Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

16 INTRODUCING BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG

The medieval château of Bourscheid, nestling in the remote forests of Luxembourg’s Ardennes

LAND AND NATURE

Belgium has the reputation of being a

flat country. However, without ever

being mountainous, much of the land

is, in fact, hilly. This is also the case in

Luxembourg, whose capital is perched

spectacularly on a rocky escarpment.

Broadly speaking, the landscape of

Belgium and Luxembourg can be

divided into three distinct zones. The

northwest of Belgium is fairly flat and

low-lying. However, the land rises

in the central band on either side

of Brussels. To the west, the area

around Oudenaarde is hilly enough

to have earned the name, the Flemish

Ardennes. To the east of Brussels,

productive farmlands cover the hills

of the Hageland in Flemish Brabant

and the Haspengouw (Hesbaye in

French) in southern

Limburg. The climate is

mild and the land well

watered: grapes grown

in this area make high-

quality Belgian wine.

The third zone is the

Ardennes, which covers

southeastern Belgium

and northern parts of

Luxembourg. Once dis-

missed as remote and

underdeveloped, the

Ardennes is now a magnet for people

who cherish natural beauty. Much of

the landscape rests on limestone

karst, riddled with spectacular rock

formations and caves.

These wilder regions are home to a

rich diversity of wildlife that includes

eagle owls, black grouse and wild

boar. The coastal region of Belgium

is on the migratory routes of egrets,

spoonbills and storks. Both nations

readily appreciate their natural herit-

age and are wary of the threats posed

by uncontrolled development. This

sensitivity is reinforced through numer-

ous parks and nature reserves.

PEOPLE AND SOCIETY

Belgium and Luxembourg have three

official languages, reflecting their

geographical position

on the borderlands of

three major linguistic

groups. Luxembourg

has German and

French, as well as

Lëtzerburgesch, a lan-

guage of the German

family. Many of its

people are genuinely

trilingual, and switch

easily between the

three languages.

A flock of gulls shares the beach with

walkers along the North Sea coast