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{{about|the municipality|the greater city with the status of Capital Region|Brussels}}
{{Infobox Belgium Municipality
| name = City of Brussels
|native_name = {{unbulleted list| <small>''{{lang|fr|Ville de Bruxelles}}''</small> |<small> ''{{lang|nl|Stad Brussel}}''</small> }}
| picture = 00 Bruxelles - Mont des Arts.jpg
| picture-width =
| picture-legend =
| map = Location City of Brussels.svg
| map-legend = City of Brussels in the [[Brussels|Brussels-Capital Region]]
| arms = Greater Coat of Arms of Brussels.svg
| flag = Flag of the City of Brussels.svg
|flag_link=Symbols of Brussels#Municipalities
|arms_link=Symbols of Brussels#Municipalities
| region = {{BE-REG-BRU}}
| community = {{BE-FR}}<br/>{{BE-NL}}
| province =
| arrondissement = Brussels
| nis = 21004
| pyramid-date =
| 0-19 =
| 20-64 =
| 65 =
| foreigners =
| foreigners-date =
| mayor = [[Yvan Mayeur]] ([[Parti Socialiste (Belgium)|PS]])
| list_of_mayors = List of mayors of the City of Brussels
| majority =
| postal-codes = 1000-1130
| telephone-area = 02
| web =[http://www.brussels.be/ www.brussels.be]
| lat_deg = 50
| lat_min = 51
| lon_deg = 04
| lon_min = 21
}}
The '''City of Brussels''' ([[French language|French]]: ''Ville de Bruxelles'' {{IPA-fr|ˈvil də bʀyˈsɛl|}} or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' {{IPA-fr|bʀyˈsɛl ˈvil|}}, [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: ''Stad Brussel'' {{IPA-nl|s̪t̪ɑt̪ ˈbrʏ.s̪əl̪|}} or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest [[municipality]] of the [[Brussels|Brussels-Capital Region]], and the official [[Capital city|capital]] of [[Belgium]].<ref>Article 194 of [http://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/publications/constitution/grondwetEN.pdf Belgium's constitution]</ref>
The City of Brussels is a municipality consisting of the central historic town and certain additional areas within the greater Brussels-Capital Region, namely [[Haren, Belgium|Haren]], [[Laeken]] and [[Neder-Over-Heembeek]] to the north, and [[Avenue Louise]] and the [[Bois de la Cambre]] park to the south.
On 1 January 2006, the City of Brussels had a total population of 144,784. The total area is 32.61 km² which gives a [[population density]] of 4,440 inhabitants per km². As of 2007, there were approximately 50,000 registered non-Belgians in the City of Brussels.<ref>[http://www.dofi.fgov.be/fr/statistieken/statistiques_etrangers/Stat_ETRANGERS.htm Statistics foreign population in Belgium by municipality (in French and Dutch only)]</ref>
==Territorial history==
[[File:Brussel.1610.a.jpg|thumb|left|Engraving from c. 1610]]
At first, the City of Brussels was simply defined, being the area within the [[second walls of Brussels]], the modern-day [[small ring (Brussels)|small ring]]. As the city grew, the surrounding villages grew as well, eventually growing into a contiguous city, though the local governments retained control of their area.
The construction of [[Avenue Louise]] was commissioned in 1847 as a monumental avenue bordered by [[Aesculus hippocastanum|chestnut trees]] that would allow easy access to the popular recreational area of the [[Bois de la Cambre]]. However, fierce resistance to the project was put up by the town of [[Ixelles]] (which was then still separate from Brussels) through whose land the avenue was supposed to run. After years of fruitless negotiations, Brussels finally [[annexation|annexed]] the narrow band of land needed for the avenue plus the Bois de la Cambre itself in 1864. That decision accounts for the unusual southeastern protrusion of the City of Brussels and for Ixelles being split in two separate parts. The [[Université Libre de Bruxelles]]' Solbosch campus is also part of the City of Brussels, partially accounting for the bulge in the southeast end.
Unlike most of the municipalities in Belgium, the ones located in the Brussels-Capital Region were not merged with others during mergers occurring in 1964, 1970, and 1975.<ref name="roots">{{cite web|url=http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/_places/bel_places.html|title=Municipalities (1795-now)|last=Picavet|first=Georges|date=29 April 2003|publisher=Georges Picavet|accessdate=2009-04-05}}</ref> However, several municipalities been merged with the City of Brussels throughout its history including [[Laeken]], [[Haren, Belgium|Haren]], and [[Neder-Over-Heembeek]], which were merged into the City of Brussels in 1921.<ref name="Brussels">{{cite web|url=http://belgium.rootsweb.ancestry.com/bel/2bru/index.html|title=Brussels Capital-Region|date=4 June 2005 |publisher=Georges Picavet |accessdate=2009-04-05}}</ref>
==Mayors==
[[Image:Luc Viatour Hotel de ville Bruxelles 1.JPG|thumb|left|200px|[[Brussels Town Hall|City of Brussels town hall]] at the mediæval [[Grand Place]]]]
As in every other Belgian municipality, the City of Brussels is headed by a [[mayor]], which should be confused with neither the [[Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region]] nor the [[Governor of Brussels-Capital]].
==Capital of Belgium==
[[Image:BrusselLocatie.png|thumb|250px|City of Brussels (in red) within Brussels-Capital Region]]
According to the Belgian Constitution (Art. 194) the capital of Belgium is the City of Brussels municipality. Arguments that the use of lower case in "''ville''" and "''stad''" in Article 194 for "''ville de Bruxelles''" (French), "''stad Brussel''" (Dutch) makes a subtle difference and means that Brussels at large as the capital cannot be defended on a legal basis. However, although the City of Brussels is the official capital, the funds delegated by the federation and region for the representative role of the capital are divided among the 19 municipalities and, in practice, national Belgian institutions are indeed located not only in the City of Brussels, although many are, but also in most of the other 18 municipalities of the [[Brussels-Capital region]]. The implication is that ''de facto'' the entire Region serves as capital, but ''de jure'' only the City of Brussels is entitled to the title of capital of Belgium.
==See also==
*[[Brussels]]
*[[List of mayors of the City of Brussels]]
*[[Transport in Brussels]]
* [[Timeline of Brussels history]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons|Bruxelles - Brussel}}
* {{Official website|www.brussels.be/|Official website of The City of Brussels}}
* [http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/En/1en_admi/1en_5com/1en_5bru.htm Page related to The City of Brussels in the Brussels-Capital Region official web site]
* [http://www.brussels.be/4664 Webcam Grand-Place Brussels]
* [http://www.ilotsacre.be/site/en/default_en.htm Interactive map of Brussels historical city centre]
{{Brussels-Capital_Region}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brussels}}
[[Category:Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region]]
[[Category:Government of Brussels]]
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