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Aalst

(Encyclopedia)Aalst älst [key], Fr. Alost, city, East Flanders prov., W central Belgium. Aalst is a commercial and industrial center. Manufactures include textiles, clothing, and footw...

Flemish language

(Encyclopedia)Flemish language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). Generally regarded as the Belgian variant of Dutch (see...

Keyes, Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Keyes, Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron kēz [key], 1872–1945, British admiral. In World War I he achieved his greatest fame as commander of the Dover patrol when he raided Zeebrugge and Ostend ...

Zeebrugge

(Encyclopedia)Zeebrugge zāˈbrŭˌgə [key], outer port of Bruges (Brugge), West Flanders prov., NW Belgium, on the North Sea. Zeebrugge was developed c.1900 to replace the silted-up port of Bruges; it is connecte...

Roosebeke, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Roosebeke, battle of rōˈzəbāˌkə [key], 1382, in the modern-day village of Westrozebeke, Staden commune, West Flanders prov., W Belgium. The French under Olivier de Clisson defeated Flemish weave...

Quetelet, Adolphe

(Encyclopedia)Quetelet, Adolphe ädôlfˈ kĕtəlāˈ [key], 1796–1874, Belgian statistician and astronomer. He was the first director (1828) of the Royal Observatory at Brussels. As supervisor of statistics for ...

Paris Pacts

(Encyclopedia)Paris Pacts, four international agreements signed in Paris on Oct. 23, 1954, to establish a new international status for West Germany. Since the end of World War II, West Germany had been occupied by ...

Brabant, duchy of

(Encyclopedia)Brabant, duchy of, former duchy, divided between Belgium (Brabant and Antwerp provs.) and the Netherlands (North Brabant prov.). Louvain, Brussels, and Antwerp were its chief cities. The duchy of Brab...

Jean

(Encyclopedia)Jean zhäN [key], 1921–2019, grand duke of Luxembourg (1964–2000); son of Charlotte, grand duchess of Luxembourg, and Felix, prince of Bourbon-Parma. He fought with Great Britain's Irish Guards in...

Meuse, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Meuse möz [key], department (1990 pop. 196,344), NE France, in Lorraine, bordering on Belgium. Bar-le-Duc, the capital, and Verdun are the chief towns. Its industries include the manufacture of metal...