Neighbourhoods in Brussels

There are several neighbourhoods in Brussels, Belgium. Their names and borders are not officially defined, and they might vary occasionally. The districts listed by the Brussels-Capital Region have a statistical purpose, 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.
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. 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 Gothic Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula), 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); the Îlot Sacré district, which takes its name from its resistance to demolition projects, itself crossed by the Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries; 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 Franciscan convent whose remains have been unearthed.
The Royal Quarter (French: Quartier Royal or Quartier de la Cour, Dutch: Koninklijke Wijk or Koningswijk) is so named because it houses, on the one hand, the Place Royale/Koningsplein ("Royal Square" or "King's Square"), built under Charles-Alexander of Lorraine on the Coudenberg hill, on the site of the former Palace of the Dukes of Brabant, of which certain levels of foundation still exist, and on the other hand, the Royal Palace of Brussels, which faces Brussels Park, on the other side of which is the Belgian House of Parliament (Palace of the Nation). Below the Royal District is the Central Station and the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg, home to the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), the Royal Belgian Film Archive (Cinematek), the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts, the Museum of Cinema, the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM), the BELvue Museum, and the Oldmasters Museum.
From the Place Royale/Koningsplein, the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapsstraat crosses the Sablon/Zavel Quarter (French: Quartier des Sablons, Dutch: Zavelwijk), made of the larger Grand Sablon/Grote Zavel ("Large Sablon") square in the north-west and the smaller Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavel ("Small Sablon") square and garden in the south-east, divided by the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon. 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 Nouveau Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis by the famous architect Victor Horta, until its demolition in 1965. The Sablon is also home to the Egmont Palace and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
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). From the Place de la Chapelle/Kapellemarkt to the Place du Jeu de Balle/Vossenplein, where a daily flea market known as the Old Market has been held since 1873, 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. 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. The Rue Haute, one of the city's longest and oldest streets, follows the course of an old Gallo-Roman road, and runs along Saint Peter's Hospital, built in 1935 on the site of a leprosium, to end at the Halle Gate, the only remaining gate in a series that allowed passage inside the second walls of Brussels.
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. 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. 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, bordered by the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein and the Place Anneessens/Anneessensplein (former location of the Old Market), as well as by the Midi Palace. 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. 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") and the Rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains/Oude Graanmarktstraat ("Old Grain Market Street"). The Shot Tower (French: Tour à Plomb, Dutch: Loodtoren), which was used to manufacture lead shot for hunting, and the Rue de la Poudrière/Kruitmolenstraat ("Gunpowder Street"), 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. This new situation, which has resulted in rising rents, is not without problems for the neighbourhood's less fortunate inhabitants.
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. 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"), the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai ("Firewood Wharf"), the Quai aux Pierres de Taille/Arduinkaai ("Quarry Stone Wharf"), the Quai au Foin/Hooikaai ("Hay Wharf"), etc., or references to the neighbourhood's commercial activities: the Rue du Magasin/Pakhuisstraat ("Warehouse Street"), the Rue des Commerçants/Koopliedenstraat ("Traders Street"), the Rue du Marché aux Porcs/Varkensmarktstraat ("Pig Market Street") and the Quai du Commerce/Handelskaai ("Trade Wharf"). 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. The district also includes the Great Beguinage of Brussels, with the Church of St. John the Baptist and the remarkable Grand Hospice Pachéco.
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 to the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat. 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 Nouveau Magasins Waucquez by Victor Horta have been preserved to house, since 1993, the Belgian Comic Strip Center. Another preserved islet is the 18th-century neoclassical Place des Martyrs/Martelaarsplein, which has gradually been renovated. 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; the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan, a traditional 19th-century artery; and the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain/Émile Jacqmainlaan (where the Théâtre national Wallonie-Bruxelles has been installed since 2004), 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.
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. 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. 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"), the Place des Barricades/Barricadenplein ("Barricades' Square"), the Rue de la Révolution/Revolutiestraat ("Revolution Street"), the Rue du Congrès/Congresstraat ("Congress Street"), etc. The four streets leading off the Place de la Liberté bear the names of the four constitutional liberties, symbolised by four allegorical bronze female sculptures surrounding the Congress Column: Freedom of the Press, Worship, Association and Education. 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.
Laeken is a former municipality in the north of the Brussels-Capital Region, annexed by the City of Brussels in 1921. It is home to, among others, the Royal Domain of Laeken, the Palace of Laeken, the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, the Church of Our Lady of Laeken (whose crypt contains the tombs of the Belgian royal family) and Laeken Cemetery, known for its wealth of monuments and sculptures. On the territory of Laeken also lies the Heysel/Heizel Plateau, the site of the World's Fairs of 1935 and 1958, and which includes the King Baudouin Stadium, Bruparck (with the Atomium, Mini-Europe miniature park and Kinepolis cinema), the Centenary Palace, home to the Brussels Exhibition Centre (Brussels Expo), and the Port of Brussels, next to which the Monument to Work by Constantin Meunier was erected. On its southern part, it holds the former Tour & Taxis former industrial site, which was annexed by the City of Brussels in 1897, twenty-four years before the rest of the municipality.
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. 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.
The Northern Quarter is the central business district, featuring high-rise buildings housing Belgian and multinational company headquarters. It is comparable to La Défense in Paris or the Docklands in London. Located between the Brussels Canal, Brussels-North railway station, and the Small Ring, the area spans Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek, and the City of Brussels. It contains over half of Belgium's tallest buildings, 1,200,000 m (13,000,000 sq ft) of office space, 40,000 workers, and 8,000 residents.
Tour & Taxis is a large former industrial site situated on the embankment of the Brussels Canal, just north-west of the Pentagon. The location is immediately adjacent to Laeken and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and about 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) west from the Northern Quarter. The site is composed of large warehouses and commercial buildings at a former freight train station called the Maritime Station (French: Gare Maritime, Dutch: Maritiem Station), and its spacious central hall known as the Royal Depot (French: Entrepôt Royal, Dutch: Koninklijk Pakhuis). The main buildings on the site are made of brick, glass and wrought iron, and are prime examples of 19th-century industrial architecture. Though the site was long disused following its loss of importance as a transshipment and customs hub, it has been partially regenerated, and is now used for shops, offices, eateries, as well as for large cultural events.
The historical centre of Anderlecht is the municipality's central district. Formerly known as Rinck, it is divided into several sectors:
Located in the north-east of Anderlecht, Cureghem/Kuregem is one of the municipality's largest and most populated districts. It developed during the Industrial Revolution along the Brussels–Charleroi Canal and is currently in a fragile social and economic situation due to the decline of its economy and the poor quality of some of its housing. Between 1836 and 1991, the district housed the Royal School of Veterinary Medicine, now moved to Liège but often still referred to as Cureghem. The old campus, listed as protected heritage, is currently undergoing a large rehabilitation process. Three listed buildings—the former Atlas Brewery, the old power station, and the former Moulart Mill—are testaments to the old industrial activities next to the waterway. The Municipal Hall of Anderlecht is located on the Place du Conseil/Raadsplein, in the heart of this district. In its lower part, bordering the City of Brussels, are the Square de l'Aviation/Luchtvaartsquare and the Parc de la Rosée/Dauwpark.
Located in the centre of Anderlecht.
Located in the centre of Anderlecht.
Located in the south of Anderlecht, La Roue/Het Rad ("The Wheel") is one of the municipality's largest districts and one of Brussels' main garden cities. Built in the 1920s, with its modest and picturesque houses, it offers a great vision of an early 20th-century working class neighbourhood. It is also home to one of the largest agribusiness industry campuses in Belgium: the Food and Chemical Industries Education and Research Center (CERIA/COOVI), as well as popular department stores.
Located in the north of Anderlecht, Scheut is bounded by the border with the municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean to the north, the historical centre of Anderlecht to the south, the Birmingham district to the east, the Scheutveld district to the west and the semi-natural site of the Scheutbos to the north-west. It is in this district, on the Chaussée de Ninove/Ninoofsesteenweg, that lay the foundations of the Scheutveld College, on 28 April 1863, by the Catholic priest Theophile Verbist. The congregation of Scheut Missionaries went on to evangelise China, Mongolia, the Philippines, as well as the Congo Free State/Belgian Congo (modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Located in the north of Anderlecht.
Located in the north of Anderlecht.
Located in the north-west of Anderlecht.
Located in the centre-west of Anderlecht.
Located in the north-west of Anderlecht.
Located in the south-west of Anderlecht.
Located in the south of Anderlecht.
Located in the north-west of Etterbeek.
Located in the south of Etterbeek.
Located in the north-east of Forest.
Located in the south of Forest.
Located in the north of Ixelles.
Located in the north of Ixelles.
Located in the centre of Ixelles.
Located in the centre of Ixelles.
Located in the west of Ixelles.
Located in the south-west of Ixelles.
Located in the south of Ixelles.
Located in the east of Jette.
Located in the north of Jette.
The historical centre of Molenbeek is the municipality's central district. Like Cureghem, it was once a centre of intense industrial activity, concentrated around the Brussels–Charleroi Canal. The Municipal Hall of Molenbeek is located on the Place Communale/Gemeenteplein ("Municipal Square"), in the heart of this district.
Located to the south of the historical centre of Molenbeek, this district is centred on the Place de la Duchesse de Brabant/Hertogin van Brabantplein. The square was created in 1847 on the grounds of the Hospices de Bruxelles, of which only the neoclassical facade remains. The hospice buildings now house a primary school (municipal school no. 5). In 1869, the Church of St. Barbara was erected there for the Catholic worship of the new parish. The Rue de Birmingham/Birminghamstraat, the Rue de Manchester/Manchesterstraat, the Rue de la Princesse/Prinsesstraat, the Rue Vanderstraeten/Vanderstraetenstraat and the Rue Isidoor Teirlinck/Isidoor Teirlinckstraat also end there.
Located in the south-east of Molenbeek, near the Abattoirs of Anderlecht (the main slaughterhouse in Brussels) and along the Charleroi Canal, Heyvaert is part of the larger Cureghem/Kuregem district and is bounded by the Rue Nicolas Doyen/Nicolas Doyenstraat, the Rue de Birmingham, the Place de la Duchesse de Brabant, the Rue Isidoor Teirlinck, the Rue Delaunoy/Delaunoystraat, and the Rue Heyvaert/Heyvaertstraat (formerly the Rue de l'Écluse/Sasstraat, because of its proximity to the canal lock; écluse meaning "lock" in French).
Located in the north of Molenbeek, the Maritime district was born, around 1900, from the implementation of the Port of Brussels and the Maritime Station on the Tour & Taxis site. A number of customs agencies and handling activities mingled with homes have given the neighbourhood a diverse character. The residents, historically made up of workers, as well as of the small and large bourgeoisie, were also from the outset of great diversity.
Located in the north of the upper part of Molenbeek, Karreveld Park and its surrounding district are named after the former domain of Karreveld Castle, which now covers 3 ha (7.4 acres). Today, it is a mostly residential neighbourhood between the Avenue de la Liberté/Vrijheidslaan, the Chaussée de Gand/Gentsesteenweg and the railroad.
Located in the north-east of Molenbeek, Korenbeek is home to Molenbeek Cemetery between the Chaussée de Gand and the Boulevard Louis Mettewie/Louis Mettewielaan. This cemetery was inaugurated on 16 August 1864 to replace the old parish cemetery around the Church of St. John the Baptist, which had become too small, and whose last remains were cleared in 1932.
Located in the upper part of Molenbeek, this district is located in the valley of the Maalbeek (or Molenbeek) that gave the municipality its name. Originally, the area was part of the former Oostendaal estate. In 1920, it was purchased by the municipality and partly turned into two parks, Albert Park and Marie-José Park, in the triangle formed by the Boulevard Edmond Machtens/Edmond Machtenslaan, the Avenue De Roovere/De Rooverelaan and the Boulevard Joseph Baeck/Joseph Baecklaan. They were designed by the architect and urban planner Louis Van der Swaelmen, and are named after King Albert I and his daughter, Princess Marie-José, the last Queen of Italy.
Osseghem/Ossegem is centrally located in the upper part of Molenbeek, west of the municipality's historical centre. The neighbourhood used to be a rural hamlet. The name is of Germanic (Frankish) origin and is composed of Odso + -inga + heim, meaning "residence/domain of the family of Odso". An old country road, today's Rue d'Osseghem/Ossegemstraat, which led to the Chaussée de Gand near the current Osseghem/Ossegem metro station, connected the hamlet to Molenbeek and Brussels.
Located in the extreme west of Molenbeek, near the Boulevard Louis Mettewie, the Scheutbos (or Scheutbosch) is the municipality's remaining "green" area, home to the likewise named semi-natural site of the Scheutbos.
The centre of Schaerbeek.
Located in the west of Schaerbeek.
Located in the south of Schaerbeek.
Located in the south of Schaerbeek.
Located in the north of Schaerbeek.
Located in the east of Schaerbeek.
Located in the south-west of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.