Belgian-German relations are the interstate relations between Belgium and Germany. Both of these are neighbouring countries and share a common 204 kilometer long landborder. Both nations are members of NATO, the European Union and the Eurozone.
Belgium has an embassy in Berlin, a consul in Cologne as well as an honorary consulate in Duisburg, Frankfurt am Main,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Aachen, Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Bremen, while Germany has an Embassy in Brussels. They also have honorary consuls in Liège, Hasselt, Antwerp, and Eupen.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 56,000 Belgians currently live in Germany, and Around 40,000 Germans living in Belgium in 2021.
Some German cities (like Hanau and Cologne) are or were traditional centres of Belgian Protestant Diaspora. German is besides Dutch and French also the third official language in Belgium. The
German-speaking Community of Belgium
The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
is the smallest of the three political communities in Belgium.
History
The modern territory of Belgium, along with Germany, had been part of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
for centuries until the end of the 18th century. The first king of Belgium after Belgium gained its independence in 1830 was
Leopold I, who hailed from the aristocratic family of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-d ...
. To date, all Belgian kings stem from his lineage.
The territory currently comprising the
German-speaking community in Belgium was taken from Germany following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, as stipulated the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
as compensation for the Allied countries.
See also
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Foreign relations of Belgium
Belgium is a country in Europe and member of major international organizations like the European Union and NATO which are both headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
As a federal state, the Communities and Regions have their own foreign relations ...
*
Foreign relations of Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) is a Central European country and member of the European Union, G4, G7, the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It maintains ...
References
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