Neighbourhoods in Brussels
[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 Gothic Cathedral 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 Franciscan convent whose remains have been unearthed.
[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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
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.
[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.
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.
[72] 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.
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.
[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.
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.
