Home to NATO, The European Union and the Benelux, Brussels is the capital and largest city of Belgium. It is considered its own separate region from the Flemish and Walloon Regions, forming an enclave in the former, and is the most densely populated and richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capita. Historically Dutch-speaking, French is now the lingua franca there, though they are officially bilingual.
Originally founded by Charles of Lorraine as a small rural settlement on the river Senne, it eventually grew to become an important city-region. During the Nine Years' War, the city was decimated by the French, who destroyed the Grand Palace and a third of all buildings in the city with their artillery, with traces of the following reconstruction of the city center still being seen today. The city switched hands between Spain and Austria, with it being captured by France in the War of the Austrian Succession, but returned to Austria three years later. It would later be captured again and annexed by France in 1795, becoming the department of Dyle, and would remain under French rule until Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815, becoming part of the Netherlands under the Congress of Vienna.
The Belgian revolution began here in 1830, with Brussels becoming the capital and seat of government of this new nation. The city soon prospered with the building of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and the Industrial Revolution, with the first passenger railway outside of England being built between Molenbeek and Mechelen. The population of the city boomed in the 19th century, with the Senne becoming a serious health hazard, and it's entire course through the urban area was completely covered over for urban renewal and construction. During the World Wars, it was occupied by the Germans, but spared major damage in the second before its liberation by the British. The city would then go under extensive modernization, and the term "Brusselisation" would come into existence as development was allowed to proceed with little regard to the aesthetics of newer buildings, and numerous architectural landmarks were demolished to make way for newer buildings that often clashed with their surroundings.
Today, the city is a major center of international politics, one of the top financial centers in Western Europe, and a hub for rail, road and air traffic, sometimes being called the "Crossroads of Europe".
