Belgium

The “World Heraldry 3D” project is moving forward, steadily and alphabetically, and this time it’s Belgium’s turn. Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states. The region was called Belgica in Latin because of the Roman province Gallia Belgica which covered more or less the same area. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium seceded from the Netherlands, many battles between European powers were fought in the area of Belgium, causing it to be dubbed the battleground of Europe, a reputation strengthened by both World Wars.

The territory of Belgium is divided into three Regions, two of which, Flanders and Wallonia, are in turn subdivided into provinces; the third Region, Brussels, being neither a province nor a part of a province. The Belgian Armed Forces are organized into one unified structure which consists of four main components: Land Component, or the Army; Air Component, or the Air Force; Naval Component, or the Navy; Medical Component. The operational commands of the four components are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defence, which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training, and to the Chief of Defence.

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Belgium bears a lion, called the Belgian Lion, or Leo Belgicus. The greater arms are used only rarely. They adorn the great seal that is affixed to laws and international treaties. The lesser coat of arms (as used by the Belgian federal government, on passport covers and the official sites of the monarchy and of the government) consists of the shield, the royal crown, the crossed sceptres, the collar of the Order of Leopold and the motto. he newly independent Kingdom of Belgium decided to base its coat of arms and flag on the symbols used by the short-lived United Netherlandish States. These came into being after the Southern Netherlands threw off Austrian rule. It existed as an independent polity from January to December 1790. The Duchy of Brabant had taken the lead in the so called Brabantine Revolution, the insurrection against Emperor Joseph II, and afterwards dominated the United Netherlandish States. Therefore the Brabantine lion (sable, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules) came to stand for the entire federation.

As always, the “Belgium 3D”designs are available on a limited number of selected hi quality products via my “World Heraldry” galleries at Zazzle. You may simply follow the direct links in the article to navigate to the corresponding galleries. I will also make my designs available free of charge for non-commercial use to any government and military officials of the corresponding countries, as well as for non-commercial and personal use, such as school projects, presentations, forum avatars to businesses and individuals.

The above information provided in part by Wikipedia, The Heraldry Society, Global Security, and official websites of the above-mentioned countries.