page_title: Timeline of Brussels
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Brussels / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Leopold II Statue at Place du Trône
context_page_description: The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of Brussels, Belgium.
context_section_description: 1901 – Maison & Atelier Horta built.
  1905
  Cauchie house built.
  Cinquantenaire's triumphal arch finished.
  1908 – Chapel of the Resurrection built.
  1910 – Brussels International world's fair held.
  1911 – Solvay Conference held in city.
  1914 – World War I: Brussels captured and occupied by the German Army.
  1917 – Constant Vanden Stock Stadium opens.
  1919
  Lignes Farman airline begins operating its Paris-Brussels route.
  Population: 685,268 metro.
  1920 – Oscar Bossaert Stadium opens.
  1921 – Haren, Laeken, and Neder-Over-Heembeek, merged into the City of Brussels.
  1922 – Société du Palais des Beaux-Arts and Jardin botanique Jean Massart (garden) established.
  1923 – Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History opens.
  1927 – Solvay Conference held.
  1930 – Jubilee Stadium opens.
  1931 – Brussels Symphony Orchestra founded.
  1935
  Brussels International Exposition held.
  Basilica of the Sacred Heart consecrated.
  1937 – Queen Elisabeth Music Competition begins.
  1939 – Constantin Meunier Museum opens.
  1940 – World War II: German Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France headquartered in Brussels.
  1944
  3–4 September: Liberation of Brussels by the Welsh Guards; Palace of Justice burnt by Germans to destroy legal records during their retreat.
  8 September: Belgian government in exile returns to Brussels after four years in London.
  A de jure District of Brussels formed by Nazi Germany, which is now no longer in control of the territory.
  1948
  Treaty of Brussels signed.
  Brussels Airport opens.
  1949 – NATO headquarters established.
  1952 – Brussels-Central railway station and Brussels-South railway station open.
  1958
  Brussels World's Fair Expo 58 held.
  The Atomium is built.
  1960 – City hosts Congolese Round Table Conference.
  1967 – L'Innovation Department Store fire.
  1969 – Free University of Brussels splits along linguistic lines into Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
  1971
  Brussels Agglomeration created.
  Flower carpet in Grand Place begins.
  1974 – Brussels International Independent Film Festival begins.
  1975
  Bank Brussels Lambert headquartered in city.
  Université catholique de Louvain's Jardin des plantes médicinales Paul Moens established.
  1976 – Brussels Metro begins operating.
  1978
  Brussels Ring constructed.
  RTBF Symphony Orchestra formed.
  1979 - Archives of the City of Brussels moves into the former Anciens magasins Waucquez.
  1980
  Flemish Community and French Community of Belgium each designate Brussels as capital city.
  Population of Brussels-Capital Region: 1,008,715.
  1985
  Pope John Paul II visits city.
  29 May: Heysel Stadium disaster.
  1988 – Kinepolis Brussels opens.
  1989
  Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, and Belgian Comic Strip Center established.
  Mini-Europe opens.
  1990 – Population of Brussels-Capital Region: 964,385.
  1993 – Espace Léopold opens.
  1994
  City of Brussels designated capital of Belgium and seat of federal government.
  Freddy Thielemans becomes mayor.
  Besix construction headquartered in Brussels.
  1996 – Belgacom Towers built.
  1998 – Ancienne Belgique renovated.
  1999 – Wedding of Prince Philippe and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz
  2000
  Municipal website online (approximate date).
  Zinneke Parade begins.
  Musical Instrument Museum relocates.
caption: Equestrian statue of Leopold II, Regent place, Brussels
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