the Low Countries

Cultural  

1. Collective name for The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, so called because much of their land surface is at or below sea level. These countries have often been culturally and historically united, and, bordered by the most powerful nations in Europe, they have been a major battleground in European wars for centuries.

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Example Sentences

The Swiss Brethren was one of several Anabaptist churches—churches rejecting infant baptism in favor of adult baptism—that were established in the sixteenth century, primarily in central Europe and the Low Countries.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Without overwhelming help from the Allies in World Wars I and II, France and the Low Countries of Netherlands and Belgium would have been overrun by the Nazis.

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2022

Several of the most popular urbanist Twitter accounts are based in the Low Countries and Scandinavia, with many followers across the Atlantic.

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2022

A trip to the Low Countries isn’t complete until you’ve encountered the Renaissance religious art of Hieronymus Bosch.

From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2019

Maddie gave a sudden gasp of understanding and waved at the enormous map of southeast England and northwest France and the Low Countries that covered the wall behind her radio.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein