Dutch in Belgium Dutch in Belgium The Dutch language used in Belgium can also be referred to as Flemish Dutch ("Vlaams-Nederlands"), Belgian Dutch ("Belgisch-Nederlands" ), or Southern Dutch ("Zuid-Nederlands"). Dutch is the mother tongue of about 60% of the population in Belgium, or by approximately 6.5 million people.(over 11 million inhabitants). It is the only official language in the Flemish Region (Flanders) (which consists of the provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Antwerp, and Limburg) and, in addition to French, the official language in the Brussels. However, in the Brussels Capital Region and in the adjacent Flemish-Brabant municipalities, Dutch was largely
Reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands Gelderland), Groningen (Groningen) and Leeuwarden (Friesland), they would form the northern ecclesiastical province of Utrecht. Roermond and 's-Hertogenbosch became part of the southern ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen (further roughly including present Belgium). After the Dutch Revolt, the northern Netherlands formed the independent Dutch Republic, where Protestant Calvinism was privileged while Catholicism was severely restricted. The first Archbishop of Utrecht, Frederik V Schenck van Toutenburg, was removed from office, thereby ending the short-lived archdiocese. In 1592, Rome declared the province of Utrecht a mission area, the Dutch Mission 'Batavia', soon headed by an apostolic vicar. 's-Hertogenbosch later