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Anderlecht

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This article is about the town. For the football club, see R.S.C. Anderlecht.
Anderlecht
Municipality
Flag of Anderlecht
Flag
Coat of arms of Anderlecht
Coat of arms
Location of Anderlecht
Map
Country Belgium
CommunityFlemish Community
French Community
RegionBrussels-Capital
ArrondissementBrussels
Government
 • MayorGaëtan Van Goidsenhoven (MR)
 • Governing party/iesLB - PS-SP.A-CDH
Area
 • Total17.91 km2 (6.92 sq mi)
Population
 (2020-01-01)[1]
 • Total120,887
 • Density6,700/km2 (17,000/sq mi)
Postal codes
1070
NIS code
21001
Area codes02
Websitewww.anderlecht.be

Anderlecht (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑndərˌlɛxt]; French pronunciation: [ɑ̃dɛʁlɛkt]) is one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. It is bordered by the City of Brussels, Dilbeek, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Saint-Gilles and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.

On February 1, 2015, the municipality had a population of around 118,414. The total area is 17.74 km² which gives a population density of 6,610 inhabitants per km².

History

Origins and medieval times

The first traces of human activity on the right bank of the Senne date from the Stone Age and Bronze Age. The remnants of a Roman villa and of a Frankish necropolis were also found on the territory of Anderlecht. The first mention of the name Anderlecht, however, dates only from 1047 under the forms Anrelech, then Andrelet (1111), Andreler (1148), and Anderlech (1186). At that time, this community was already home to a chapter of canons and to two feudal manors, those of the powerful lords of Aa and of Anderlecht.

In 1356, Louis of Male, Count of Flanders fought against Brussels on the territory of Anderlecht, in the so-called Battle of Scheut, supposedly over a monetary matter. Although he defeated his sister-in-law, Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, and briefly took her title, she regained it the following year with the help of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1393, Joanna’s charter made Anderlecht a part of Brussels. It is also around this time that the church of Saint Guido was rebuilt above the earlier Romanesque crypt in the Brabant Gothic style.

Collegial Church of St. Peter and St. Guido

15th-18th centuries

The city of Anderlecht became a beacon of culture in the 15th and 16th century. In 1521, Erasmus lived in the canons’ house for a few months. Charles, Duke of Aumale and Grand Veneur of France also had a residence here.

Anderlecht town hall

The 17th and 18th century were marked by the wars between the Low Countries and France. On November 13, 1792, right after the Battle of Jemappes, General Dumouriez and the French Revolutionary army routed the Austrians here once again. Among the consequences were the disbanding of the canons and Anderlecht being proclaimed an independent commune by the French.

19th century and later

The 19th century saw a remarkable population growth, mainly because of the proximity to a rapidly expanding Brussels. Remarkable new urban developments and garden cities such as Het Rad and Moortenbeek were built at the beginning of the 20th century to house the influx of newcomers. Today, the name Anderlecht rings a bell in every Belgian ear thanks to its very successful football club.

Events

The annual Anderlecht fair, originally a cattle fair, was authorized by William II of the Netherlands in 1825. Since then, it has taken the form of a series of celebrations, which still include animal shows but also outdoors exhibitions, a floral show, and the recreation of a religious procession in honor of Saint Guido.

Economy

The Delhaize Group, which operates many supermarket chains, has its head office in Anderlecht.[2]

Sights

Moortebeek city
Porselein street
  • The Collegial Church of Saint Peter and Saint Guido is still at the centre of the city. It contains the grave of the 11th century saint Guy of Anderlecht. Its Romanesque crypt dates from the 10th century and is one of the oldest in Belgium. Most of the church, however, dates from 1350 and later, with most of the currently visible architecture representing the Ogee style (15th-16th century). Construction of the tower started in 1517 but stopped with the square part up to the balcony; it was not completed until 1898.[3]
  • Right next to the church, the old beguinage is home to a local historical museum.
  • The “Erasmus House”, built in 1458, and its medicinal garden can be visited nearby.
  • The National Museum of the Resistance, which traces the history of the Belgian resistance and German occupation of Belgium during World War II.
  • The Museum of China - Scheut, which houses documents and pieces, brought back to Europe by the congregation of Scheut's missionaries, including a 15th-century bronze Buddha.
  • The Maurice Carême Museum, where the Belgian poet lived and wrote.
  • The Luizenmolen, a replica of an old windmill which once stood on the site.
  • Anderlecht is the location of the “Cureghem Cellars” (Kelders van Cureghem in Dutch or Caves de Cureghem in French), a subterranean complex of handmade brick caves with Romanesque vaults, pillars, and arches, originally the site of a cattle market covered by a forged-iron roof construction in the 1890s. The cellars were simply a foundation for the upper structure until the 1930s, after which the city council decided to make better use of them. It proved more profitable to grow mushrooms in the dark and damp underground spaces for local consumption. It fell into disuse as a cattle market but in 1984 the hall officially got listed as a Belgian monument. Due to its characteristic architecture and unique layout it was refurbished and transformed by a private company, Abattoir SA. Since 1992 it serves as an attractive and functional event site for various private, corporate or public occasions and events. One of these was the anatomic exposition 'Body Worlds' (Körperwelten) by Dr. Gunther Von Hagens which ran in the cellars between 2008 and 2009 and attracted over 500.000 visitors.
  • Anderlecht also houses the Cantillon Brewery - a gueuze museum established in an actual working brewery.
  • The Museum of Medicine, located on the ULB-Erasmus campus.
  • The Jean-Claude Van Damme statue located on the Boulevard Sylvain Dupuis, near the Westland Shopping Center.

Famous inhabitants

Erasmus painted by Hans Holbein the Younger 1523

Sports

Anderlecht is the home of the football club RSC Anderlecht, the most successful Belgian football team in European competition as well as in the Belgian First Division.

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Belgium

Anderlecht is twinned with:

Miscellaneous

The patron saint of Anderlecht is Guy of Anderlecht.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Bevolking per gemeente op 1 januari 2020". Statbel.
  2. ^ "Contacts." Delhaize Group. Retrieved on 16 May 2012. "Square Marie Curie 40 1070 Brussels - Belgium"
  3. ^ Eug. De Seyn, "Geschied- en aardrijkskundig woordenboek der Belgische gemeenten" (Historic and Geographic Dictionary of Belgian communes), A. Bieleveld, Brussels 1933-1934.
  4. ^ Guy of Anderlecht at saints.sqpn.com. Retrieved 26.March 2013
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