THE ROAD TO BELGIUM

Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers -

The Kingdom of Belgium stretches west to the North Sea, north to the Netherlands, east to Germany and Luxembourg and south to France. Belgium is a federation of the Flemish-speaking Flanders, the French-speaking Wallonia and the bilingual capital of Brussels. The Belgian area is like a crossroads in Europe, and the country has seen a great deal of cultural upheaval and migrating peoples.

FROM CELTS, TO ROMANS, TO FRANCS, TO NATO

As a Roman province it was named after the Celtic tribe known as the Belgae. The current language division goes back to the migration period, where it defined the border between Romantic and Germanic languages. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, the area was reunified with the Netherlands, until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, which was the start of the Belgian state. The country got its first constitution in 1831.

EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY

Belgium was a neutral country, but was invaded both in the First World War and the Second World War, after which, Belgium became one of the founding members of NATO and the European Coal and Steel Community, later known as the EU.

BIKING IN THE ARDENNES

The southernmost part of Belgium and the Ardennes, are highly suited for motorbiking. The good cuisine and the fantastic variety of beer, ensures that you won’t be the first to wake up in the morning. Cities like Brussels and Tournai are great for a night on the town. On the French border is the town of Ieper, which was completely annihilated during the First World War. Flanders, and all of the Franco-Belgian area around the Western Front, is worth a good long ride.