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Pictures of City Belgium Brussels

By Pictures of cities

on February 14, 2009

Pictures of City Belgium Brussels

Brussels is the largest urban area in Belgium and de facto capital city of the European Union. Officially, Brussels is known as ‘Brussels Capital-Region. People often confuse Brussels with the much smaller ‘City of Brussels’ withing it, which is the capital of Belgium. Brussels has turned from a 10th century fortress into a metropolis of more than one million inhabitants. After WWII, Brussels has remained as an important center of international politics. Main institutions of European Union and headquarters of NATO are situated at Brussels. In terms of per capita income, Brussels is the third richest city in EU.

Although historically Brussels was a Dutch speaking city but majority of the inhabitants are French speaking and thus both the languages are official. Due to its close proximity to the coastal area, the climate of Brussels is influenced by marine air masses from the Atlantic Ocean. Brussels faces on an average 200 days of rain per year. Brussels is divided into 19 municipalities. Architecture in Brussels is diverse, spanning from the medieval constructions on Grand Place to the modern buildings of EU institutions. Brussels is the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. Main attractions of Brussels include Grand Place, Gothic Town Hall, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral, Laken Castle with large greenhouses, Royal palace and many other museums and historical structures and buildings.

Pictures of City Belgium Brussels

Pictures of City Estonia Tallinn

By Pictures of cities

on February 14, 2009

Pictures of City Estonia Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It lies on the northern coast of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland. Tallinn is an important industrial, political, cultural center and a seaport. Lake Ulemiste is the largest lake (9.6 square Km) and the main drinking source in Tallinn. A limestone cliff runs through the city of Tallinn.

Tallinn has a coastline of 46 km and it comprises of three large peninsulas. Tallinn is subdivided into eight administrative districts. As of May 2007, population of Tallinn is around 400,000. Due to Soviet occupation during 1944-1991, large number of non-Estonians, mostly Russians, migrated and settled in Estonia. Around 28% of total population of Tallinn is non-EU, which is the highest among the member state capitals of EU. Besides the Estonian language, Russian, Finnish and English are the three major international languages that are spoken in Tallinn. Major economy of Tallinn is dependent on seaport and IT. It is considered as the Silicone Valley of Baltic Sea. Main attractions in Tallinn are in the two old towns (Lower Town and Toompea) that could be easily explored on foot.