Flanders is the Northern Dutch speaking state of the Federal Kingdom Belgium. The Capital of Flanders is Brussels. 60 % of the Belgian population is Flemish. They are hard working, multilingual, and they create +75 % of the Belgian Export.
Flanders and Wallonia together with Holland were known as the Low Lands. The southern part was separated from the rest of the Netherlands by the religious wars in the 16th century. The Catholics ended up south of the border, the Protestants north. After the defeat of the French dictator Napoleon, Flanders and Wallonia were united again with the rest of the Netherlands. In 1830 the French sponsored a secession, the English liked the idea of hurting their enemy Holland, and Belgium was born. Since Belgium was created to become a French speaking nation, the Flemings had to struggle very hard to defend and conserve their culture. The Flemings succeeded at a cost of many lifes, and today, they have all the cultural rights of every other independent people.

During mediaeval times, Flanders was a very rich independent nation, competing only with the Northern Italian cities in splendor and grandeur. The fierce cities Bruges, Gent, Antwerp and later Brussels were cultural, economical, political and religious capitals of Western Europe. Flemings helped William the Conqueror to win England, Flemings helped build the Catalan reign around Barcelona, Flemings were the partners of the Hansa-stadte around the Baltic Sea. Flemish, Dutch, German, Danish, English ... are very close related languages. Up to 500 years ago a person from Northern Europe could easily understand his fellow North Europeans. And if it was too complicated, intellectuals and priests all spoke Latin. The Flemings, who were fled to the North during the cruel Spanish Catholic inquisition, created the Netherlands in the 17th century. Flemings worked together with the Portuguese and Spain to conquer the new world. Flemings made central Africa a Catholic region in the 19th century. The works of Flemish painters like Bruegel, Van Eyck, Rubens, Memlinck ... are the most expensive paintings of today, and can be seen in the most famous museums all around the world. Mercator, designed the first world maps. Vesalius made the first maps of the human body. The first stock exchange of the world was in Bruges ...

Today, Flanders is a rich, over organized country. Very beautiful because of its rich past. The buildings and the museums are world famous. The weather is soft, nothing extreme, with a lot of gentle rain. Flanders is very flat with a strong agricultural sector, that concentrates on vegetables and industrial meat-farms (pork, chickens, beef) to survive on a shortage of open space and land. The villages and the cities are build very close together. Together with Holland, Flanders becomes the main port of entry for the rest of Northern Europe. Transport and storage are two key assets.
Antwerp is the world center for diamonds. Its large port houses also several big factories, auto plants, refineries, chemical plants and much more. Telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology are the more modern industries. Flemings are known to be open for all other cultures, and every Fleming coming out of high-school speaks 3 languages. A college educated kid may speak a couple languages more.

For a beer drinker, Flanders like the rest of Belgium, is paradise. Beer, good beer, special beer, tasty beer, strong beer ... is available every where for every body. Flemings learn to handle and appreciate beer from very young. Beer is part of the nature of the Fleming, who likes to make fun, who likes the good life. A Fleming is less concerned about sin and guilt. God forgives. Best beer, best chocolate, best cookies, best food, best restaurants ... you find them all in Flanders.