Why do Belgians live in small three-story houses

Belgium is able to charm you from the first minute if you find yourself in one of the historical centers - Dinan, Bruges, Ghent or on the coast in Ostend. This country may cause confusion among tourists. It is small, but the population uses two different languages ​​- French and Flemish. And I was interested in another paradox: why are residential buildings close to each other, is it convenient?

Every traveler knows that architecture is the face of the city. Belgian cities fascinate with the beauty of the landscape, which harmoniously fits the historically formed appearance of streets, churches, facades, and public gardens.

There are different facades, but the most common are 2-4-storey buildings, which stand end-to-end and represent an integral building. It is interesting that the number of floors, the type and shape of the roof, the color of the facade, and the design of the windows vary. How could this happen? Let's plunge into history. Once upon a time in Belgium there was a tax on land for buildings. Each family wanted to save money and took a small plot, hoping to settle on several floors. The houses were close, but each owner decorated the facade in his own way. This is how we got a kaleidoscope of colors, typical, for example, of Dinan.

How do we see it now? Getting into such a house, you can see a living room with a kitchen, but the bedrooms will be located on the upper floors. Thus, our property is always measured in square meters, while the Belgians have historically taken into account only the area of ​​land that your home occupies.

Would you like to live in such a house, given that the stairs are narrow, and you will have to go down and up often? Do you like this idea of ​​urban space planning? Your answers are very interesting. It seems to me that now compact development is a priority for cities, apparently the Belgians used to everyone understood that space should not be wasted, and each house should have its own face and history.

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