Place de Brouckère

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.

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 Hotel Métropole was a five-star luxury hotel in central Brussels, Belgium. Built in an eclectic style with neo-Renaissance and Louis XVI influences and opened to customers in 1895, it was the only 19th-century hotel still in operation in Brussels in the 21st century until it closed its doors in April 2020 after 125 years of continuous operation. The hotel had 251 rooms and 22 spacious suites. As of 1 January 2022, its former brasserie, the Café Métropole, located next door, remains in use. The hotel's former building is located at 31, place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, next to the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan and the Northern Passage glazed shopping arcade, as well as Brussels' busiest shopping street; the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat. This area is served by the metro and premetro (underground tram) station De Brouckère on lines 1, 3, 4 and 5.

The Passage du Nord (French) or Noorddoorgang (Dutch), meaning "Northern Passage", is a glazed shopping arcade in central Brussels, Belgium. It was built in 1881–82 in an eclectic style by Henri Rieck, following the covering of the Senne and the creation of the Central Boulevards. It is decorated with 32 caryatids in the neoclassical style by Jean-François-Joseph Bertheux and sculptures and putti by Constant Albert Desenfants.The gallery is located between the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat and the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan. It is served by the metro and premetro (underground tram) station De Brouckère on lines 1, 3, 4 and 5.

The Place de la Monnaie (French) or Muntplein (Dutch), meaning "Mint Square", is a major square in central Brussels, Belgium. The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, home to the National Opera of Belgium, is located on this square. It is served by the metro and premetro (underground tram) station De Brouckère on lines 1, 3, 4 and 5.

The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (French: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Dutch: Koninklijke Muntschouwburg; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint"), is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is housed—La Monnaie in French or De Munt in Dutch—referring both to the building as well as the opera company. As Belgium's leading opera house, it is one of the few cultural institutions which receive financial support from the Federal Government of Belgium. Other opera houses in Belgium, such as the Vlaamse Opera and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, are funded by regional governments. La Monnaie is located on the Place de la Monnaie/Muntplein, not far from the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein. The current edifice is the third theatre on the site. The facade dates from 1818 with major alterations made in 1856 and 1986. The foyer and auditorium date from 1856, but almost every other element of the present building was extensively renovated in the 1980s. It is served by De Brouckère metro station on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels Metro.

The Church of St. John the Baptist at the Béguinage (French: Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste au Béguinage, Dutch: Sint-Jan-Baptist ten Begijnhofkerk) is a Roman Catholic parish church in central Brussels, Belgium. The original Gothic church was built at the end of 13th century, as part of the Notre-Dame de la Vigne beguinage of Brussels. It was partially destroyed by calvinists in 1584 and rebuilt thereafter. Attributed to the Flemish architect Lucas Faydherbe, the reconstructed building, which still stands today, is a notable illustration of the Italian-influenced Flemish Baroque style of the 17th century. The church is located on the Place du Béguinage/Begijnhofplein, not far from the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, the Place Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplein and the Grand Hospice Pachéco. This site is served by the metro stations De Brouckère and Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne on lines 1 and 5.

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 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.