The Kingdom of Belgium (Dutch: België, French: Belgique) in Western Europe with its capital Brussels covers 30,688 km². It lies between the North Sea and the Ardennes and borders the Netherlands to the north, Germany and Luxembourg to the east and France to the south. The north of the country with the Flemish is Dutch, the south with the Walloons is French and East Belgium is German. Together with the neighbouring state of Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the Benelux states are formed.
Viticulture has a long tradition despite its minor economic importance. In the 9th century, under Emperor Charlemagne (742-814), monks in southern Belgium began to cultivate vines. There were vineyards on the Meuse around Antwerp, Brabant, Hainaut, Liège and Naumur. Even in the early Middle Ages, wines from Flanders (today the two provinces of East and West Flanders, the remaining part is in France) were highly valued and the centre of the northern European wine trade. In the 15th century, due to climatic changes in connection with the Little Ice Age and competition from Burgundy, viticulture was abandoned.
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