384, the <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundy" title="Duchy of Burgundy">Duke of Burgundy</a>, with his capital in <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>. The titles were eventually more clearly united under his grandson <a href="/wiki/Philip_the_Good" title="Philip the Good">Philip the Good</a> (1396 – 1467). This large Duchy passed in <a href="/wiki/Mary_of_Burgundy" title="Mary of Burgundy">1477</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Habsburg" class="mw-redirect" title="Habsburg">Habsburg</a> dynasty, and in <a href="/wiki/Philip_II_of_Spain" title="Philip II of Spain">1556</a> to the kings of Spain. Western and southern districts of Flanders were confirmed under French rule under successive treaties of <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees" title="Treaty of the Pyrenees">1659</a> (Artois), <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Aix-la-Chapelle_(1668)" title="Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)">1668</a> and <a href="/wiki/Treaties_of_Nijmegen" title="Treaties of Nijmegen">1678</a>. </p><p>The County of Loon, approximately the modern Flemish province of Limburg, remained independent of France, forming a part of the <a href="/wiki/Prince-Bishopric_of_Li%C3%A8ge" title="Prince-Bishopric of Liège">Prince-Bishopric of Liège</a> until the French Revolution, but surrounded by the Burgundians, and under their influence. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Low_Countries">Low Countries</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Low Countries"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Low_Countries" title="Low Countries">Low Countries</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Beeldenstorm">Beeldenstorm</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Beeldenstorm"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1500, <a href="/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor">Charles V</a> was born in <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a>. He inherited the <a href="/wiki/Seventeen_Provinces" title="Seventeen Provinces">Seventeen Provinces</a> (1506), Spain (1516) with its colonies and in 1519 was elected <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Holy Roman Emperor">Holy Roman Emperor</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Charles V issued the <a href="/wiki/Pragmatic_Sanction_of_1549" title="Pragmatic Sanction of 1549">Pragmatic Sanction of 1549</a>, which established the Low Countries as the Seventeen Provinces (or <a href="/wiki/Spanish_Netherlands" title="Spanish Netherlands">Spanish Netherlands</a> in its broad sense) as an entity separate from the <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> and from France. In 1556 Charles V abdicated due to ill health (he suffered from crippling <a href="/wiki/Gout" title="Gout">gout</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Spain and the Seventeen Provinces went to his son, <a href="/wiki/Philip_II_of_Spain" title="Philip II of Spain">Philip II of Spain</a>. </p><p>Over the first half of the 16th century <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> grew to become the second-largest European city north of the <a href="/wiki/Alps" title="Alps">Alps</a> by 1560. Antwerp was the richest city in Europe at this time.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> According to Luc-Normand Tellier "It is estimated that the port of Antwerp was earning the Spanish crown seven times more revenues than the <a href="/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas" title="Spanish colonization of the Americas">Americas</a>."<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg/220px-Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg/330px-Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg/440px-Incendio_Ayuntamiento_Amberes.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1905" data-file-height="1444" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Sack_of_Antwerp" title="Sack of Antwerp">Sack of Antwerp</a> in 1576, in which about 7,000 people died</figcaption></figure> <p>Meanwhile, Protestantism had reached the Low Countries. Among the wealthy traders of Antwerp, the <a href="/wiki/Lutheranism" title="Lutheranism">Lutheran</a> beliefs of the German <a href="/wiki/Hanseatic_(class)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hanseatic (class)">Hanseatic</a> traders found appeal, perhaps partly for economic reasons. The spread of Protestantism in this city was aided by the presence of an <a href="/wiki/Augustinians" title="Augustinians">Augustinian</a> cloister (founded 1514) in the St. Andries quarter. Luther, an Augustinian himself, had taught some of the monks, and his works were in print by 1518. The first Lutheran martyrs came from Antwerp. The <a href="/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" class="mw-redirect" title="Protestant Reformation">Reformation</a> resulted in consecutive but overlapping waves of reform: a Lutheran, followed by a militant <a href="/wiki/Anabaptist" class="mw-redirect" title="Anabaptist">Anabaptist</a>, then a <a href="/wiki/Mennonite" class="mw-redirect" title="Mennonite">Mennonite</a>, and finally a <a href="/wiki/Calvinism" class="mw-redirect" title="Calvinism">Calvinistic</a> movement. These movements existed independently of each other. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Philip_II_of_Spain" title="Philip II of Spain">Philip II</a>, a devout Catholic and self-proclaimed protector of the <a href="/wiki/Counter-Reformation" title="Counter-Reformation">Counter-Reformation</a>, <a href="/wiki/Suppression_of_dissent" class="mw-redirect" title="Suppression of dissent">suppressed</a> Calvinism in Flanders, <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Brabant" title="Duchy of Brabant">Brabant</a> and Holland (what is now approximately <a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Belgium)" title="Limburg (Belgium)">Belgian Limburg</a> was part of the <a href="/wiki/Prince-Bishopric_of_Li%C3%A8ge" title="Prince-Bishopric of Liège">Prince-Bishopric of Liège</a> and was Catholic <i>de facto</i>). In 1566, the wave of <a href="/wiki/Iconoclasm" title="Iconoclasm">iconoclasm</a> known as the <i><a href="/wiki/Beeldenstorm" title="Beeldenstorm">Beeldenstorm</a></i> was a prelude to religious war between Catholics and Protestants, especially the Anabaptists. The <i>Beeldenstorm</i> started in what is now <a href="/wiki/French_Flanders" title="French Flanders">French Flanders</a>, with open-air sermons (<a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>: <i lang="nl">hagepreken</i>) that spread through the Low Countries, first to Antwerp and Ghent, and from there further east and north. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Eighty_Years'_War_and_its_consequences"><span id="The_Eighty_Years.27_War_and_its_consequences"></span>The Eighty Years' War and its consequences</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: The Eighty Years' War and its consequences"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Subsequently, Philip II of Spain sent <a href="/wiki/Fernando_%C3%81lvarez_de_Toledo,_3rd_Duke_of_Alba" title="Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba">the Duke</a> of <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Alba" class="mw-redirect" title="Duchy of Alba">Alba</a> to the Provinces to repress the revolt. Alba recaptured the southern part of the Provinces, who signed the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Arras" title="Union of Arras">Union of Atrecht</a>, which meant that they would accept the Spanish government on condition of more freedom. But the northern part of the provinces signed the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Utrecht" title="Union of Utrecht">Union of Utrecht</a> and settled in 1581 the <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_the_Seven_United_Netherlands" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of the Seven United Netherlands">Republic of the Seven United Netherlands</a>. Spanish troops quickly started fighting the rebels, and the Spanish armies conquered the important trading cities of Bruges and Ghent. Antwerp, which was then the most important port in the world, also had to be conquered. But before the revolt was defeated, a war between Spain and England broke out, forcing Spanish troops to halt their advance. On 17 August 1585, Antwerp fell. This ended the Eighty Years' War for the (from now on) <a href="/wiki/Southern_Netherlands" title="Southern Netherlands">Southern Netherlands</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Republic" title="Dutch Republic">United Provinces</a> (the Northern Netherlands) fought on until 1648 – the <a href="/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia" title="Peace of Westphalia">Peace of Westphalia</a>. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg/220px-Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg" decoding="async" width="220" height="108" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg/330px-Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg/440px-Het_Kranenhoofd_aan_de_Schelde_te_Antwerpen_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1699.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="3976" data-file-height="1954" /></a><figcaption>Winter scene at the Scheldt river in Antwerp by <a href="/wiki/Sebastian_Vrancx" class="mw-redirect" title="Sebastian Vrancx">Sebastian Vrancx</a>, 1622</figcaption></figure> <p>During the war with England, the rebels from the north, strengthened by refugees from the south, started a campaign to reclaim areas lost to <a href="/wiki/Philip_II_of_Spain" title="Philip II of Spain">Philip II</a>'s Spanish troops. They conquered a considerable part of Brabant (the later <a href="/wiki/North_Brabant" title="North Brabant">North Brabant</a> of the Netherlands), and the south bank of the Scheldt estuary (<a href="/wiki/Zeelandic_Flanders" title="Zeelandic Flanders">Zeelandic Flanders</a>), before being stopped by Spanish troops. The front at the end of this war stabilized and became the border between present-day Belgium and the Netherlands. The Dutch (as they later became known) had managed to reclaim enough of Spanish-controlled Flanders to close off the river <a href="/wiki/Scheldt" title="Scheldt">Scheldt</a>, effectively cutting Antwerp off from its trade routes. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Fall_of_Antwerp" title="Fall of Antwerp">fall of Antwerp</a> to the Spanish and the closing of the <a href="/wiki/Scheldt" title="Scheldt">Scheldt</a> caused considerable emigration.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>f<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Many Calvinist merchants of Antwerp and other Flemish cities left Flanders and migrated north. Many of them settled in <a href="/wiki/Amsterdam" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a>, which was a smaller port, important only in the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Baltic_trade&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Baltic trade (page does not exist)">Baltic trade</a>. The Flemish exiles helped to rapidly transform Amsterdam into one of the world's most important ports. This is why the exodus is sometimes described as "<i>creating a new Antwerp</i>". </p><p>Flanders and Brabant, went into a period of relative decline from the time of the <a href="/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War" title="Thirty Years' War">Thirty Years' War</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FiifAntwHist_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FiifAntwHist-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the Northern Netherlands, the mass emigration from Flanders and Brabant became an important driving force behind the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age" title="Dutch Golden Age">Dutch Golden Age</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Southern_Netherlands_(1581–1795)"><span id="Southern_Netherlands_.281581.E2.80.931795.29"></span>Southern Netherlands (1581–1795)</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Southern Netherlands (1581–1795)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Flandria_(Vlaanderen_Flanders)_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Flandria_%28Vlaanderen_Flanders%29_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg/220px-Flandria_%28Vlaanderen_Flanders%29_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="175" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Flandria_%28Vlaanderen_Flanders%29_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg/330px-Flandria_%28Vlaanderen_Flanders%29_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Flandria_%28Vlaanderen_Flanders%29_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg/440px-Flandria_%28Vlaanderen_Flanders%29_1584_Map_by_Abraham_Ortelius.jpg 2x" data-file-width="12583" data-file-height="9989" /></a><figcaption>1584 map of the county of Flanders</figcaption></figure> <p>Although arts remained relatively impressive for another century with <a href="/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens" title="Peter Paul Rubens">Peter Paul Rubens</a> (1577–1640) and <a href="/wiki/Anthony_van_Dyck" title="Anthony van Dyck">Anthony van Dyck</a>, Flanders lost its former economic and intellectual power under Spanish, Austrian, and French rule. Heavy taxation and rigid imperial political control compounded the effects of industrial stagnation and Spanish-Dutch and Franco-Austrian conflict. The Southern Netherlands suffered severely under the <a href="/wiki/Franco-Dutch_War" title="Franco-Dutch War">Franco-Dutch War</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nine_Years%27_War" title="Nine Years' War">Nine Years' War</a> and <a href="/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession" title="War of the Spanish Succession">War of the Spanish Succession</a>. But under the reign of Empress Maria-Theresia, these lands again flourished economically. Influenced by <a href="/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment" title="Age of Enlightenment">the Enlightenment</a>, the Austrian Emperor <a href="/wiki/Joseph_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor">Joseph II</a> was the first sovereign who had been in the Southern Netherlands since King Philip II of Spain left them in 1559. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="French_Revolution_and_Napoleonic_France_(1795–1815)"><span id="French_Revolution_and_Napoleonic_France_.281795.E2.80.931815.29"></span>French Revolution and Napoleonic France (1795–1815)</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: French Revolution and Napoleonic France (1795–1815)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1794, the <a href="/wiki/History_of_France#Revolution" title="History of France">French Republican Army</a> started using Antwerp as the northernmost naval port of France.<sup id="cite_ref-FiifAntwHist_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FiifAntwHist-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The following year, France officially annexed Flanders as the <i><a href="/wiki/The_130_d%C3%A9partements" class="mw-redirect" title="The 130 départements">départements</a></i> of <a href="/wiki/Lys_(d%C3%A9partement)" class="mw-redirect" title="Lys (département)">Lys</a>, <a href="/wiki/Escaut_(d%C3%A9partement)" class="mw-redirect" title="Escaut (département)">Escaut</a>, <a href="/wiki/Deux-N%C3%A8thes" title="Deux-Nèthes">Deux-Nèthes</a>, <a href="/wiki/Meuse-Inf%C3%A9rieure" title="Meuse-Inférieure">Meuse-Inférieure</a> and <a href="/wiki/Dyle_(d%C3%A9partement)" class="mw-redirect" title="Dyle (département)">Dyle</a>. Obligatory (French) army service for all men aged 16–25 years was a main reason for the uprising against the French in 1798, known as the <i>Boerenkrijg</i> (<i>Peasants' War</i>), with the heaviest fighting in the <a href="/wiki/Campine" title="Campine">Campine</a> area. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="United_Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands_(1815–1830)"><span id="United_Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands_.281815.E2.80.931830.29"></span>United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830)</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>After the defeat of <a href="/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon Bonaparte</a> at the 1815 <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo" title="Battle of Waterloo">Battle of Waterloo</a> in <a href="/wiki/Province_of_Brabant" title="Province of Brabant">Brabant</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna" title="Congress of Vienna">Congress of Vienna</a> (1815) gave sovereignty over the <a href="/wiki/Austrian_Netherlands" title="Austrian Netherlands">Austrian Netherlands</a> – Belgium minus the <a href="/wiki/East_Cantons" class="mw-redirect" title="East Cantons">East Cantons</a> and Luxembourg – to the <a href="/wiki/Sovereign_Principality_of_the_United_Netherlands" title="Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands">United Netherlands</a> (Dutch: <i>Verenigde Nederlanden</i>) under Prince William I of Orange Nassau, making him <a href="/wiki/William_I_of_the_Netherlands" title="William I of the Netherlands">William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands</a>. William I started rapid industrialisation of the southern parts of the Kingdom. But the political system failed to forge a true union between the north and south. Most of the southern <a href="/wiki/Bourgeoisie" title="Bourgeoisie">bourgeoisie</a> was Roman Catholic and French-speaking, while the north was mainly Protestant and Dutch-speaking. </p><p>In 1815, the Dutch Senate was reinstated (Dutch: <i>Eerste Kamer der Staaten Generaal</i>). The nobility, mainly coming from the south, became more and more estranged from their northern colleagues. Resentment grew between the Roman Catholics from the south and the Protestants from the north, and also between the powerful liberal bourgeoisie from the south and their more moderate colleagues from the north. On 25 August 1830 (after the showing of the opera '<a href="/wiki/La_Muette_de_Portici" class="mw-redirect" title="La Muette de Portici">La Muette de Portici</a>' of <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Auber" title="Daniel Auber">Daniel Auber</a> in Brussels) the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_Revolution" title="Belgian Revolution">Belgian Revolution</a> sparked. On 4 October 1830, the <a href="/wiki/Provisional_Government_of_Belgium" title="Provisional Government of Belgium">Provisional Government</a> (Dutch: <i>Voorlopig Bewind</i>) proclaimed its independence, which was later confirmed by the <a href="/wiki/National_Congress_of_Belgium" title="National Congress of Belgium">National Congress</a> that issued a new Liberal Constitution and declared the new state a <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_Monarchy" class="mw-redirect" title="Constitutional Monarchy">Constitutional Monarchy</a>, under the House of <a href="/wiki/Saxe-Coburg" title="Saxe-Coburg">Saxe-Coburg</a>. Flanders now became part of the Kingdom of Belgium, which was recognized by the major European Powers on 20 January 1831. The cessation was recognized by the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands" title="United Kingdom of the Netherlands">United Kingdom of the Netherlands</a> on 19 April 1839. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Kingdom_of_Belgium">Kingdom of Belgium</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Kingdom of Belgium"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/History_of_Belgium" title="History of Belgium">History of Belgium</a></div> <p>In 1830, the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_Revolution" title="Belgian Revolution">Belgian Revolution</a> led to the splitting up of the two countries. Belgium was confirmed as an independent state by the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_London,_1839" class="mw-redirect" title="Treaty of London, 1839">Treaty of London</a> of 1839, but deprived of the eastern half of Limburg (now Dutch Limburg), and the Eastern half of Luxembourg (now the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg). Sovereignty over <a href="/wiki/Zeelandic_Flanders" title="Zeelandic Flanders">Zeelandic Flanders</a>, south of the <a href="/wiki/Westerscheldt" class="mw-redirect" title="Westerscheldt">Westerscheldt</a> river delta, was left with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which was allowed to levy a toll on all traffic to Antwerp harbour until 1863.<sup id="cite_ref-FiifAntwHist_22-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FiifAntwHist-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Rise_of_the_Flemish_Movement">Rise of the Flemish Movement</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Rise of the Flemish Movement"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Movement" title="Flemish Movement">Flemish Movement</a></div> <p>In 1873, Dutch became an official language in public secondary schools. In 1898, Dutch and French were declared equal languages in laws and Royal orders. In 1930, the first Flemish university was opened.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The first official translation of the Belgian constitution in Dutch was not published until 1967. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="World_War_I_and_its_consequences">World War I and its consequences</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: World War I and its consequences"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg/220px-Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="310" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg/330px-Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg/440px-Gesneuvelden_Koksijde_-_Belgi%C3%AB.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2953" data-file-height="4157" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Koksijde" title="Koksijde">Koksijde</a>, a memorial to soldiers killed in <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Flanders (and Belgium as a whole) saw some of the greatest loss of life on the <a href="/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a> of the <a href="/wiki/First_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="First World War">First World War</a>, in particular from the three battles of <a href="/wiki/Ypres" title="Ypres">Ypres</a>. </p><p>The war strengthened Flemish identity and consciousness. The occupying German authorities took several Flemish-friendly measures. The resulting suffering of the war is remembered by Flemish organizations during the yearly <a href="/wiki/Ijzerbedevaart" class="mw-redirect" title="Ijzerbedevaart">Yser pilgrimage</a> in <a href="/wiki/Diksmuide" title="Diksmuide">Diksmuide</a> at the monument of the <a href="/wiki/IJzertoren" class="mw-redirect" title="IJzertoren">Yser Tower</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Right-wing_nationalism_in_the_interbellum_and_World_War_II">Right-wing nationalism in the interbellum and World War II</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Right-wing nationalism in the interbellum and World War II"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Flemish_National_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemish National Union">Flemish National Union</a>, <a href="/wiki/Verdinaso" title="Verdinaso">Verdinaso</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dietsland" class="mw-redirect" title="Dietsland">Dietsland</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Cyriel_Verschaeve" title="Cyriel Verschaeve">Cyriel Verschaeve</a></div> <p>During the interbellum and <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>, several right-wing fascist and/or national-socialistic parties emerged in Belgium. Since these parties were promised more rights for the Flemings by the German government during World War II, many of them collaborated with the Nazi regime. After the war, collaborators (or people who were <i>Zwart</i>, "Black" during the war) were prosecuted and punished, among them many Flemish nationalists whose main political goal had been the emancipation of Flanders. As a result, until today Flemish nationalism is often associated with right-wing. Flemish nationalism is however a direct consequence of the events of the years prior to the first World War, in which many were oppressed by the French speaking majority. This ultimately gave way to a rising feeling of cultural autonomy and even a sense of a nationalism. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Flemish_autonomy">Flemish autonomy</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Flemish autonomy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/State_reform_in_Belgium" title="State reform in Belgium">State reform in Belgium</a>, <a href="/wiki/2007%E2%80%932011_Belgian_political_crisis" title="2007–2011 Belgian political crisis">2007–2011 Belgian political crisis</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Partition_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="Partition of Belgium">Partition of Belgium</a></div> <p>After World War II, the differences between Dutch-speaking and French-speaking Belgians became clear in a number of conflicts, such as the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Question" class="mw-redirect" title="Royal Question">Royal Question</a>, the question whether King Leopold III should return (which most Flemings supported but Walloons did not) and the use of Dutch in the <a href="/wiki/Catholic_University_of_Leuven_(1834%E2%80%931968)" title="Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)">Catholic University of Leuven</a>. As a result, several <a href="/wiki/State_reform_in_Belgium" title="State reform in Belgium">state reforms</a> took place in the second half of the 20th century, which transformed the unitary Belgium into a federal state with <a href="/wiki/Communities,_regions_and_language_areas_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium">communities, regions and language areas</a>. This resulted also in the establishment of a <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a> and <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Government</a>. During the 1970s, all major political parties split into a Dutch and French-speaking party. </p><p>Several Flemish parties still advocate for more Flemish autonomy, some even for Flemish independence (see <a href="/wiki/Partition_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="Partition of Belgium">Partition of Belgium</a>), whereas the French-speakers would like to keep the current state as it is. Recent governments (such as <a href="/wiki/Verhofstadt_I_Government" title="Verhofstadt I Government">Verhofstadt I Government</a>) have transferred certain federal competences to the regional governments. </p><p>On 13 December 2006, a <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Secession_hoax" title="Flemish Secession hoax">spoof news broadcast</a> by the Belgian Francophone public broadcasting station <a href="/wiki/RTBF" title="RTBF">RTBF</a> announced that Flanders had decided to declare independence from Belgium. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Belgian_federal_election,_2007" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgian federal election, 2007">2007 federal elections</a> showed more support for Flemish autonomy, marking the start of the <a href="/wiki/2007%E2%80%932011_Belgian_political_crisis" title="2007–2011 Belgian political crisis">2007–2011 Belgian political crisis</a>. All the political parties that advocated a significant increase of Flemish autonomy gained votes as well as seats in the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_federal_parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgian federal parliament">Belgian federal parliament</a>. This was especially the case for <a href="/wiki/Christen-Democratisch_en_Vlaams" class="mw-redirect" title="Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams">Christian Democratic and Flemish</a> and <a href="/wiki/New_Flemish_Alliance" title="New Flemish Alliance">New Flemish Alliance</a> (N-VA) (who had participated on a shared <a href="/wiki/Electoral_list" title="Electoral list">electoral list</a>). The trend continued during the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_regional_elections,_2009" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgian regional elections, 2009">2009 regional elections</a>, where CD&V and N-VA were the clear winners in Flanders, and N-VA became even the largest party in Flanders and Belgium during the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_federal_election,_2010" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgian federal election, 2010">2010 federal elections</a>, followed by the <a href="/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Belgian_government_formation" title="2010–2011 Belgian government formation">longest-ever government formation</a> after which the <a href="/wiki/Di_Rupo_I_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="Di Rupo I Government">Di Rupo I Government</a> was formed excluding N-VA. Eight parties agreed on a <a href="/wiki/Sixth_Belgian_state_reform" title="Sixth Belgian state reform">sixth state reform</a> which aim to solve the disputes between Flemings and French-speakers. However, the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_provincial_and_municipal_elections,_2012" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgian provincial and municipal elections, 2012">2012 provincial and municipal elections</a> continued the trend of N-VA becoming the biggest party in Flanders. </p><p>However, sociological studies show no parallel between the rise of nationalist parties and popular support for their agenda. Instead, a recent study revealed a majority in favour of returning regional competences to the federal level.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Government_and_politics">Government and politics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Government and politics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Communities,_regions_and_language_areas_of_Belgium" class="mw-redirect" title="Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium">Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kris_Peeters_675.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Kris_Peeters_675.jpg/220px-Kris_Peeters_675.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="331" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Kris_Peeters_675.jpg/330px-Kris_Peeters_675.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Kris_Peeters_675.jpg/440px-Kris_Peeters_675.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4088" data-file-height="6144" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Kris_Peeters" title="Kris Peeters">Kris Peeters</a>, former <a href="/wiki/Minister-President_of_Flanders" title="Minister-President of Flanders">Minister-President of Flanders</a>, promoting <a href="/wiki/Flanders_in_Action" title="Flanders in Action">Flanders in Action</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Both the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Flemish Community</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a> are constitutional institutions of the Kingdom of Belgium, exercising certain powers within their jurisdiction, granted following a series of <a href="/wiki/State_reform_in_Belgium" title="State reform in Belgium">state reforms</a>. In practice, the Flemish Community and Region together form a single body, with its own <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">parliament</a> and <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">government</a>, as the Community legally absorbed the competences of the Region. The parliament is a directly elected legislative body composed of 124 representatives. The government consists of up to 11 members and is presided by a <a href="/wiki/Minister-President_of_Flanders" title="Minister-President of Flanders">Minister-President</a>, currently <a href="/wiki/Geert_Bourgeois" title="Geert Bourgeois">Geert Bourgeois</a> (<a href="/wiki/New_Flemish_Alliance" title="New Flemish Alliance">New Flemish Alliance</a>) leading a coalition of his party (N-VA) with <a href="/wiki/Christen-Democratisch_en_Vlaams" class="mw-redirect" title="Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams">Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams</a> (CD&V) and <a href="/wiki/Open_Vlaamse_Liberalen_en_Democraten" class="mw-redirect" title="Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten">Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten</a> (Open VLD). </p><p>The area of the Flemish Community is represented on the maps above, including the area of the <a href="/wiki/Brussels-Capital_Region" class="mw-redirect" title="Brussels-Capital Region">Brussels-Capital Region</a> (hatched on the relevant map). Roughly, the Flemish Community exercises competences originally oriented towards the individuals of the Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), <a href="/wiki/Flemish_education" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemish education">education</a>, and the use of the language. Extensions to personal matters less directly associated with language comprise sports, health policy (curative and preventive medicine), and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, etc.)<sup id="cite_ref-fedgov2_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fedgov2-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The area of the Flemish Region is represented on the maps above. It has a population of more than 6 million (excluding the Dutch-speaking community in the Brussels Region, grey on the map for it is not a part of the Flemish Region). Roughly, the Flemish Region is responsible for territorial issues in a broad sense, including economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport, the environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit, and foreign trade. It supervises the provinces, municipalities, and intercommunal utility companies.<sup id="cite_ref-fedgov3_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fedgov3-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The number of Dutch-speaking <a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemish people</a> in the Capital Region is estimated to be between 11% and 15% (official figures do not exist as there is no language census and no official subnationality). According to a survey conducted by the <a href="/wiki/Universit%C3%A9_catholique_de_Louvain" class="mw-redirect" title="Université catholique de Louvain">University of Louvain</a> (UCLouvain) in <a href="/wiki/Louvain-la-Neuve" title="Louvain-la-Neuve">Louvain-la-Neuve</a> and published in June 2006, 51% of respondents from Brussels claimed to be bilingual, even if they do not have Dutch as their first language.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> They are governed by the Brussels Region for economics affairs and by the Flemish Community for educational and cultural issues. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg/220px-Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg/330px-Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg/440px-Brussels_-_Vlaams_Parlement.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2953" data-file-height="2215" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a></figcaption></figure> <p>As mentioned above, Flemish institutions such as the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a> and <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Government</a>, represent the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. The region and the community thus <i>de facto</i> share the same parliament and the same government. All these institutions are based in Brussels. Nevertheless, both types of subdivisions (the Community and the Region) still exist legally and the distinction between both is important for the people living in Brussels. Members of the Flemish Parliament who were elected in the Brussels Region cannot vote on affairs belonging to the competences of the Flemish Region. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Official_language" title="Official language">official language</a> for all Flemish institutions is <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>. French enjoys a limited official recognition in <a href="/wiki/Municipalities_with_language_facilities" title="Municipalities with language facilities">a dozen municipalities</a> along the borders with French-speaking Wallonia, and a large recognition in the bilingual Brussels Region. French is widely known in Flanders, with 59% claiming to know French according to a survey conducted by <a href="/wiki/Universit%C3%A9_catholique_de_Louvain" class="mw-redirect" title="Université catholique de Louvain">UCLouvain</a> in <a href="/wiki/Louvain-la-Neuve" title="Louvain-la-Neuve">Louvain-la-Neuve</a> and published in June 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Politics">Politics</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Politics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Flanders" title="Politics of Flanders">Politics of Flanders</a> and <a href="/wiki/Political_parties_in_Flanders" title="Political parties in Flanders">Political parties in Flanders</a></div> <p>Historically, the political parties reflected the <a href="/wiki/Pillarisation" title="Pillarisation">pillarisation</a> (<i>verzuiling</i>) in Flemish society. The traditional political parties of the three pillars are <a href="/wiki/Christian-Democratic_and_Flemish" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian-Democratic and Flemish">Christian-Democratic and Flemish</a> (CD&V), the <a href="/wiki/Open_Flemish_Liberals_and_Democrats" title="Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats">Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats</a> (Open Vld) and the <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Party_%E2%80%93_Differently" class="mw-redirect" title="Socialist Party – Differently">Socialist Party – Differently</a> (sp.a). </p><p>However, during the last half century, many new political parties were founded in Flanders. One of the first was the nationalist <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Union_(Belgium)" title="People's Union (Belgium)">People's Union</a>, of which the right nationalist <a href="/wiki/Vlaams_Blok" title="Vlaams Blok">Flemish Block</a> (now <a href="/wiki/Vlaams_Belang" title="Vlaams Belang">Flemish Interest</a>) split off, and which later dissolved into the now-defunct Spirit or <a href="/wiki/Social_Liberal_Party_(Belgium)" class="mw-redirect" title="Social Liberal Party (Belgium)">Social Liberal Party</a>, moderate nationalism rather left of the spectrum, on the one hand, and the <a href="/wiki/New_Flemish_Alliance" title="New Flemish Alliance">New Flemish Alliance</a> (N-VA), more conservative but independentist, on the other hand. Other parties are the leftist alternative/ecological <a href="/wiki/Groen!" class="mw-redirect" title="Groen!">Green</a> party; the short-lived anarchistic libertarian spark <a href="/wiki/ROSSEM" title="ROSSEM">ROSSEM</a> and more recently the conservative-right liberal <a href="/wiki/Lijst_Dedecker" class="mw-redirect" title="Lijst Dedecker">List Dedecker</a>, founded by <a href="/wiki/Jean-Marie_Dedecker" title="Jean-Marie Dedecker">Jean-Marie Dedecker</a>, and the socialist <a href="/wiki/Workers%27_Party_of_Belgium" title="Workers' Party of Belgium">Workers' Party</a>. </p><p>Particularly the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Block" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemish Block">Flemish Block</a>/<a href="/wiki/Flemish_Interest" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemish Interest">Flemish Interest</a> has seen electoral success roughly around the turn of the century, and the <a href="/wiki/New_Flemish_Alliance" title="New Flemish Alliance">New Flemish Alliance</a> during the last few elections, even becoming the largest party in the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_federal_election,_2010" class="mw-redirect" title="Belgian federal election, 2010">2010 federal elections</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Flemish_independence">Flemish independence</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Flemish independence"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Movement" title="Flemish Movement">Flemish Movement</a></div> <div class="PieChartTemplate thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px"> <div class="mw-no-invert" style="background-color:white;margin:auto;position:relative;width:200px;height:200px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:100px;border:1px solid black;transform:scaleX(-1)rotate(-90deg)"> <div style="border:solid transparent;background-color:initial;position:absolute;width:100px;line-height:0;left:100px; top:100px; border-width:100px 0 0 1589.4544843865px; border-left-color:maroon"></div> <div style="position:absolute;line-height:0;border-style:solid;left:0;top:0;border-width:0 200px 100px 0;border-color:maroon"></div> <div style="position:absolute;line-height:0;border-style:solid;left:0;top:0;border-width:0 100px 200px 0;border-color:maroon"></div><div style="border:solid transparent;background-color:initial;position:absolute;width:100px;line-height:0;left:100px; top:100px; border-width:100px 0 0 157.57478599687px; border-left-color:red"></div> <div style="position:absolute;line-height:0;border-style:solid;left:0;top:0;border-width:0 200px 100px 0;border-color:red"></div> <div style="position:absolute;line-height:0;border-style:solid;left:0;top:0;border-width:0 100px 200px 0;border-color:red"></div><div style="border:solid transparent;background-color:initial;position:absolute;width:100px;line-height:0;right:100px; top:100px; border-width:99.211470131448px 12.53332335643px 0 0; border-top-color:lime"></div> <div style="position:absolute;line-height:0;border-style:solid;left:0;top:0;border-width:0 200px 100px 0;border-color:lime"></div><div style="border:solid transparent;background-color:initial;position:absolute;width:100px;line-height:0;left:100px; top:4.8943483704846px; border-width:0 0 95.105651629515px 30.901699437495px; border-bottom-color:green"></div> </div> <div class="thumbcaption"> <p>2011 survey by <i><a href="/wiki/Het_Nieuwsblad" title="Het Nieuwsblad">Het Nieuwsblad</a></i> and <a href="/w/index.php?title=Koppen_(TV_program)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Koppen (TV program) (page does not exist)"><i>Koppen</i></a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koppen_(televisieprogramma)" class="extiw" title="nl:Koppen (televisieprogramma)">nl</a>]</span> on whether Flemings feel proud of their Belgian nationality.<sup id="cite_ref-survey_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-survey-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r981673959">.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}</style><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:green; color:white;"> </span> Very proud (20%)</div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:lime; color:black;"> </span> Proud (53%)</div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:red; color:black;"> </span> Not proud (18%)</div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:maroon; color:white;"> </span> Very not proud (8%)</div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend"><span class="legend-color mw-no-invert" style="background-color:white; color:black;"> </span> No opinion (1%)</div> </div> </div></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg/220px-Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="324" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg/330px-Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg/440px-Menen_-_Border_crossing_1_cropped.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1276" data-file-height="1879" /></a><figcaption>Border crossing sign near <a href="/wiki/Menen" title="Menen">Menen</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>For some inhabitants, Flanders is more than just a geographical area or the federal institutions (Flemish Community and Region). Supporters of the Flemish Movement even call it a nation and pursue Flemish independence, but most people (approximately 75%) living in Flanders say they are proud to be Belgian and opposed to the dissolution of Belgium. 20% is even <i>very proud</i>, while some 25% are not proud and 8% is <i>very not proud</i>. Mostly students claim to be proud of their nationality, with 90% of them saying so. Of the people older than 55, 31% claim to be proud of being a Belgian. Particular opposition to secession comes from women, people employed in <a href="/wiki/Service_(economics)" title="Service (economics)">services</a>, the highest social classes and people from big families. Strongest of all opposing the notion are housekeepers—both housewives and house husbands.<sup id="cite_ref-survey_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-survey-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 2012, the Flemish government drafted a "Charter for Flanders" (<i>Handvest voor Vlaanderen</i>)<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> of which the first article says <i>"Vlaanderen is een deelstaat van de federale Staat België en maakt deel uit van de Europese Unie."</i> ("Flanders is a <a href="/wiki/Federated_state" title="Federated state">component state</a> of the federal State of Belgium and is part of the European Union"). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Geography">Geography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Geography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Belgium" title="Geography of Belgium">Geography of Belgium</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_(For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin)_2011.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_%28For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin%29_2011.jpg/220px-Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_%28For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin%29_2011.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_%28For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin%29_2011.jpg/330px-Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_%28For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin%29_2011.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_%28For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin%29_2011.jpg/440px-Zoni%C3%ABnwoud_bospad_%28For%C3%AAt_de_Soignes_chemin%29_2011.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3872" data-file-height="2592" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Sonian_Forest" title="Sonian Forest">Sonian Forest</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Flanders shares its borders with Wallonia in the south, Brussels being an enclave within the Flemish Region. The rest of the border is shared with the <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> (<a href="/wiki/Zeelandic_Flanders" title="Zeelandic Flanders">Zeelandic Flanders</a> in <a href="/wiki/Zeeland" title="Zeeland">Zeeland</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_Brabant" title="North Brabant">North Brabant</a> and <a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Netherlands)" title="Limburg (Netherlands)">Limburg</a>) in the north and east, and with France (<a href="/wiki/French_Flanders" title="French Flanders">French Flanders</a> in <a href="/wiki/Hauts-de-France" title="Hauts-de-France">Hauts-de-France</a>) and the <a href="/wiki/North_Sea" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> in the west. <a href="/wiki/Voeren" title="Voeren">Voeren</a> is an <a href="/wiki/Exclave" class="mw-redirect" title="Exclave">exclave</a> of Flanders between Wallonia and the Netherlands, while <a href="/wiki/Baarle-Hertog" title="Baarle-Hertog">Baarle-Hertog</a> in Flanders forms a complicated series of enclaves and exclaves with <a href="/wiki/Baarle-Nassau" title="Baarle-Nassau">Baarle-Nassau</a> in the Netherlands. Germany, although bordering Wallonia and close to <a href="/wiki/Voeren" title="Voeren">Voeren</a> in Limburg, does not share a border with Flanders. The <a href="/wiki/German-speaking_Community_of_Belgium" title="German-speaking Community of Belgium">German-speaking Community of Belgium</a>, also close to Voeren, does not border Flanders either. (The commune of <a href="/wiki/Plombi%C3%A8res" title="Plombières">Plombières</a>, majority French speaking, lies between them.) </p><p>Flanders is a highly urbanised area, lying completely within the <a href="/wiki/Blue_Banana" title="Blue Banana">Blue Banana</a>. <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a> and <a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a> are the largest cities of the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a>. <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> has a population of more than 500,000 citizens and is the largest city, <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a> has a population of 250,000 citizens, followed by <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a> with 120,000 citizens and <a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a> counts almost 100,000 citizens.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a> is a part of Flanders as far as community matters are concerned, but does not belong to the Flemish Region. </p><p>Flanders has two main geographical regions: the coastal <a href="/wiki/Yser" title="Yser">Yser</a> basin plain in the north-west and a central plain. The first consists mainly of sand dunes and <a href="/wiki/Clay" title="Clay">clayey</a> <a href="/wiki/Alluvial" class="mw-redirect" title="Alluvial">alluvial</a> soils in the <a href="/wiki/Polder" title="Polder">polders</a>. Polders are areas of land, close to or below sea level that have been reclaimed from the sea, from which they are protected by <a href="/wiki/Dike_(construction)" class="mw-redirect" title="Dike (construction)">dikes</a> or, a little further inland, by fields that have been drained with canals. With similar soils along the lowermost <a href="/wiki/Scheldt" title="Scheldt">Scheldt</a> basin starts the central plain, a smooth, slowly rising fertile area irrigated by many waterways that reaches an average height of about five metres (16 feet) above sea level with wide valleys of its rivers upstream as well as the <a href="/wiki/Campine" title="Campine">Campine</a> region to the east having sandy soils at altitudes around thirty metres.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>g<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Near its southern edges close to Wallonia one can find slightly rougher land, richer in <a href="/wiki/Calcium" title="Calcium">calcium</a>, with low hills reaching up to 150 m (490 ft) and small valleys, and at the eastern border with the Netherlands, in the <a href="/wiki/Meuse" title="Meuse">Meuse</a> basin, there are <a href="/wiki/Marl" title="Marl">marl</a> caves (<i>mergelgrotten</i>). Its <a href="/wiki/Exclave" class="mw-redirect" title="Exclave">exclave</a> around <a href="/wiki/Voeren" title="Voeren">Voeren</a> between the Dutch border and Wallonia's <a href="/wiki/Li%C3%A8ge_Province" title="Liège Province">Liège Province</a> attains a maximum altitude of 288 m (945 ft) above sea level.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-inbo_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-inbo-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Administrative_divisions">Administrative divisions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Administrative divisions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Belgium" title="Provinces of Belgium">Provinces of Belgium</a> and <a href="/wiki/List_of_municipalities_of_the_Flemish_Region" title="List of municipalities of the Flemish Region">List of municipalities of the Flemish Region</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:VlaanderenProvincies.png" class="mw-file-description" title="Provinces of Flanders"><img alt="Provinces of Flanders" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/VlaanderenProvincies.png" decoding="async" width="270" height="135" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="270" data-file-height="135" /></a><figcaption>Provinces of Flanders</figcaption></figure> <p>The present-day <b><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a></b> covers 13,625 km<sup>2</sup> (5,261 sq mi) and is divided into <a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Belgium" title="Provinces of Belgium">five provinces</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissements_of_Belgium" title="Arrondissements of Belgium">22 arrondissements</a> and <a href="/wiki/List_of_municipalities_of_the_Flemish_Region" title="List of municipalities of the Flemish Region">308 cities or municipalities</a>. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2">Province</th> <th>Capital city</th> <th>Administrative arrondissements</th> <th>Municipalities</th> <th>Population<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(1 January 2021)</span><sup id="cite_ref-statbel.fgov.be_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-statbel.fgov.be-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></th> <th>Area<sup id="cite_ref-bestat.statbel.fgov.be_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bestat.statbel.fgov.be-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></th> <th>Density </th></tr> <tr> <td>1</td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Antwerp.svg/23px-Flag_of_Antwerp.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Antwerp.svg/35px-Flag_of_Antwerp.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Antwerp.svg/45px-Flag_of_Antwerp.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="400" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Antwerp_Province" title="Antwerp Province">Antwerp</a> (<i>Antwerpen</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> (<i>Antwerpen</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Antwerp" title="Arrondissement of Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Mechelen" title="Arrondissement of Mechelen">Mechelen</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Turnhout" title="Arrondissement of Turnhout">Turnhout</a></td> <td>69</td> <td style="text-align:right">1,875,524</td> <td>2,876 km<sup>2</sup> (1,110 sq mi)</td> <td>652/km<sup>2</sup> (1,690/sq mi) </td></tr> <tr> <td>2</td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Flag_of_Limburg_%28Belgium%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Limburg_%28Belgium%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Flag_of_Limburg_%28Belgium%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Limburg_%28Belgium%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Flag_of_Limburg_%28Belgium%29.svg/45px-Flag_of_Limburg_%28Belgium%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2681" data-file-height="1787" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Belgium)" title="Limburg (Belgium)">Limburg</a> (<i>Limburg</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Hasselt" title="Hasselt">Hasselt</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Hasselt" title="Arrondissement of Hasselt">Hasselt</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Maaseik" title="Arrondissement of Maaseik">Maaseik</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Tongeren" title="Arrondissement of Tongeren">Tongeren</a></td> <td>44</td> <td style="text-align:right">880,397</td> <td>2,427 km<sup>2</sup> (937 sq mi)</td> <td>363/km<sup>2</sup> (940/sq mi) </td></tr> <tr> <td>3</td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Flag_of_Oost-Vlaanderen.svg/23px-Flag_of_Oost-Vlaanderen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Flag_of_Oost-Vlaanderen.svg/35px-Flag_of_Oost-Vlaanderen.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Flag_of_Oost-Vlaanderen.svg/46px-Flag_of_Oost-Vlaanderen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="546" data-file-height="333" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/East_Flanders" title="East Flanders">East Flanders</a> (<i>Oost-Vlaanderen</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a> (<i>Gent</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Aalst" title="Arrondissement of Aalst">Aalst</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Dendermonde" title="Arrondissement of Dendermonde">Dendermonde</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Eeklo" title="Arrondissement of Eeklo">Eeklo</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Ghent" title="Arrondissement of Ghent">Ghent</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Oudenaarde" title="Arrondissement of Oudenaarde">Oudenaarde</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Sint-Niklaas" title="Arrondissement of Sint-Niklaas">Sint-Niklaas</a></td> <td>65</td> <td style="text-align:right">1,531,745</td> <td>3,007 km<sup>2</sup> (1,161 sq mi)</td> <td>509/km<sup>2</sup> (1,320/sq mi) </td></tr> <tr> <td>4</td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Flemish_Brabant_Flag.png/23px-Flemish_Brabant_Flag.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Flemish_Brabant_Flag.png/35px-Flemish_Brabant_Flag.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Flemish_Brabant_Flag.png/45px-Flemish_Brabant_Flag.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="133" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Brabant" title="Flemish Brabant">Flemish Brabant</a> (<i>Vlaams-Brabant</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Halle-Vilvoorde_administrative_Arrondissement" class="mw-redirect" title="Halle-Vilvoorde administrative Arrondissement">Halle-Vilvoorde</a>, <a href="/wiki/Leuven_administrative_Arrondissement" class="mw-redirect" title="Leuven administrative Arrondissement">Leuven</a></td> <td>60</td> <td style="text-align:right">1,162,084</td> <td>2,118 km<sup>2</sup> (818 sq mi)</td> <td>549/km<sup>2</sup> (1,420/sq mi) </td></tr> <tr> <td>5</td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Flag_of_West_Flanders.svg/23px-Flag_of_West_Flanders.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Flag_of_West_Flanders.svg/35px-Flag_of_West_Flanders.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Flag_of_West_Flanders.svg/45px-Flag_of_West_Flanders.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="324" data-file-height="216" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/West_Flanders" title="West Flanders">West Flanders</a> (<i>West-Vlaanderen</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a> (<i>Brugge</i>)</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Bruges" title="Arrondissement of Bruges">Bruges</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Diksmuide" title="Arrondissement of Diksmuide">Diksmuide</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Ypres" title="Arrondissement of Ypres">Ypres</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Kortrijk" title="Arrondissement of Kortrijk">Kortrijk</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Ostend" title="Arrondissement of Ostend">Ostend</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Roeselare" title="Arrondissement of Roeselare">Roeselare</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Tielt" title="Arrondissement of Tielt">Tielt</a>, <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Veurne" title="Arrondissement of Veurne">Veurne</a></td> <td>64</td> <td style="text-align:right">1,203,312</td> <td>3,197 km<sup>2</sup> (1,234 sq mi)</td> <td>376/km<sup>2</sup> (970/sq mi) </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The province of Flemish Brabant is the most recently created, being formed in 1995 after the splitting of the <a href="/wiki/Province_of_Brabant" title="Province of Brabant">province of Brabant</a> on a linguistic basis. </p><p>Most municipalities are made up of several former municipalities, now called <i><a href="/wiki/Deelgemeente" title="Deelgemeente">deelgemeenten</a></i>. The largest municipality (both in terms of population and area) is <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, having more than half a million inhabitants. Its nine <i>deelgemeenten</i> have a special status and are called <a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Antwerp" title="Districts of Antwerp">districts</a>, which have an elected council and a college. While any municipality with more than 100,000 inhabitants can establish districts, only Antwerp did this so far. The smallest municipality (also both in terms of population and area) is <a href="/wiki/Herstappe" title="Herstappe">Herstappe</a> (Limburg).<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2018)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg/220px-Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="219" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg/330px-Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg/440px-Bruxelles_Brussels-Capital_Belgium_Map.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="745" data-file-height="741" /></a><figcaption>Brussels-Capital Region with the <a href="/wiki/City_of_Brussels" title="City of Brussels">City of Brussels</a> (one of 19 municipalities) in red</figcaption></figure> <p>The <b><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Flemish Community</a></b> covers both the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a> and, together with the French Community, the <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels-Capital Region</a>. Brussels, an enclave within the province of Flemish Brabant, is not divided into any province nor is it part of any. It coincides with the <a href="/wiki/Arrondissement_of_Brussels-Capital" title="Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital">Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital</a> and includes <a href="/wiki/List_of_municipalities_of_the_Brussels-Capital_Region" title="List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region">19 municipalities</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Flemish Government</a> has its own local institutions in the Brussels-Capital Region, being the <i><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community_Commission" title="Flemish Community Commission">Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie</a></i> (VGC), and its municipal antennae (<i>Gemeenschapscentra</i>, community centres for the Flemish community in Brussels). These institutions are independent from the educational, cultural and social institutions that depend directly on the Flemish Government. They exert, among others, all those cultural competences that outside Brussels fall under the provinces. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Climate">Climate</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Climate"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The climate is maritime <a href="/wiki/Temperate" class="mw-redirect" title="Temperate">temperate</a>, with significant precipitation in all seasons (<a href="/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification" title="Köppen climate classification">Köppen climate classification</a>: <i>Cfb</i>; the average temperature is 3 °C (37 °F) in January, and 21 °C (70 °F) in July; the average precipitation is 65 millimetres (2.6 inches) in January, and 78 millimetres (3.1 inches) in July). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Economy">Economy</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Economy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Belgium" title="Economy of Belgium">Economy of Belgium</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Diamond" title="Flemish Diamond">Flemish Diamond</a>, <a href="/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_Flanders" title="Science and technology in Flanders">Science and technology in Flanders</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Agriculture_in_Flanders" title="Agriculture in Flanders">Agriculture in Flanders</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg/220px-Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="151" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg/330px-Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg/440px-Zicht_op_het_Delwaidedok.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1181" data-file-height="809" /></a><figcaption>The Port of Antwerp is the second largest in Europe.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lijn11_a12.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Lijn11_a12.jpg/220px-Lijn11_a12.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Lijn11_a12.jpg/330px-Lijn11_a12.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Lijn11_a12.jpg/440px-Lijn11_a12.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/A12_road_(Belgium)" title="A12 road (Belgium)">A12</a> with a railway in the centre.</figcaption></figure> <p>Total <a href="/wiki/Gross_regional_product" class="mw-redirect" title="Gross regional product">gross regional product</a> (GRP) of Flanders in 2021 was €296 billion (excluding Brussels).<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Per capita GDP at <a href="/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity" title="Purchasing power parity">purchasing power parity</a> was 20% above the EU average.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Flemish productivity per capita is about 13% higher than that in Wallonia, and wages are about 7% higher than in Wallonia.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Flanders was one of the first continental European areas to undergo the <a href="/wiki/Industrial_Revolution" title="Industrial Revolution">Industrial Revolution</a>, in the 19th century. Initially, the modernization relied heavily on food processing and textile. However, by the 1840s the textile industry of Flanders was in severe crisis and there was famine in Flanders (1846–50). After World War II, <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a> experienced a fast expansion of the <a href="/wiki/Chemical" class="mw-redirect" title="Chemical">chemical</a> and petroleum industries. Flanders also attracted a large majority of foreign investments in Belgium. The <a href="/wiki/1973_oil_crisis" title="1973 oil crisis">1973</a> and <a href="/wiki/1979_oil_crisis" title="1979 oil crisis">1979 oil crises</a> sent the economy into a recession. The steel industry remained in relatively good shape. In the 1980s and 90s, the economic centre of Belgium continued to shift further to Flanders and is now concentrated in the populous <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Diamond" title="Flemish Diamond">Flemish Diamond</a> area.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Nowadays, the Flemish economy is mainly service-oriented. </p><p>Belgium is a founding member of the <a href="/wiki/European_Coal_and_Steel_Community" title="European Coal and Steel Community">European Coal and Steel Community</a> in 1951, which evolved into the present-day <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a>. In 1999, the <a href="/wiki/Euro" title="Euro">euro</a>, the single European currency, was introduced in Flanders. It replaced the <a href="/wiki/Belgian_franc" title="Belgian franc">Belgian franc</a> in 2002. </p><p>The Flemish economy is strongly export-oriented, in particular of high value-added goods.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. The main exports are automobiles, food and food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and non-ferrous metals. Since 1922, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a <a href="/wiki/Customs_union" title="Customs union">customs</a> and <a href="/wiki/Currency_union" title="Currency union">currency union</a>—the <a href="/wiki/Belgium%E2%80%93Luxembourg_Economic_Union" title="Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union">Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union</a>. Its main trading partners are Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United States, and Spain.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Antwerp is the number one diamond market in the world, diamond exports account for roughly 1/10 of Belgian exports. The Antwerp-based <a href="/wiki/BASF" title="BASF">BASF</a> plant is the largest BASF-base outside Germany, and accounts on its own for about 2% of Belgian exports. Other industrial and service activities in Antwerp include car manufacturing, telecommunications, photographic products. </p><p>Flanders is home to several science and technology institutes, such as <a href="/wiki/IMEC" title="IMEC">IMEC</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Institute_for_Technological_Research" title="Flemish Institute for Technological Research">VITO</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flanders_DC" title="Flanders DC">Flanders DC</a>, and <a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders_Make&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Flanders Make (page does not exist)">Flanders Make</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Infrastructure">Infrastructure</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Infrastructure"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Transport_in_Belgium" title="Transport in Belgium">Transport in Belgium</a></div> <p>Flanders has developed an extensive transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways and highways. The <a href="/wiki/Port_of_Antwerp" title="Port of Antwerp">Port of Antwerp</a> is the second-largest in Europe, after <a href="/wiki/Port_of_Rotterdam" title="Port of Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other ports are <a href="/wiki/Port_of_Bruges-Zeebrugge" class="mw-redirect" title="Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge">Bruges-Zeebrugge</a>, <a href="/wiki/Port_of_Ghent" title="Port of Ghent">Ghent</a> and <a href="/wiki/Port_of_Ostend" title="Port of Ostend">Ostend</a>, of which Zeebrugge and Ostend are located at the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Belgian_coast&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Belgian coast (page does not exist)">Belgian coast</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgische_Kust" class="extiw" title="nl:Belgische Kust">nl</a>]</span>. </p><p>Whereas railways are managed by the federal <a href="/wiki/National_Railway_Company_of_Belgium" title="National Railway Company of Belgium">National Railway Company of Belgium</a>, other public transport (<a href="/wiki/De_Lijn" title="De Lijn">De Lijn</a>) and roads are managed by the Flemish region. </p><p>The main airport is <a href="/wiki/Brussels_Airport" title="Brussels Airport">Brussels Airport</a>, the only other civilian airport with scheduled services in Flanders is <a href="/wiki/Antwerp_International_Airport" title="Antwerp International Airport">Antwerp International Airport</a>, but there are two other ones with cargo or charter flights: <a href="/wiki/Ostend-Bruges_International_Airport" class="mw-redirect" title="Ostend-Bruges International Airport">Ostend-Bruges International Airport</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kortrijk-Wevelgem_International_Airport" class="mw-redirect" title="Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport">Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport</a>, both in West Flanders. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Demographics">Demographics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Demographics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_Belgium" title="Demographics of Belgium">Demographics of Belgium</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemish people</a>, and <a href="/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Flanders" title="List of cities in Flanders">List of cities in Flanders</a></div> <p>The highest population density is found in the area circumscribed by the <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>-<a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>-<a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a>-<a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a> agglomerations that surround Mechelen and is known as the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Diamond" title="Flemish Diamond">Flemish Diamond</a>, in other important urban centres as <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a>, <a href="/wiki/Roeselare" title="Roeselare">Roeselare</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kortrijk" title="Kortrijk">Kortrijk</a> to the west, and notable centres <a href="/wiki/Turnhout" title="Turnhout">Turnhout</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hasselt" title="Hasselt">Hasselt</a> to the east. On 1 January 2015, the Flemish Region had a population of 6,444,127 and about 15% of the 1,175,173 people in the Brussels Region are also considered Flemish.<sup id="cite_ref-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>h<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-statbel_47-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-statbel-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2018)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Religion">Religion</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Religion"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Belgium" title="Religion in Belgium">Religion in Belgium</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg/220px-Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg/330px-Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg/440px-Houthalen_-_Onze-Lieve-Vrouw_van_Zeven_Wee%C3%ABnkerk.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1536" data-file-height="2048" /></a><figcaption>A church in <a href="/wiki/Houthalen" class="mw-redirect" title="Houthalen">Houthalen</a>. A typical church, similar to those in many villages in Flanders</figcaption></figure> <p>The Belgian constitution provides for <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Belgium" title="Freedom of religion in Belgium">freedom of religion</a>, and the various governments in general respect this right in practice. Since independence, <a href="/wiki/Catholicism" class="mw-redirect" title="Catholicism">Catholicism</a>, counterbalanced by strong <a href="/wiki/Freethought" title="Freethought">freethought</a> movements, has had an important role in Belgium's politics, since the 20th century in Flanders mainly via the Christian trade union <a href="/wiki/Confederation_of_Christian_Trade_Unions" title="Confederation of Christian Trade Unions">ACV</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Christen-Democratisch_en_Vlaams" class="mw-redirect" title="Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams">Christian Democratic and Flemish</a> party (CD&V). According to the <i>2001 Survey and Study of Religion</i>, about 47 percent of the Belgian population identify themselves as belonging to the Catholic Church, while Islam is the second-largest religion at 3.5 percent.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered more religious than Wallonia, showed that 55% considered themselves religious, and 36% believed that God created the world.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Jews <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Belgium" title="History of the Jews in Belgium">have been present</a> in Flanders for a long time, in particular <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Antwerp" title="History of the Jews in Antwerp">in Antwerp</a>. More recently, Muslims have immigrated to Flanders, now forming the largest minority religion with about 3.9% in the Flemish Region and 25% in Brussels.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The largest Muslim group is Moroccan in origin, while the second largest is Turkish in origin. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Education">Education</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Education"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Education_in_Flanders" title="Education in Flanders">Education in Flanders</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Castle_Arenberg,_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Castle_Arenberg%2C_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg/220px-Castle_Arenberg%2C_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="154" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Castle_Arenberg%2C_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg/330px-Castle_Arenberg%2C_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Castle_Arenberg%2C_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg/440px-Castle_Arenberg%2C_Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven_adj.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2708" data-file-height="1900" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Arenberg_Castle" class="mw-redirect" title="Arenberg Castle">Arenberg Castle</a>, part of the <a href="/wiki/Katholieke_Universiteit_Leuven" class="mw-redirect" title="Katholieke Universiteit Leuven">Katholieke Universiteit Leuven</a>, the oldest university in Belgium and the Low Countries.</figcaption></figure> <p>Education is compulsory from the ages of six to 18, but most <a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemings</a> continue to study until around 23. Among the <a href="/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Development" class="mw-redirect" title="Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development">Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development</a> countries in 1999, Flanders had the third-highest proportion of 18- to 21-year-olds enrolled in <a href="/wiki/Postsecondary_education" class="mw-redirect" title="Postsecondary education">postsecondary education</a>. Flanders also scores very high in international comparative studies on education. Its secondary school students consistently rank among the top three for mathematics and science. However, the success is not evenly spread: ethnic minority youth score consistently lower, and the difference is larger than in most comparable countries.<sup id="cite_ref-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education_46-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>h<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Mirroring the historical political conflicts between the secular and Catholic segments of the population, the Flemish educational system is split into a secular branch controlled by the communities, the provinces, or the municipalities, and a <a href="/wiki/Subsidy" title="Subsidy">subsidised</a> religious—mostly Catholic—branch. For the subsidised schools, the main costs such as the teacher's wages and building maintenance completely borne by the Flemish government. Subsidised schools are also free to determine their own teaching and examination methods, but in exchange, they must be able to prove that certain minimal terms are achieved by keeping records of the given lessons and exams. It should however be noted that—at least for the Catholic schools—the religious authorities have very limited power over these schools, neither do the schools have a lot of power on their own. Instead, the Catholic schools are a member of the Catholic umbrella organisation <a href="/w/index.php?title=VSKO&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="VSKO (page does not exist)">VSKO</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katholiek_Onderwijs_Vlaanderen" class="extiw" title="nl:Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen">nl</a>]</span>. The VSKO determines most practicalities for schools, like the advised schedules per study field. However, there's freedom of education in Flanders, which doesn't only mean that every pupil can choose his/her preferred school, but also that every organisation can found a school, and even be subsidised when abiding the different rules. This resulted also in some smaller school systems follow 'methodical pedagogies' (e.g. <a href="/wiki/Waldorf_education" title="Waldorf education">Steiner</a>, <a href="/wiki/Montessori" class="mw-redirect" title="Montessori">Montessori</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Freinet" class="mw-redirect" title="Freinet">Freinet</a>) or serve the Jewish and Protestant minorities. </p><p>During the school year 2003–2004, 68.30% of the total population of children between the ages of six and 18 went to subsidized private schools (both religious schools or 'methodical pedagogies' schools).<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The big freedom given to schools results in a constant competition to be the "best" school. The schools get certain reputations amongst parents and employers. So it's important for schools to be the best school since the subsidies depend on the number of pupils. This competition has been pinpointed as one of the main reasons for the high overall quality of the Flemish education. However, the importance of a school's reputation also makes schools more eager to expel pupils that don't perform well. Resulting in the ethnic differences and the well-known waterfall system: pupils start high in the perceived hierarchy, and then drop towards more professional oriented directions or "easier" schools when they can't handle the pressure any longer. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Healthcare">Healthcare</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Healthcare"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Healthcare_in_Belgium" title="Healthcare in Belgium">Healthcare in Belgium</a></div> <p>Healthcare is a federal matter, but the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Flemish Government</a> is responsible for care, health education and <a href="/wiki/Preventive_care" class="mw-redirect" title="Preventive care">preventive care</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Culture">Culture</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Culture"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch language</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_dialects" title="Flemish dialects">Flemish dialects</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_people" title="Flemish people">Flemish people</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Movement" title="Flemish Movement">Flemish Movement</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Language_and_literature">Language and literature</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Language and literature"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Guidogezelle.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Guidogezelle.jpg/220px-Guidogezelle.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="397" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Guidogezelle.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="325" data-file-height="587" /></a><figcaption>Statue of <a href="/wiki/Guido_Gezelle" title="Guido Gezelle">Gezelle</a> in <a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a>, by sculptor <a href="/wiki/Jules_Lagae" title="Jules Lagae">Jules Lagae</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The standard language in Flanders is <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a>; spelling and grammar are regulated by a single authority, the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Language_Union" title="Dutch Language Union">Dutch Language Union</a> (<i>Nederlandse Taalunie</i>), comprising a committee of ministers of the Flemish and Dutch governments, their advisory council of appointed experts, a controlling commission of 22 parliamentarians, and a secretariate.<sup id="cite_ref-Taalunie1_52-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Taalunie1-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Taalunie2_53-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Taalunie2-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The term <a href="/wiki/Flemish_dialects" title="Flemish dialects">Flemish</a> can be applied to the Dutch spoken in Flanders; it shows many regional and local variations.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The biggest difference between Belgian Dutch and Dutch used in the Netherlands is in the pronunciation of words. The Dutch spoken in the north of the Netherlands is typically described as being "sharper", while Belgian Dutch is "softer". In Belgian Dutch, there are also fewer vowels pronounced as <a href="/wiki/Diphthongs" class="mw-redirect" title="Diphthongs">diphthongs</a>. When it comes to spelling, Belgian Dutch language purists historically avoided writing words using a French spelling, or searched for specific translations of words derived from French, while the Dutch often retain the French spelling. For example, the Dutch word "punaise" (English: <i><a href="/wiki/Drawing_pin" title="Drawing pin">Drawing pin</a></i>) is derived directly from the French language. Belgian Dutch language purists have lobbied to accept the word "duimspijker" (literally: <i>thumb spike</i>) as official Dutch, though the Dutch Language Union never accepted it as standard Dutch. Other proposals by purists were sometimes accepted, and sometimes reverted again in later spelling revisions. As language purists were quite often professionally involved in language (e.g. as a teacher), these unofficial purist translations are found more often in Belgian Dutch texts. </p><p>The earliest example of literature in non-<a href="/wiki/Standardized_dialect" class="mw-redirect" title="Standardized dialect">standardized dialects</a> in the current area of Flanders is <a href="/wiki/Hendrik_van_Veldeke" class="mw-redirect" title="Hendrik van Veldeke">Hendrik van Veldeke</a>'s <i>Eneas Romance</i>, the first courtly romance in a <a href="/wiki/Germanic_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Germanic language">Germanic language</a> (12th century). With a writer of <a href="/wiki/Hendrik_Conscience" title="Hendrik Conscience">Hendrik Conscience</a>'s stature, <a href="/wiki/Flemish_literature" title="Flemish literature">Flemish literature</a> rose ahead of French literature in Belgium's early history.<sup id="cite_ref-Letterkundig-Museum_55-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Letterkundig-Museum-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Couttenier_56-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Couttenier-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Guido_Gezelle" title="Guido Gezelle">Guido Gezelle</a> not only explicitly referred to his writings as Flemish but used it in many of his poems, and strongly defended it: </p><p><b>Original</b> <small>from <i>kleengedichtjes</i> (1860?)</small><sup id="cite_ref-kleengedichtjes1_57-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kleengedichtjes1-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-kleengedichtjes2_58-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kleengedichtjes2-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <blockquote><div class="poem"> <p>Gij zegt dat 't vlaamsch te niet zal gaan:<br /> 't en zal!<br /> dat 't waalsch gezwets zal boven slaan:<br /> 't en zal!<br /> Dat hopen, dat begeren wij:<br /> dat zeggen en dat zweren wij:<br /> zoo lange als wij ons weren, wij:<br /> 't en zal, 't en zal,<br /> 't en zal! </p> </div></blockquote> <dl><dt>Translation</dt></dl> <blockquote><div class="poem"> <p>You say Flemish will fade away:<br /> It shan't!<br /> that Walloon twaddle will have its way:<br /> It shan't!<br /> This we hope, for this we hanker:<br /> this we say and this we vow:<br /> as long as we fight back, we:<br /> It shan't, It shan't,<br /> It shan't! </p> </div></blockquote> <p>The distinction between <a href="/wiki/Dutch_literature" class="mw-redirect" title="Dutch literature">Dutch</a> and Flemish literature, often perceived politically, is also made on intrinsic grounds by some experts such as Kris Humbeeck, professor of literature at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Antwerp" title="University of Antwerp">University of Antwerp</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-de-Ridder_59-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-de-Ridder-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Humbeeck_60-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Humbeeck-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Nevertheless, most <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">Dutch-language</a> literature read (and appreciated to varying degrees) in Flanders is the same as that in the Netherlands.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Influential Flemish writers include <a href="/wiki/Ernest_Claes" title="Ernest Claes">Ernest Claes</a>, <a href="/wiki/Stijn_Streuvels" title="Stijn Streuvels">Stijn Streuvels</a> and <a href="/wiki/Felix_Timmermans" title="Felix Timmermans">Felix Timmermans</a>. Their novels mostly describe rural life in Flanders in the 19th century and at beginning of the 20th. Widely read by the older generations, they are considered somewhat old-fashioned by present-day critics. Some famous Flemish writers of the early 20th century wrote in French, including Nobel Prize winners (1911) <a href="/wiki/Maurice_Maeterlinck" title="Maurice Maeterlinck">Maurice Maeterlinck</a> and <a href="/wiki/Emile_Verhaeren" class="mw-redirect" title="Emile Verhaeren">Emile Verhaeren</a>. They were followed by a younger generation, including <a href="/wiki/Paul_van_Ostaijen" title="Paul van Ostaijen">Paul van Ostaijen</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gaston_Burssens" title="Gaston Burssens">Gaston Burssens</a>, who <i><a href="/wiki/Activism" title="Activism">activated</a></i> the <a href="/wiki/Flemish_Movement" title="Flemish Movement">Flemish Movement</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-de-Ridder_59-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-de-Ridder-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Still widely read and translated into other languages (including English) are the novels of authors such as <a href="/wiki/Willem_Elsschot" title="Willem Elsschot">Willem Elsschot</a>, <a href="/wiki/Louis_Paul_Boon" title="Louis Paul Boon">Louis Paul Boon</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hugo_Claus" title="Hugo Claus">Hugo Claus</a>. The recent crop of writers includes the novelists <a href="/wiki/Tom_Lanoye" title="Tom Lanoye">Tom Lanoye</a> and <a href="/wiki/Herman_Brusselmans" title="Herman Brusselmans">Herman Brusselmans</a>, and poets such as the married couple <a href="/wiki/Herman_de_Coninck" title="Herman de Coninck">Herman de Coninck</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kristien_Hemmerechts" title="Kristien Hemmerechts">Kristien Hemmerechts</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Languages">Languages</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Languages"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>At the creation of the Belgian state, French was the only official language. Historically Flanders was a Dutch-speaking region. For a long period, French was used as a <a href="/wiki/Second_language" title="Second language">second language</a> and, like elsewhere in Europe, commonly spoken among the aristocracy. There is still a French-speaking minority in Flanders, especially in the <a href="/wiki/Municipalities_with_language_facilities" title="Municipalities with language facilities">municipalities with language facilities</a>, along the language border and the <a href="/wiki/Municipalities_with_language_facilities#Rim_municipalities" title="Municipalities with language facilities">Brussels periphery</a> (Vlaamse Rand), though many of them are French-speakers that migrated to Flanders in recent decades. </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/French_Flanders" title="French Flanders">French Flanders</a>, French is the only official language and now the native language of the majority of the population, but there is still a minority of Dutch-speakers living there. French is also the primary language in the officially bilingual <a href="/wiki/Brussels_Capital_Region" class="mw-redirect" title="Brussels Capital Region">Brussels Capital Region</a> (see <a href="/wiki/Francization_of_Brussels" title="Francization of Brussels">Francization of Brussels</a>). </p><p>Many Flemings are also able to speak French, children in Flanders generally get their first French lessons in the 5th primary year (normally around 10 years). But the current lack of French outside the educational context makes it hard to maintain a decent level of French. As such, the proficiency of French is declining. Flemish pupils are also obligated to follow English lessons as their third language. Normally from the second secondary year (around 14 years old), but the ubiquity of English in movies, music, IT and even advertisements makes it easier to learn and maintain the English language. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Media">Media</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Media"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Television_in_Belgium" title="Television in Belgium">Television in Belgium</a></div> <p>The public radio and television broadcaster in Flanders is <a href="/wiki/Vlaamse_Radio-_en_Televisieomroeporganisatie" class="mw-redirect" title="Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie">VRT</a>, which operates the TV channels <a href="/wiki/%C3%89%C3%A9n" class="mw-redirect" title="Één">één</a>, <a href="/wiki/Canvas_(Belgium)" class="mw-redirect" title="Canvas (Belgium)">Canvas</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ketnet" title="Ketnet">Ketnet</a>, <a href="/wiki/OP12" title="OP12">OP12</a> and (together with the Netherlands) <a href="/wiki/BVN" title="BVN">BVN</a>. Flemish provinces each have up to two TV channels as well. Commercial television broadcasters include <a href="/wiki/VTM_(TV_channel)" title="VTM (TV channel)">vtm</a> and <a href="/wiki/Vier" class="mw-redirect" title="Vier">Vier</a> (VT4). Popular TV series are for example <i><a href="/wiki/Thuis" title="Thuis">Thuis</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/F.C._De_Kampioenen" title="F.C. De Kampioenen">F.C. De Kampioenen</a></i>. </p><p>The five most successful Flemish films were <i><a href="/wiki/Loft_(2008_film)" title="Loft (2008 film)">Loft</a></i> (2008; 1,186,071 visitors), <i><a href="/wiki/Koko_Flanel" title="Koko Flanel">Koko Flanel</a></i> (1990; 1,082,000 tickets sold), <i><a href="/wiki/Hector_(1987_film)" title="Hector (1987 film)">Hector</a></i> (1987; 933,000 tickets sold), <i><a href="/wiki/Daens_(film)" title="Daens (film)">Daens</a></i> (1993; 848,000 tickets sold) and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Alzheimer_Case" title="The Alzheimer Case">De Zaak Alzheimer</a></i> (2003; 750,000 tickets sold). The first and last ones were directed by <a href="/wiki/Erik_Van_Looy" title="Erik Van Looy">Erik Van Looy</a>, and an American remake is being made of both of them, respectively <i><a href="/wiki/The_Loft_(2012_film)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Loft (2012 film)">The Loft</a></i> (2012) and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Memory_of_a_Killer" class="mw-redirect" title="The Memory of a Killer">The Memory of a Killer</a></i>. The other three ones were directed by <a href="/wiki/Stijn_Coninx" title="Stijn Coninx">Stijn Coninx</a>. </p><p>Newspapers are grouped under three main publishers: <a href="/wiki/De_Persgroep" class="mw-redirect" title="De Persgroep">De Persgroep</a> with <span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl"><a href="/wiki/Het_Laatste_Nieuws" title="Het Laatste Nieuws">Het Laatste Nieuws</a></i></span>, the most popular newspaper in Flanders, <i><a href="/wiki/De_Morgen" title="De Morgen">De Morgen</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/De_Tijd" title="De Tijd">De Tijd</a></i>. Then <a href="/wiki/Corelio" class="mw-redirect" title="Corelio">Corelio</a> with <i><a href="/w/index.php?title=De_Gentenaar&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="De Gentenaar (page does not exist)">De Gentenaar</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Gentenaar" class="extiw" title="nl:De Gentenaar">nl</a>]</span></i>, the oldest extant Flemish newspaper, <span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl"><a href="/wiki/Het_Nieuwsblad" title="Het Nieuwsblad">Het Nieuwsblad</a></i></span> and <span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl"><a href="/wiki/De_Standaard" title="De Standaard">De Standaard</a></i></span>. Lastly, <a href="/wiki/Concentra" title="Concentra">Concentra</a> publishes <span title="Dutch-language text"><i lang="nl"><a href="/wiki/Gazet_van_Antwerpen" title="Gazet van Antwerpen">Gazet van Antwerpen</a></i></span> and <i><a href="/wiki/Het_Belang_van_Limburg" title="Het Belang van Limburg">Het Belang van Limburg</a></i>. </p><p>Magazines include <i><a href="/wiki/Knack_(magazine)" title="Knack (magazine)">Knack</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/HUMO" class="mw-redirect" title="HUMO">HUMO</a></i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sports">Sports</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Sports"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Sport_in_Belgium" title="Sport in Belgium">Sport in Belgium</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg/220px-Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="197" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg/330px-Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg/440px-Kim_Clijsters_2006.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="715" /></a><figcaption>Kim Clijsters was <a href="/wiki/WTA_Awards" title="WTA Awards">WTA Player of the Year</a> in 2005 and 2010</figcaption></figure> <p>Association football (soccer) is one of the most popular sports in both parts of Belgium, together with cycling, tennis, swimming and judo.<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In cycling, the <a href="/wiki/Tour_of_Flanders" class="mw-redirect" title="Tour of Flanders">Tour of Flanders</a> is considered one of the five "<a href="/wiki/Classic_cycle_races" title="Classic cycle races">Monuments</a>". Other "<a href="/wiki/Flanders_Classics" title="Flanders Classics">Flanders Classics</a>" races include <i><a href="/wiki/Dwars_door_Vlaanderen" title="Dwars door Vlaanderen">Dwars door Vlaanderen</a></i> and <a href="/wiki/Gent%E2%80%93Wevelgem" title="Gent–Wevelgem">Gent–Wevelgem</a>. <a href="/wiki/Eddy_Merckx" title="Eddy Merckx">Eddy Merckx</a> is widely regarded as the greatest cyclist of all time, with five victories in the <a href="/wiki/Tour_de_France" title="Tour de France">Tour de France</a> and numerous other cycling records.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> His hour speed record (set in 1972) stood for 12 years. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Jean-Marie_Pfaff" title="Jean-Marie Pfaff">Jean-Marie Pfaff</a>, a former Belgian goalkeeper, is considered one of the greatest in the history of football (soccer).<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Kim_Clijsters" title="Kim Clijsters">Kim Clijsters</a> (as well as the French-speaking Belgian <a href="/wiki/Justine_Henin" title="Justine Henin">Justine Henin</a>) was <a href="/wiki/WTA_Awards" title="WTA Awards">Player of the Year</a> twice in the <a href="/wiki/Women%27s_Tennis_Association" title="Women's Tennis Association">Women's Tennis Association</a> as she was ranked the number one female tennis player. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Kim_Gevaert" title="Kim Gevaert">Kim Gevaert</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tia_Hellebaut" title="Tia Hellebaut">Tia Hellebaut</a> are notable track and field stars from Flanders. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/1920_Summer_Olympics" title="1920 Summer Olympics">1920 Summer Olympics</a> were held in Antwerp. <a href="/wiki/Jacques_Rogge" title="Jacques Rogge">Jacques Rogge</a> was president of the <a href="/wiki/International_Olympic_Committee" title="International Olympic Committee">International Olympic Committee</a> from 2001 to 2013. </p><p>The Flemish government agency for sports is <a href="/wiki/Bloso" class="mw-redirect" title="Bloso">Bloso</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Music">Music</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Music"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Music_of_Belgium" title="Music of Belgium">Music of Belgium</a></div> <p>Flanders is known for its music festivals, like the annual <a href="/wiki/Rock_Werchter" title="Rock Werchter">Rock Werchter</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tomorrowland_(festival)" title="Tomorrowland (festival)">Tomorrowland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Pukkelpop" title="Pukkelpop">Pukkelpop</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Gentse_Feesten" title="Gentse Feesten">Gentse Feesten</a> is another very large yearly event. </p><p>The best-selling Flemish group or artist is the (Flemish-Dutch) group <a href="/wiki/2_Unlimited" title="2 Unlimited">2 Unlimited</a>, followed by (Italian-born) <a href="/wiki/Rocco_Granata" title="Rocco Granata">Rocco Granata</a>, <a href="/wiki/Technotronic" title="Technotronic">Technotronic</a>, <a href="/wiki/Helmut_Lotti" title="Helmut Lotti">Helmut Lotti</a> and <a href="/wiki/Vaya_Con_Dios_(band)" title="Vaya Con Dios (band)">Vaya Con Dios</a>. </p><p>The weekly charts of best-selling singles is the <a href="/wiki/Ultratop_50" class="mw-redirect" title="Ultratop 50">Ultratop 50</a>. "Kvraagetaan" by the <a href="/wiki/Fixkes" title="Fixkes">Fixkes</a> holds the current record for longest time at No. 1 on the chart. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Burgundian_Netherlands" title="Burgundian Netherlands">Burgundian Netherlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Count_of_Flanders" title="Count of Flanders">Count of Flanders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Movement" title="Flemish Movement">Flemish Movement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_Netherlandish_painting" title="Early Netherlandish painting">Flemish Primitives</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Seventeen_Provinces" title="Seventeen Provinces">Seventeen Provinces</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Explanatory_notes">Explanatory notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: Explanatory notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-lower-alpha"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">For speakers with the <a href="/wiki/Trap%E2%80%93bath_split" title="Trap–bath split"><i>trap–bath</i> split</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">For speakers without the <i>trap–bath</i> split.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fn1-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-fn1_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">French: <i lang="fr">Flandre</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="fr-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/French" title="Help:IPA/French">[flɑ̃dʁ]</a></span>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fn2-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-fn2_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Only about 8% of Brussels inhabitants identify as Flemish, while the rest identify as French-speaking or non-Belgian.<sup id="cite_ref-BruS13EN_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BruS13EN-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fn3-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-fn3_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Although this original meaning is still relevant, in modern times the term "Flanders" came to refer to a larger area, and is used to refer to the entire Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, stretching all the way to the <a href="/wiki/Meuse" title="Meuse">Meuse</a>, as well as cultural movements such as <a href="/wiki/Flemish_art" class="mw-redirect" title="Flemish art">Flemish art</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">An <i>Antverpian</i>, derived from <i>Antverpia</i>, the Latin name of <a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, is an inhabitant of this city; the term is also the <a href="/wiki/Adjective" title="Adjective">adjective</a> expressing that its substantive is from or in that city or belongs to it.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The altitude of Mechelen, approximately in the middle of the central plain forming the large part of Flanders, is 7 m (23 ft) above sea level. Already closer to the higher southern Wallonia, the more eastern Leuven and Hasselt reach altitudes up to about 40 m (130 ft)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education_46-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Note_Nationality-Minority-Education_46-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">The relation between nationality, genetic ethnicity, native and mainly spoken language(s) (within a group of same ethnicity and age, in presence of elders, in ethnically mixed groups), and minority group identification, can be complex: Dutch nationals constituting one of the largest groups of foreigners, share the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_language" title="Dutch language">standard language</a> with Flemish locals but their accent is enough to immediately distinguish them. The majority of immigrants from certain other countries had belonged to a minority or disadvantaged group there. Children born in Belgium from residents of foreign nationality very often acquired Belgian citizenship. Regardless of nationality, according to Belgian Law, obligatory education in schools located in the Flemish Region are in the Dutch language. In Brussels, teaching is also done in French. The determination of statistical samples and interpretation of publicized figures can easily lead to false assumptions or conclusions.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.vlaanderen.be/statistiek-vlaanderen/ruimtegebruik/bebouwde-oppervlakte/metadata-bebouwde-oppervlakte-en-bijbehorende-terreinen">"Metadata: Bebouwde oppervlakte en bijbehorende terreinen"</a>. Vlaanderen.be<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 June</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=U.S.+Department+of+State&rft.atitle=Belgium&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2F2009-2017.state.gov%2Fr%2Fpa%2Fei%2Fbgn%2F2874.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVan_Der_Essen1925" class="citation cs2">Van Der Essen, Leon (1925), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1925_num_4_1_6335">"Notre nom national"</a>, <i>Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire</i>, <b>4</b> (1): 121–131, <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.3406%2Frbph.1925.6335">10.3406/rbph.1925.6335</a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Revue+belge+de+philologie+et+d%27histoire&rft.atitle=Notre+nom+national&rft.volume=4&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=121-131&rft.date=1925&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.3406%2Frbph.1925.6335&rft.aulast=Van+Der+Essen&rft.aufirst=Leon&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.persee.fr%2Fdoc%2Frbph_0035-0818_1925_num_4_1_6335&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2#?c=&m=&s=&cv=49&xywh=-2919,638,11313,6316">"Théâtre de tous les peuples et nations de la terre avec leurs habits et ornemens divers, tant anciens que modernes, diligemment depeints au naturel par Luc Dheere peintre et sculpteur Gantois[manuscript]"</a>. <i>lib.ugent.be</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Belgian Parliament Votes to Have All Instruction in That Tongue"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a></i>. New York Times Company<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">11 March</span> 2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=De+Standaard&rft.atitle=Staatshervorming+richting+Belgi%C3%AB+wint+aan+politieke+steun&rft.date=2016-01-25&rft.au=Peter+De+Lobel&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.standaard.be%2Fcnt%2Fdmf20160124_02088008&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fedgov2-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-fedgov2_26-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184122/http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=2686">"The Communities"</a>. <i>.be Portal</i>. Belgian Federal Government. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=2686">the original</a> on 30 September 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">23 May</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=.be+Portal&rft.atitle=The+Communities&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.belgium.be%2Feportal%2Fapplication%3Forigin%3DnavigationBanner.jsp%26event%3Dbea.portal.framework.internal.refresh%26pageid%3DindexPage%26navId%3D2686&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-fedgov3-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-fedgov3_27-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184618/http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=2690">"The Regions"</a>. <i>.be Portal</i>. Belgian Federal Government. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.belgium.be/eportal/application?origin=navigationBanner.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=indexPage&navId=2690">the original</a> on 30 September 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">23 May</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=.be+Portal&rft.atitle=The+Regions&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.belgium.be%2Feportal%2Fapplication%3Forigin%3DnavigationBanner.jsp%26event%3Dbea.portal.framework.internal.refresh%26pageid%3DindexPage%26navId%3D2690&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in French)</span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf">Report of study by the Université Catholique de Louvain</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060823190132/http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf">Archived</a> 23 August 2006 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070313084633/http://taalunieversum.org/nieuws/1349/">"Taalunie"</a>. taalunie.org. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 March</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Het+Nieuwsblad&rft.atitle=Sire%2C+er+zijn+toch+nog+Belgen&rft.date=2011-10-06&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nieuwsblad.be%2Fcnt%2F5a3gld44&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://docs.vlaamsparlement.be/docs/biblio/opendigibib/monografie/2012/280_handvest_voor_vlaanderen_20120524.pdf">"Handvest voor Vlaanderen"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>vlaamsparlement.be</i> (in Flemish).</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=vlaamsparlement.be&rft.atitle=Handvest+voor+Vlaanderen&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.vlaamsparlement.be%2Fdocs%2Fbiblio%2Fopendigibib%2Fmonografie%2F2012%2F280_handvest_voor_vlaanderen_20120524.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jpost.com/international/bruges-or-ghent-either-way-you-win-in-belgium-559589">"Bruges or Ghent – either way you win in Belgium"</a>. <i>The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com</i>. 10 June 2018<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 March</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Jerusalem+Post+%7C+JPost.com&rft.atitle=Bruges+or+Ghent+%E2%80%93+either+way+you+win+in+Belgium&rft.date=2018-06-10&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Finternational%2Fbruges-or-ghent-either-way-you-win-in-belgium-559589&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIr._Jan_Strubbe_in_collaboration_with_Frank_Mostaert_and_Ir._Koen_Maeghe" class="citation web cs1">Ir. Jan Strubbe in collaboration with Frank Mostaert and Ir. Koen Maeghe. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070614115231/http://watlab.lin.vlaanderen.be/documents/Position%20paper%20Flanders%20def3.pdf">"Flood management in Flanders with special focus on navigable waterways"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Ministry of the Flemish Community, department Environment and Infrastructure (Waterbouwkundig Laboratorium, Flanders Hydraulics Research, Administratie Waterwegen en Zeewezen). Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://watlab.lin.vlaanderen.be/documents/Position%20paper%20Flanders%20def3.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 14 June 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 May</span> 2007</span>. <q>Flanders is covered by the three major catchment basins (Yser, Scheldt and Meuse). This rather lowlying nearly flat region (2 to 150 m (6.6 to 492.1 ft)altitude above sea-level) ...</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Flood+management+in+Flanders+with+special+focus+on+navigable+waterways&rft.pub=Ministry+of+the+Flemish+Community%2C+department+Environment+and+Infrastructure+%28Waterbouwkundig+Laboratorium%2C+Flanders+Hydraulics+Research%2C+Administratie+Waterwegen+en+Zeewezen%29&rft.au=Ir.+Jan+Strubbe+in+collaboration+with+Frank+Mostaert+and+Ir.+Koen+Maeghe&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwatlab.lin.vlaanderen.be%2Fdocuments%2FPosition%2520paper%2520Flanders%2520def3.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-inbo-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-inbo_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMyriam_DumortierLuc_De_BruynMaarten_HensJohan_Peymen2006" class="citation book cs1">Myriam Dumortier; Luc De Bruyn; Maarten Hens; Johan Peymen; Anik Schneiders; Toon Van Daele; Wouter Van Reeth; Gisèle Weyembergh; Eckhart Kuijken (2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070614115227/http://www.inbo.be/docupload/2648.pdf"><i>Biodiversity Indicators 2006 – State of Nature in Flanders (Belgium)</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/90-403-0251-0" title="Special:BookSources/90-403-0251-0"><bdi>90-403-0251-0</bdi></a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.inbo.be/docupload/2648.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 14 June 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 May</span> 2007</span>. <q>The altitude ranges from a few meters above sea-level in the Polders to 288 m (945 ft) above sea-level in the south eastern exclave.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Biodiversity+Indicators+2006+%E2%80%93+State+of+Nature+in+Flanders+%28Belgium%29&rft.pub=Research+Institute+for+Nature+and+Forest+%28INBO%29%2C+Brussels&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=90-403-0251-0&rft.au=Myriam+Dumortier&rft.au=Luc+De+Bruyn&rft.au=Maarten+Hens&rft.au=Johan+Peymen&rft.au=Anik+Schneiders&rft.au=Toon+Van+Daele&rft.au=Wouter+Van+Reeth&rft.au=Gis%C3%A8le+Weyembergh&rft.au=Eckhart+Kuijken&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.inbo.be%2Fdocupload%2F2648.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-bestat.statbel.fgov.be-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-bestat.statbel.fgov.be_38-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bestat.statbel.fgov.be/bestat/crosstable.xhtml?view=90c1e218-dc4f-4827-824d-9b25abfefe59">"be.STAT"</a>. <i>bestat.statbel.fgov.be</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=bestat.statbel.fgov.be&rft.atitle=be.STAT&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbestat.statbel.fgov.be%2Fbestat%2Fcrosstable.xhtml%3Fview%3D90c1e218-dc4f-4827-824d-9b25abfefe59&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00003/default/table?lang=en">"EU regions by GDP, Eurostat"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=EU+regions+by+GDP%2C+Eurostat&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Feurostat%2Fdatabrowser%2Fview%2Ftgs00003%2Fdefault%2Ftable%3Flang%3Den&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10474907/1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf">"Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 July</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Regional+GDP+per+capita+ranged+from+30%25+to+263%25+of+the+EU+average+in+2018&rft.pub=Eurostat&rft.date=2020-03-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Feurostat%2Fdocuments%2F2995521%2F10474907%2F1-05032020-AP-EN.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleID=DMA28052005_007">"Onze Waalse collega's kunnen niet volgen"</a>. <i>Het Nieuwsblad</i> (in Dutch). 29 May 2005<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Netherlands Institute of Business Organization and Strategy Research, <a href="/wiki/University_of_Maastricht" class="mw-redirect" title="University of Maastricht">University of Maastricht</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://edata.ub.unimaas.nl/www-edocs/loader/file.asp?id=264">the original</a> on 14 March 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 May</span> 2007</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Het+belang+van+de+Vlaamse+Ruit+vanuit+economisch+perspectief+The+importance+of+the+Flemish+Diamond+from+an+economical+perspective&rft.pub=Netherlands+Institute+of+Business+Organization+and+Strategy+Research%2C+University+of+Maastricht&rft.au=Vanhaverbeke%2C+Wim&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fedata.ub.unimaas.nl%2Fwww-edocs%2Floader%2Ffile.asp%3Fid%3D264&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170224091510/http://www.flanderstrade.com/site/internetEN.nsf/vPAG/aboutflanders__Economic?opendocument">"Flanders: export-driven economy"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.flanderstrade.com/site/internetEN.nsf/vPAG/aboutflanders__Economic?opendocument">the original</a> on 24 February 2017<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Port of Antwerp. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.portofantwerp.com/portal/page/portal/POA_EN/Focus%20op%20de%20haven/Een%20wereldhaven">the original</a> on 28 August 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">27 September</span> 2009</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Focus+on+the+port&rft.pub=Port+of+Antwerp&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.portofantwerp.com%2Fportal%2Fpage%2Fportal%2FPOA_EN%2FFocus%2520op%2520de%2520haven%2FEen%2520wereldhaven&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-statbel-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-statbel_47-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://statbel.fgov.be/">"Statistics Belgium"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Federal_Public_Service_Economy" title="Federal Public Service Economy">Federal Public Service Economy</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060630061938/http://statbel.fgov.be/">Archived</a> from the original on 30 June 2006<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">27 June</span> 2006</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Statistics+Belgium&rft.pub=Federal+Public+Service+Economy&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fstatbel.fgov.be%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35444.htm">"Belgium"</a>. <i>International Religious Freedom Report 2004</i>. US Department of State, <a href="/wiki/Bureau_of_Democracy,_Human_Rights,_and_Labor" title="Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor">Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor</a>. 2004<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">1 March</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=International+Religious+Freedom+Report+2004&rft.atitle=Belgium&rft.date=2004&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2F2001-2009.state.gov%2Fg%2Fdrl%2Frls%2Firf%2F2004%2F35444.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Inquiry by 'Vepec', 'Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie' (Organisation for Promotion and Communication), published in Knack magazine 22 November 2006 p. 14 The Dutch language term 'gelovig' is in the text translated as 'religious', more precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in a <a href="/wiki/Monotheism" title="Monotheism">monotheistic</a> sense, and/or in some <a href="/wiki/Afterlife" title="Afterlife">afterlife</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="languageicon">(in Dutch)</span> Jan Hertogen, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.indymedia.be/en/node/29363">In België wonen 628.751 moslims</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090924073507/http://www.indymedia.be/en/node/29363">Archived</a> 24 September 2009 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>, Indymedia, 12 September 2008</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/publicaties/2005/educationinflandersbroadview.pdf">"Education in Flanders"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>A broad view of the Flemish educational landscape</i>. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=College+4+%E2%80%93+1830+Belgische+onafhankelijkheid%2C+Noord-Zuidverschillen%2C+Dialecten+en+de+rijksgrens%2C+Frans-Vlaanderen&rft.pub=University+of+Groningen+%28host+site%29&rft.au=Hoeksema%2C+Jack&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fodur.let.rug.nl%2F~hoeksema%2Fdivid-4.ppt&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Letterkundig-Museum-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Letterkundig-Museum_55-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110724094015/http://www.letterkundigmuseum.nl/tabid/92/BiographyID/19/BiographyName/HendrikConscience/Mode/BiographyDetails/Default.aspx">"Hendrik Conscience (biography)"</a> (in Dutch). Letterkundig Museum, The Hague, The Netherlands. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.letterkundigmuseum.nl/tabid/92/BiographyID/19/BiographyName/HendrikConscience/Mode/BiographyDetails/Default.aspx">the original</a> on 24 July 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Hendrik+Conscience+%28biography%29&rft.pub=Letterkundig+Museum%2C+The+Hague%2C+The+Netherlands&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.letterkundigmuseum.nl%2Ftabid%2F92%2FBiographyID%2F19%2FBiographyName%2FHendrikConscience%2FMode%2FBiographyDetails%2FDefault.aspx&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Couttenier-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Couttenier_56-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCouttenier,_Piet1999" class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Couttenier, Piet (1999). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/cout003nati01_01/cout003nati01_01_0001.php">"Nationale beelden in de Vlaamse literatuur van de negentiende eeuw"</a>. <i>Nationalisme in België. Identiteiten in beweging 1780–2000. (Deprez, Kas; Vos, Louis – red.)</i> (in Dutch). Houtekiet, Antwerpen/Baarn (online by <a href="/wiki/Digital_library_for_Dutch_literature" class="mw-redirect" title="Digital library for Dutch literature">dbnl</a>). pp. 60–69. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110614205621/http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/cout003nati01_01/cout003nati01_01_0001.php">Archived</a> from the original on 14 June 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Nationalisme+in+Belgi%C3%AB.+Identiteiten+in+beweging+1780%E2%80%932000.+%28Deprez%2C+Kas%3B+Vos%2C+Louis+%E2%80%93+red.%29&rft.atitle=Nationale+beelden+in+de+Vlaamse+literatuur+van+de+negentiende+eeuw&rft.pages=60-69&rft.date=1999&rft.au=Couttenier%2C+Piet&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dbnl.org%2Ftekst%2Fcout003nati01_01%2Fcout003nati01_01_0001.php&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-kleengedichtjes1-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-kleengedichtjes1_57-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source-2"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=sP9ySIDdZ-cC&pg=PA320"><i>Guido Gezelle: volledig dichtwerk</i></a> (in West Flemish). 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Baur, Frank)</i> (in Dutch). <a href="/w/index.php?title=Veen_(publisher)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Veen (publisher) (page does not exist)">Veen</a>, Amsterdam (1949, 3rd print – online by <a href="/wiki/Digital_library_for_Dutch_literature" class="mw-redirect" title="Digital library for Dutch literature">dbnl</a>). Part 2, p. 505. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110614205634/http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/geze002fbau01_01/geze002fbau01_01.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 14 June 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Dichtwerken+%28deel+1+en+2%29+%5BPoems+%28Part+1+and+2%29%5D+%28ed.+Baur%2C+Frank%29&rft.atitle=Driemaal+XXXIII+Kleengedichtjes+%E2%80%93+Gij+zegt+dat+%27t+vlaamsch+te+niet+zal+gaan&rft.pages=Part+2%2C+p.+505&rft.au=Gezelle%2C+Guido&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dbnl.org%2Ftekst%2Fgeze002fbau01_01%2Fgeze002fbau01_01.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-de-Ridder-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-de-Ridder_59-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-de-Ridder_59-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFde_Ridder,_Matthijs_(doctoral_candidate_University_of_Antwerp)2009" class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">de Ridder, Matthijs (doctoral candidate <a href="/wiki/University_of_Antwerp" title="University of Antwerp">University of Antwerp</a>) (22 May 2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mededelingen.over-blog.com/article-31749051.html">"Inleiding tot een proefschrift over de activistische tegentraditie in de Vlaamse letteren ('Introduction to a dissertation on the activist tradition in Flemish literature') (descriptive title)"</a> (in Dutch). Mededelingen van het Centrum voor Documentatie & Reëvaluatie (a republishing Blog about French and Dutch Literature). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110615014817/http://mededelingen.over-blog.com/article-31749051.html">Archived</a> from the original on 15 June 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Inleiding+tot+een+proefschrift+over+de+activistische+tegentraditie+in+de+Vlaamse+letteren+%28%27Introduction+to+a+dissertation+on+the+activist+tradition+in+Flemish+literature%27%29+%28descriptive+title%29&rft.pub=Mededelingen+van+het+Centrum+voor+Documentatie+%26+Re%C3%ABvaluatie+%28a+republishing+Blog+about+French+and+Dutch+Literature%29&rft.date=2009-05-22&rft.au=de+Ridder%2C+Matthijs+%28doctoral+candidate+University+of+Antwerp%29&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmededelingen.over-blog.com%2Farticle-31749051.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Humbeeck-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Humbeeck_60-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPolis,_Harold_(ed._red._at_Meulenhoff/Manteau)2004" class="citation journal cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Polis, Harold (ed. red. at <a href="/wiki/J.M._Meulenhoff" class="mw-redirect" title="J.M. Meulenhoff">Meulenhoff/Manteau</a>) (25 June 2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://taalschrift.org/discussie/000564.html">"Vlamingen en Nederlanders moeten hun verschillen leren aanvaarden"</a>. <i>Taalschrift</i> (in Dutch) (Ed. 77). <a href="/wiki/Nederlandse_Taalunie" class="mw-redirect" title="Nederlandse Taalunie">Nederlandse Taalunie</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1570-5560">1570-5560</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110722110548/http://taalschrift.org/discussie/000564.html">Archived</a> from the original on 22 July 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Taalschrift&rft.atitle=Vlamingen+en+Nederlanders+moeten+hun+verschillen+leren+aanvaarden&rft.issue=Ed.+77&rft.date=2004-06-25&rft.issn=1570-5560&rft.au=Polis%2C+Harold+%28ed.+red.+at+Meulenhoff%2FManteau%29&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Ftaalschrift.org%2Fdiscussie%2F000564.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-61">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.buchmesse.de/images/fbm/dokumente-ua-pdfs/2016/flandern_webseite_2016_en_57470.pdf">"Flanders (Belgium)"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Frankfurter Buchmesse</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170202053515/http://www.buchmesse.de/images/fbm/dokumente-ua-pdfs/2016/flandern_webseite_2016_en_57470.pdf">Archived</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> from the original on 2 February 2017.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Frankfurter+Buchmesse&rft.atitle=Flanders+%28Belgium%29&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buchmesse.de%2Fimages%2Ffbm%2Fdokumente-ua-pdfs%2F2016%2Fflandern_webseite_2016_en_57470.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-62">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGeorge_Wingfield2008" class="citation book cs1">George Wingfield (2008). Charles F. Gritzner (ed.). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/belgium00wing/page/94"><i>Belgium</i></a></span>. Infobase Publishing. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/belgium00wing/page/94">94–95</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7910-9670-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7910-9670-3"><bdi>978-0-7910-9670-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Belgium&rft.pages=94-95&rft.pub=Infobase+Publishing&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=978-0-7910-9670-3&rft.au=George+Wingfield&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fbelgium00wing%2Fpage%2F94&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-63">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMajendie,_Matt2005" class="citation news cs1">Majendie, Matt (18 April 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/3925265.stm">"Great, but there are greater"</a>. <i>BBC Sport</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070824143546/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/3925265.stm">Archived</a> from the original on 24 August 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">20 September</span> 2007</span>. <q>[the Author's] top five [cyclists] of all time: 1 Eddy Merckx, 2 <a href="/wiki/Bernard_Hinault" title="Bernard Hinault">Bernard Hinault</a>, 3 <a href="/wiki/Lance_Armstrong" title="Lance Armstrong">Lance Armstrong</a>, 4 <a href="/wiki/Miguel_Indurain" class="mw-redirect" title="Miguel Indurain">Miguel Indurain</a>, 5 <a href="/wiki/Jacques_Anquetil" title="Jacques Anquetil">Jacques Anquetil</a></q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=BBC+Sport&rft.atitle=Great%2C+but+there+are+greater&rft.date=2005-04-18&rft.au=Majendie%2C+Matt&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fsport1%2Fhi%2Fother_sports%2Fcycling%2F3925265.stm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-64">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.goalkeepersaredifferent.com/keeper/goalkeeping_greats.htm">Goalkeeping Greats</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080630215858/http://www.goalkeepersaredifferent.com/keeper/goalkeeping_greats.htm">Archived</a> 30 June 2008 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>" Goalkeepersaredifferent.com. Retrieved on <span class="nowrap">29 June</span> 2008</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>De Vries, André. <i>Flanders: a cultural history</i> (Oxford University Press, 2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Flanders-Cultural-History-Landscapes-Imagination/dp/019531493X/">excerpt</a></li> <li>Demets, Lisa, Jan Dumolyn, and Els De Paermentier. "Political ideology and the rewriting of history in fifteenth-century Flanders." <i>BMGN-THE LOW COUNTRIES HISTORICAL REVIEW</i> 134.1 (2019): 73–95. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8566140/file/8609764.pdf">online</a></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEdmundson1911" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1"><a href="/wiki/George_Edmundson" title="George Edmundson">Edmundson, George</a> (1911). <span class="cs1-ws-icon" title="s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Flanders"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Flanders">"Flanders" </a></span>. <i><a href="/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition" title="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). pp. 478–480.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Flanders&rft.btitle=Encyclop%C3%A6dia+Britannica&rft.pages=478-480&rft.edition=11th&rft.date=1911&rft.aulast=Edmundson&rft.aufirst=George&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFlanders" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li>Humes, Samuel. <i>Belgium: Long United, Long Divided</i> (2014) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Belgium-Long-United-Divided/dp/1849041466/">online</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Flanders&action=edit&section=41" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Commons-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></a></span> Media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Flanders" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Flanders">Flanders</a> at Wikimedia Commons</li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg/16px-Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg/24px-Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg/32px-Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="193" data-file-height="193" /></a></span> <a href="https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Flanders#Q234" class="extiw" title="voy:Flanders">Flanders</a> travel guide from Wikivoyage</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output 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href="/wiki/Template_talk:Flanders_topics" title="Template talk:Flanders topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Flanders_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Flanders topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="23x15px&#124;border_&#124;alt=&#124;link=_Flanders_topics" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_Flanders.svg/23px-Flag_of_Flanders.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_Flanders.svg/35px-Flag_of_Flanders.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_Flanders.svg/45px-Flag_of_Flanders.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="941" data-file-height="627" /></span></span> </span><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Flanders</a> topics</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Territories</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">Modern Belgium</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Region" title="Flemish Region">Flemish Region</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community" title="Flemish Community">Flemish Community</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Neighbouring and<br />historical regions</div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Margravate_of_Flanders" class="mw-redirect" title="Margravate of Flanders">Margravate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/County_of_Flanders" title="County of Flanders">County</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_Flanders" title="French Flanders">French Flanders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zeelandic_Flanders" title="Zeelandic Flanders">Zeelandic Flanders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romance_Flanders" title="Romance Flanders">Romance Flanders</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">Local regions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Ardennes" title="Flemish Ardennes">Flemish Ardennes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Campine" title="Campine">Campine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Denderstreek" title="Denderstreek">Denderstreek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hageland" title="Hageland">Hageland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hesbaye" title="Hesbaye">Haspengouw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pajottenland" title="Pajottenland">Pajottenland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Meetjesland" title="Meetjesland">Meetjesland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Westhoek_(region)" title="Westhoek (region)">Westhoek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Waasland" title="Waasland">Waasland</a></li> <li>...</li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="5" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Flanders in Europe"><img alt="Flanders in Europe" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg/200px-Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="153" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg/300px-Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg/400px-Flemish_Community_in_Belgium_and_Europe.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="680" data-file-height="520" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_Flanders" class="mw-redirect" title="Provinces of Flanders">Provinces</a><br /><span class="nobold">(and cities)</span></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/West_Flanders" title="West Flanders">West Flanders</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="/wiki/Bruges" title="Bruges">Bruges</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_Flanders" title="East Flanders">East Flanders</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="/wiki/Ghent" title="Ghent">Ghent</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Antwerp_Province" title="Antwerp Province">Antwerp</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="/wiki/Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Brabant" title="Flemish Brabant">Flemish Brabant</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="/wiki/Leuven" title="Leuven">Leuven</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Limburg_(Belgium)" title="Limburg (Belgium)">Limburg</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<a href="/wiki/Hasselt" title="Hasselt">Hasselt</a>)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">See also</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_municipalities_of_the_Flemish_Region" title="List of municipalities of the Flemish Region">List of municipalities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Diamond" title="Flemish Diamond">Flemish Diamond</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Flanders" title="Politics of Flanders">Politics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Belgian_elections" title="Template:Belgian elections">Elections</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Parliament" title="Flemish Parliament">Flemish Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Government" title="Flemish Government">Flemish Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Community_Commission" title="Flemish Community Commission">Community Commission (Brussels)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_parties_in_Flanders" title="Political parties in Flanders">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Minister-President_of_Flanders" title="Minister-President of Flanders">Minister-President</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Symbols and<br /><a href="/wiki/History_of_Flanders" title="History of Flanders">history</a></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/De_Vlaamse_Leeuw" title="De Vlaamse Leeuw">Anthem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Flanders" title="Coat of arms of Flanders">Coat of arms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Day_of_the_Flemish_Community" class="mw-redirect" title="Day of the Flemish Community">Day of the Flemish Community</a> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Golden_Spurs" title="Battle of the Golden Spurs">Guldensporenslag</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Lion_of_Flanders_(novel)" title="The Lion of Flanders (novel)">De Leeuw van Vlaanderen</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Flanders" title="Flag of Flanders">Flag</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other topics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Flemish_Movement" title="Flemish Movement">Flemish Movement</a></li> <li><a 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style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q234#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q234#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" 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