There are several neighbourhoods in Brussels, Belgium. Their names and borders are not officially defined, and they might vary occasionally. Indeed, the districts listed by the Brussels-Capital Region have a statistical purpose,[1] and therefore do not always correspond to the historic municipal districts. In addition, their borders are not necessarily identical according to regional or municipal sources, and may thus overlap.
Map of Brussels' Pentagon and its districts (in French)
Central Quarter
The origins of Brussels can be traced back to the heart of Saint-Géry/Sint-Goriks Island, formed by the river Senne, on which a first keep was built around 979. Nowadays, the neighbourhood around the Halles Saint-Géry/Sint-Gorikshallen, a former covered market, is one of the capital's trendiest districts.[2] In this Central Quarter (French: Quartier du Centre, Dutch: Centrumwijk), there are some vestiges of the 13th-century first walls of Brussels, which encompassed the area between the first port on the Senne, the old Romanesque church (later replaced by the Brabantine GothicCathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula),[3] and the former ducal palace of Coudenberg in today's Royal Quarter. At the centre of this triangle are the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square);[4] the Îlot Sacré district, which takes its name from its resistance to demolition projects, itself crossed by the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries;[5] the Saint-Jacques/Sint-Jacobs district, which welcomed pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela; as well as the former Brussels Stock Exchange building, erected on the site of a former Franciscanconvent whose remains have been unearthed.[6][7]
From the Place Royale/Koningsplein, the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapsstraat crosses the Sablon/Zavel Quarter (French: Quartier des Sablons, Dutch: Zavelwijk),[18] made of the larger Grand Sablon/Grote Zavel ("Large Sablon") square in the north-west[19] and the smaller Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavel ("Small Sablon") square and garden in the south-east,[20] divided by the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon.[21] It is a swanky district, where an antiques market is held, and in which antique and art dealers, as well as other luxury shops, have their businesses. Not far from there stood the Art NouveauMaison du Peuple/Volkshuis by the famous architect Victor Horta, until its demolition in 1965. The Sablon is also home to the Egmont Palace[22] and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.[23]
In the shadow of the gigantic Palace of Justice lies the Marolles/Marollen Quarter (French: Quartier des Marolles, Dutch: Marollenwijk, not to be confused with the Marolle that purists delimit to only seven streets).[24] From the Place de la Chapelle/Kapellemarkt[25] to the Place du Jeu de Balle/Vossenplein, where a daily flea market known as the Old Market has been held since 1873,[26] along the Rue Haute/Hogestraat and the Rue Blaes/Blaestraat, second-hand and popular shops have for some years given way to antique dealers, marking a profound transformation of the district.[27][28] The Cité Hellemans, a remarkable example of an early 20th-century collective housing complex, was built to replace the neighbourhood's many squalid cul-de-sacs.[29] The Rue Haute, one of the city's longest and oldest streets, follows the course of an old Gallo-Roman road,[27] and runs along Saint Peter's Hospital, built in 1935 on the site of a leprosium,[30] to end at the Halle Gate, the only remaining gate in a series that allowed passage inside the second walls of Brussels.[31]
It was in the heart of the Midi–Lemonnier Quarter (French: Quartier Midi–Lemonnier, Dutch: Lemmonier–Zuidwijk), where the Place Rouppe/Rouppeplein is today, that Brussels' first South Station, the terminus of the South Line, was built in 1839. It was known as Bogards' railway station for the eponymous convent whose site it was built on, and to which the Rue des Bogards/Bogaardenstraat is now the only reference.[32][33] The former presence of a station at this location also explains the unusual width of the current Avenue de Stalingrad/Stalingradlaan, which goes from the square to the Small Ring, cleared of its train tracks since the inauguration of Brussels-South Station, built outside the Pentagon in 1869.[32][34] Because of this, the neighbourhood is sometimes called the Stalingrad Quarter (French: Quartier Stalingrad, Dutch: Stalingradwijk). At the same time, following the covering of the Senne, the district saw the construction of Haussmann-esque grand central boulevards, including the Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier/Maurice Lemonnierlaan,[35] bordered by the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein[36] and the Place Anneessens/Anneessensplein (former location of the Old Market),[37] as well as by the Midi Palace.[38] Each Sunday morning, the Midi district hosts the second largest market in Europe.
The damp and marshy land around the present-day Rue de la Senne/Zennestraat and Rue des Fabriques/Fabriekstraat was occupied by craftsmen since the Middle Ages.[39][40] An arm of the river crossed the defences of the second walls at the level of the Ninove Gate via the Petite Écluse/Kleine Sluis ("Small Lock"), which served as a maritime gate, an end of which remaining there until the 1960s. Later, small industries and many artisan breweries (now disappeared) established themselves in the area, as evidenced by the names of the Rue du Houblon/Hopstraat ("Hops Street")[41] and the Rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains/Oude Graanmarktstraat ("Old Grain Market Street").[42] The Shot Tower (French: Tour à Plomb, Dutch: Loodtoren), which was used to manufacture lead shot for hunting,[43] and the Rue de la Poudrière/Kruitmolenstraat ("Gunpowder Street"),[44] also testify to the neighbourhood's former activities. Long neglected following the relocation of businesses outside the city centre, the Senne/Zenne Quarter (French: Quartier de la Senne, Dutch: Zennewijk) has in recent years been the object of renewed interest and is undergoing gentrification due to the many disused industrial premises being converted into lofts. The area around the Rue Antoine Dansaert/Antoine Dansaertstraat has become a trendy district and is attracting a younger, more well-off, and mostly Dutch-speaking population.[45] This new situation, which has resulted in rising rents, is not without problems for the neighbourhood's less fortunate inhabitants.
Rue Antoine Dansaert/Antoine Dansaertstraat
Place du Jardin aux Fleurs/Bloemenhofplein
Industrial building transformed into housing (loft)
The Quays Quarter (French: Quartier des Quais, Dutch: Kaaienwijk) is that of the old Port of Brussels, which for a long time played the role of "belly" of the city. Boats coming from the river Scheldt penetrated through the former Shore Gate (French: Porte du Rivage, Dutch: Oeverpoort), on the site of the present-day Place de l'Yser/Ijzerplein, to join one of the canals, whose docks were each reserved for one type of goods.[46] Filled in the late 19th century with the opening of Brussels' new port, these basins were replaced by wide boulevards, whose names on both sides still recall their former function: the Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai ("Brick Wharf"),[47] the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai ("Firewood Wharf"),[48] the Quai aux Pierres de Taille/Arduinkaai ("Quarry Stone Wharf"),[49] the Quai au Foin/Hooikaai ("Hay Wharf"),[50] etc., or references to the neighbourhood's commercial activities: the Rue du Magasin/Pakhuisstraat ("Warehouse Street"),[51] the Rue des Commerçants/Koopliedenstraat ("Traders Street"),[52] the Rue du Marché aux Porcs/Varkensmarktstraat ("Pig Market Street")[53] and the Quai du Commerce/Handelskaai ("Trade Wharf").[54] Along the quaysides, numerous bourgeois houses, once belonging to wealthy merchants, have preserved the entrances to the warehouses. On the Boulevard d'Ypres/Ieperlaan, one can still cross food wholesalers, now supplied by trucks that have replaced the boats.[55] The district also includes the Great Beguinage of Brussels, with the Church of St. John the Baptist[56] and the remarkable Grand Hospice Pachéco.[57]
Few of the buildings in the Marais–Jacqmain Quarter (French: Quartier Marais–Jacqmain, Dutch: Jacqmain–Broekwijk) have escaped 20th-century demolition, from the Boulevard Pachéco/Pachecolaan[58] to the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat.[59] They have given way to the State Administrative Centre, press printers, banking facilities, and commercial galleries. The current trend is to restore the neighbourhood's social mix by redeveloping former office buildings into housing. Despite the district's long-time grim aspect, the centuries-old Meyboom tradition has been maintained, and the former Art NouveauMagasins Waucquez by Victor Horta have been preserved to house, since 1993, the Belgian Comic Strip Center.[60] Another preserved islet is the 18th-century neoclassicalPlace des Martyrs/Martelaarsplein, which has gradually been renovated.[61] The victims of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 are buried there in an open crypt with a memorial. Nearby is the Rue Neuve, one of Belgium's main shopping streets, with more than 1 km (0.62 mi) of stores on both its sides;[59] the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan, a traditional 19th-century artery;[62] and the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain/Émile Jacqmainlaan (where the Théâtre national Wallonie-Bruxelles has been installed since 2004),[63] close to the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein. The latter, a very busy square, is dominated at its southern end by two block-style towers, but for the rest, it has totally (Hotel Métropole and its neighbour the Hotel Atlanta) or partially (UGC cinema) retained its old facades.[64][65][66]
The Freedom Quarter (French: Quartier des Libertés, Dutch: Vrijheidswijk) is situated between the Belgian Parliament and the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat, not far from the crossroads with the Small Ring. Its focal point is the Congress Column (erected in memory of the National Congress of 1830–31, the founder of democratic liberties in Belgium), under which also lies the tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame.[67] Not far from there is the Hotel Astoria, dating from 1911, which is currently being renovated and enlarged, to be reopened in the coming years.[68] In the 19th century, the district was known as Notre-Dame-aux-Neiges/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Sneeuw and was predominantly inhabited by working-class people. The authorities' desire to clean up the squalid parts of the city led to the expulsion of the population and the neighbourhood's complete destruction. A new bourgeois district was developed during the last quarter of the century. The choice was made to commemorate Belgian independence: the Place de la Liberté/Vrijheidsplein ("Liberty Square"),[69] the Place des Barricades/Barricadenplein ("Barricades' Square"),[70] the Rue de la Révolution/Revolutiestraat ("Revolution Street"),[71] the Rue du Congrès/Congresstraat ("Congress Street"), etc.[72] The four streets leading off the Place de la Liberté bear the names of the four constitutional liberties, symbolised by four allegoricalbronze female sculptures surrounding the Congress Column: Freedom of the Press, Worship, Association and Education.[67] This eclectic urban complex is one of the best preserved in the Pentagon.
The European Quarter (French: Quartier Européen, Dutch: Europese Wijk) is located to the east of the Pentagon, around the Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein and the Robert Schuman Roundabout, and includes the smaller Leopold Quarter (French: Quartier Léopold, Dutch: Leopoldswijk). The European Parliament was built near the Place du Luxembourg, on the site of the former Leopold Quarter railway station, and of which only the central building overlooking the square remains, having been replaced by the underground Brussels-Luxembourg railway station. The European Commission, housed in the Berlaymont building, is located on the Schuman Roundabout, not far from the Cinquantenaire Park. Across the street stands the Justus Lipsius building and the Europa building (part of the Residence Palace), serving as the seat of the European Council and the Council of the EU. In Leopold Park, the House of European History (HEH) initiates visitors to the social history of the European continent. There is a visitor centre in the main European Parliament building, known as the Parliamentarium, and another smaller one in the Justus Lipsius building for the European Council. It is accessible on certain days, by appointment. Many of the attractions in the European Quarter are free to visit.
The Squares Quarter (French: Quartier des Squares, Dutch: Squareswijk) is the northern spur of the European Quarter, located between Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and the Leopold Quarter. The district is bounded by the Chaussée de Louvain/Leuvense Steenweg to the north, the Rue du Noyer/Notelaarsstraat and the Avenue de Cortenbergh/Kortenberglaan to the east, the Rue Joseph II/Jozef II-straat and the Rue Stevin/Stevinstraat to the south, as well as the Small Ring to the west. The toponym refers to the many squares in the area, in particular the Square Ambiorix/Ambiorixsquare, the Square Marguerite/Margaretasquare, the Square Marie-Louise/Maria-Louizasquare and the Avenue Palmerston/Palmerstonlaan. The area between the Small Ring and the Square Marie-Louise is sometimes considered to be part of the Leopold Quarter.
Sometimes also known as the Pagoda district, the Japanese Tower district or De Wand district, Mutsaard (also spelled Mutsaert), is an old hamlet and a historic district located between Laeken and Neder-over-Heembeek and centred around the Place du Mutsaert/Mutsaertplaats or Mutsaardplein. The district was part of the former municipality of Laeken (postcode: 1020), but also a piece of Neder-over-Heembeek, annexed by Laeken in 1897. It is separated from the rest of Laeken by the Royal Domain and is the site of the Museums of the Far East. The district also extends a little into the neighbouring Flemish municipalities of Vilvoorde and Grimbergen.
Neder-Over-Heembeek is a former municipality incorporated into the City of Brussels in 1921, at the same time as Laeken and Haren. It has the distinction of having the oldest place name in the Brussels-Capital Region, as it was mentioned in an ordinance as early as the 7th century.[citation needed] This is where the Queen Astrid Military Hospital, which is the National Burns and Poisons Centre, as well as recruitment services of the Belgian Armed Forces are located.
Like Laeken and Neder-Over-Heembeek, the former municipality of Haren was annexed by the municipality (City) of Brussels in 1921, which allowed the extension of Schaerbeek railway station north of its territory. But it was above all the presence, south-west of the town, of an airfield, created by the Germans during the First World War, and where the former Belgian national airline Sabena was born, that precipitated the annexation of Haren. For almost fifty years, Haren has been home to NATO's headquarters. It is also the location of many other administrations and companies, such as the headquarters of Eurocontrol.
Demey, Thierry (2007). Brussels, capital of Europe. S. Strange (trans.). Brussels: Badeaux. ISBN978-2-9600414-6-0.
Eggericx, Laure (1997). Les Boulevards du Centre. Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire (in French). Vol. 20. Brussels: Centre d'information, de Documentation et d'Etude du Patrimoine.
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