Saint John the Baptist at the Béguinage

The Black Tower (French: Tour Noire, Dutch: Zwarte Toren) is a medieval tower in Brussels, Belgium. It is one of the best conserved remains of the first fortifications of Brussels, built at the start of the 13th century. It is located behind St. Catherine's Church on Rue de la Vierge Noire/Zwarte Maagdstraat. This site is served by the metro stations Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne and De Brouckère on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels metro. The Black Tower is notable for being one single medieval tower surrounded by modern-day buildings. This odd sight has made it a popular tourist destination.

The Place de Brouckère (French) or De Brouckèreplein (Dutch) is a major square in central Brussels, Belgium. It was created following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), replacing the Temple of the Augustinians, which was demolished in 1893. It is named in honour of Charles de Brouckère (1796–1860), a former mayor of the City of Brussels and professor at the Free University of Brussels, who played a great political role during the Belgian Revolution of 1830. The square measures approximately 50 by 350 metres (160 by 1,150 ft) and is nearly entirely paved. The Place de Brouckère is located in the perspective of the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain/Émile Jacqmainlaan and the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan to the north, forming a "Y" crossroad, and the Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan to the south. The area around the square is characterised by the presence of theatres, a large cinema, hotels and restaurants, as well as some of the city's most important entertainment venues and shopping streets. It is served by the metro and premetro (underground tram) station De Brouckère on lines 1, 3, 4 and 5.

De Brouckère is a Brussels rapid transit station located beneath the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in central Brussels (Belgium). It consists of both a metro station (serving lines 1 and 5) and a premetro (underground tram) station (serving lines 3 and 4). The station opened on 17 December 1969, as a premetro station on the tram line between De Brouckère and Schuman, and it also became a heavy metro station in 1976, serving former lines 1A and 1B. Following the reorganisation of the Brussels metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by lines 1 and 5, which cross Brussels from east to west.

Saint Catherine's Church (French: Église Sainte-Catherine, Dutch: Sint-Katelijnekerk) is a Roman Catholic parish church in Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Catherine. The current church was designed by the architect Joseph Poelaert and built between 1854 and 1874 on the site of a basin of the former Port of Brussels, replacing an older church dating back to the 15th century. The complex was designated a historic monument in 1981.The church is located on the Place Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplein, in the Quays Quarter. This site is served by Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne metro station on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels Metro.

The Royal Flemish Theatre (Dutch: Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg, abbreviated KVS, French: Théâtre royal flamand) is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium. It is the anchor of the Flemish theatre company in Brussels, which aims to promote professional theatre in the Dutch language in Belgium and abroad. A place is also made for dance, poetry, music and temporary exhibitions. The theatre is located in the Quays Quarter, where the inner port of the City of Brussels was located until the end of the 19th century. Its main facade is located on the Rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat. It is served by the metro stations Yser/IJzer (on lines 2 and 6), De Brouckère (on lines 1, 3, 4 and 5) and Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne (on lines 1 and 5).

Sainte-Catherine (French) or Sint-Katelijne (Dutch) is a Brussels metro station. It is located at the Place Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplein, between the Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai and the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai, in the municipality of the City of Brussels (Belgium). It is also situated near St. Catherine's Church, which gives the station its name. The station was inaugurated on 13 April 1977, when Brussels' first metro line (line 1) was converted from premetro (underground tram) to heavy metro. Following the reorganisation of the Brussels metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by lines 1 and 5, which use the same tracks at this point.

The Brussels massacre was an anti-Semitic episode in Brussels (then within the Duchy of Brabant) in 1370 in connection with an alleged host desecration at the Brussels synagogue. A number of Jews, variously given as six or about twenty, were executed or otherwise killed, while the rest of the small community was banished. The event occurred on May 22.The supposedly recovered hosts became objects of veneration for local Christians as the Sacrament of Miracle. The cult survived until after the Second World War and the Holocaust, after which its antisemitic elements pushed the local church to derecognise it. It was claimed that the hosts had been stabbed by Jews and had miraculously shed blood, but been otherwise unharmed. The reliquary (without the hosts) is currently preserved in the cathedral's treasury (the hosts may have been present inside it as late as the year 2000).

Brussels (French: Bruxelles [bʁysɛl] (listen) or [bʁyksɛl] (listen); Dutch: Brussel [ˈbrʏsəl] (listen)), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region (within which it forms an enclave) and the Walloon Region. Brussels is the most densely populated and the richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capita. It covers 162 km2 (63 sq mi), a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of over 1.2 million. The five times larger metropolitan area of Brussels comprises over 2.5 million people, which makes it the largest in Belgium. It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to over 5 million people.Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and home to numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including its administrative-legislative, executive-political, and legislative branches (though the judicial branch is located in Luxembourg, and the European Parliament meets for a minority of the year in Strasbourg). Because of this, its name is sometimes used metonymically to describe the EU and its institutions. The secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of NATO are also located in Brussels. As the economic capital of Belgium and a top financial centre of Western Europe with Euronext Brussels, it is classified as an Alpha global city. Brussels is a hub for rail, road and air traffic, and is sometimes considered, together with Belgium, as the geographic, economic and cultural crossroads of Europe. The Brussels Metro is the only rapid transit system in Belgium. In addition, both its airport and railway stations are the largest and busiest in the country.Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. Nowadays, the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, even though French is the lingua franca with over 90% of the inhabitants being able to speak it. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken as a second language by nearly a third of the population and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages as well.Brussels is known for its cuisine and gastronomic offer (including its local waffle, its chocolate, its French fries and its numerous types of beers), as well as its historical and architectural landmarks; some of them are registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Main attractions include its historic Grand Place, Manneken Pis, the Atomium, and cultural institutions such as La Monnaie/De Munt and the Museums of Art and History. Due to its long tradition of Belgian comics, Brussels is also hailed as a capital of the comic strip.

The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow (German: Fall Gelb) also known as Operation Sichelschnitt (German: Sichelschnittplan, from the English term sickle cut), was the war plan of the German armed forces (German: Wehrmacht) during the Battle of France in 1940. The original invasion plan was an awkward compromise devised by General Franz Halder, the chief of staff of Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH, Army High Command) that satisfied no one. Documents with details of the plan fell into Belgian hands during the Mechelen incident on 10 January 1940 and the plan was revised several times, each giving more emphasis to an attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, which progressively reduced the offensive by Army Group B through the Low Countries to a diversion. In the final version of the plan, the main effort of the German invasion was made against the Ardennes, the weakest part of the Allied line, where the defence was left to second-rate French divisions in the Second Army and the Ninth Army, on the assumption that the difficulty of moving masses of men and equipment would give the French plenty of time to send reinforcements if the area was attacked. The Seventh Army, which had been the most powerful part of the French strategic reserve, had been committed to a rush through Belgium to join with the Dutch Army to the north, in the Breda variant of Plan D, the Allied deployment plan.

The Arrondissement of Brussels-Capital (Dutch: Arrondissement Brussel-Hoofdstad; French: Arrondissement de Bruxelles-Capitale; German: Verwaltungsbezirk Brüssel-Hauptstadt) is the only administrative arrondissement in the Brussels Capital Region in Belgium. Because it is the only administrative arrondissement in the Brussels Region, its territory coincides with that of the latter. The arrondissement was created in 1963 upon the splitting of the arrondissement of Brussels into the capital one and the surrounding arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde. They remained part of the province of Brabant until it was split as well in 1995. In that year, the arrondissement of Nivelles formed the new Walloon Brabant and the arrondissements of Halle-Vilvoorde and Leuven formed the new Flemish Brabant. The arrondissement of Brussels-Capital, corresponding to the Brussels-Capital Region, thus became extraprovincial, meaning it is not a province, neither does it belong to one, nor does it contain any. However, it was the only Belgian arrondissement that was headed by a governor and a vice-governor until 2014 when these posts were abolished in accord with the 2011 state reform. The Brussels-Capital Region is divided into 19 municipalities, of which the City of Brussels is the largest and most populous. See the list of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The Temple of the Augustinians (French: Temple des Augustins, Dutch: Augustijnentempel), alternatively the Church of the Augustinians (French: Église des Augustins, Dutch: Augustijnenkerk) in Brussels, Belgium, was a Brabantine Baroque-style church designed and built from 1621 to 1642 by the architect Jacob Franquart for the Augustinians order. It was located on the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in central Brussels until its demolition in 1893–94.

The Opéra du Quai au Foin was the first public theatre in Brussels. Opened on 24 January 1682, it was abandoned in 1697 and turned into a warehouse.