Get to know Brussels, Belgium, and Europe/Carlos Pueblo

Get to know Brussels, Belgium, and Europe/Carlos Pueblo

Europe is fascinated with palaces, castles, museums, and cathedrals etc.

city after city, nation after nation. I have been wandering around the

west Europe several times and still searching the answer for my questions.

I want to know how the European have developed such an civilization

while some parts of the world cannot. I consider U.S. is an extension of the

European civilization. I have only stayed in Brussels for three nights and one

of the three days even spending in laundry yet I have seen enough to admire

the city and the small nation of Belgium. Belgium and Holland are two small

nations in west Europe which I have learned the size of the country and the

density of population per square mile more than half a century before. They

were similar with Taiwan, 11 thousand square miles and about 9 millions in

population and one of them, Holland, even ruled southern Taiwan more than

400 years ago. Taiwan does not have any of such fascination as I describe

above. In my opinion, Brussels is similar with Paris, a capital city of former

empire and why? As I read more and more of the history of Europe, I get

to know more about Europe and why there are so many palaces, castles, and

churches.

I don’t think that I can go too far to get the connection. Roman Empire ruled

all Europe and left some castles behind and later European cities kept them

well. West Roman Empire ended in 476 A.D. by a German tribe. Historians

consider 800 A.D. was the beginning of the Holly Roman Empire until 1805 A.D.

From the fall of Roman Empire, Europe has full of self-rule city nations where

the rulers have almost outright control of the nation most of them were just

a current day size of a city or a county. Some of them merged to an empire

such as France, Germany, British etc. Some of the rulers left the city some

beautiful palaces, castles, and gardens with certain taste and character. Most

of them have become museums for the admiration of the future visitors.

In 16 century, Europe started the industrial revolution. Advanced technology

had been developed and strengthen many nations, big or small. Belgium was

one of them. European power expanded to the rest of the world and the

kingdom had accumulated a lot of wealth to spend not only in military forces

yet extended to palaces and castles even Catholic churches were the beneficiary.

Because the kingdoms were independent from a central authority, kings were

free to build all which pleased them. These would involve many kinds of art and

architectural talent. I don’t see much for the rest of the world except after 1850

of Japan; however, Japanese empire only lasted for less one hundred years.