Anderlecht (; ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Dilbeek and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. Like all municipalities in Brussels, it is officially bilingual (French–Dutch).
There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within Anderlecht. , the municipality had a population of 126,581 inhabitants. The total area is , which gives a population density of . Its upper area is greener and less densely populated.
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, the Count of Flanders, Louis II, fought against Brussels on the territory of Anderlecht, in the so-called Battle of Scheut, supposedly over a monetary matter.Jean Baptiste Nicolas Coomans, Jeanne Goetghebuer : chronique brabançonne du XIVe siècle (in French), Brussels, Coomans, 1854, p.57 Although he defeated his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Brabant, Joanna, and briefly took her title, she regained it the following year with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. In 1393, Joanna's charter made Anderlecht a part of Brussels. It is also around this time that the church of Saint Guy was rebuilt in Brabantine Gothic style above an earlier Romanesque crypt.
15th–18th centuries The village of Anderlecht became a beacon of culture in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1521, the Dutch humanist writer and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam stayed in the canons' house for a few months. Charles, Duke of Aumale and Grand Veneur of France also had a residence there.
The 17th and 18th centuries were marked by the wars between the Low Countries and France. During the Nine Years' War, it is from the high ground of Scheut, in the northern part of Anderlecht, that the bombardment of Brussels of 1695 took place. Together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. On 13 November 1792, right after the Battle of Jemappes, General Dumouriez and the French Revolutionary army routed the Austrians there once again.Pierre-François (1821). Précis ou histoire a brégée des guerres de la Révolution française (in French), p. 13Antoine de Jomini, Histoire critique et militaire des guerres de la Révolution: Campagne de 1792 (in French), t. 2, Paris, 1820, p. 238–239. Among the consequences were the disbanding of the canons and Anderlecht being proclaimed an independent municipality by the French.
By the end of the 18th century, Anderlecht including its dependencies, which extended to Brussels' city walls, counted around 2,000 inhabitants. In Scheut, on the site of the Carthusian Monastery, stood a chapel called Our Lady of Scheut, whose pleasant location, in the middle of a grove, made this place very popular at the time.Bart Fransen, Restanten van een meesterwerk : de bouwsculptuur van de kapel van Scheut, in: Millennium, Tijdschrift voor middeleeuwse studies (in Dutch), 2009, no. 1–2, p. 112–128
19th century and later The 19th century saw a remarkable population growth, mainly because of the proximity to a rapidly expanding Brussels. The / was laid out in 1828, through the former property of the Carthusians. The population multiplied by ten between 1830 and 1890 and doubled again between 1890 and 1910. Along the / and the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, a series of industrial and working-class districts connected the centre of Anderlecht to Cureghem.
Remarkable new urban developments and garden cities such as La Roue/Het Rad, Moortebeek and / were built at the beginning of the 20th century to house the influx of newcomers. Following World War II, some remaining green parts of the municipality also made way for large-scale urban renewal following the modernist Athens Charter and Park system, such as the housing projects Scherdemael, Peterbos and Marius Renard in the upper town, and Aurore near the canal.
Geography
Location
Anderlecht is located in the north-central part of Belgium, about from the Belgian coast and about from Belgium's southern tip. It is located in the heartland of the Brabantian Plateau, about south of Antwerp (Flanders), and north of Charleroi (Wallonia). It is the westernmost municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region and is an important crossing point for the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, which cuts the municipality in two from the west. With an area of , it is also the third largest municipality in the region after the City of Brussels and Uccle. It is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Dilbeek and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw.
Climate Anderlecht, in common with the rest of Brussels, experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) with warm summers and cool winters. Proximity to coastal areas influences the area's climate by sending marine air masses from the Atlantic Ocean. Nearby wetlands also ensure a maritime temperate climate. On average (based on measurements in the period 1991–2020), there are approximately 130 days of rain per year in the region. It also often experiences violent thunderstorms in the summer months.
Districts
The territory of Anderlecht is very heterogeneous and is characterised by a mixture of larger districts including smaller residential and (formerly) industrial neighbourhoods. The area along the canal is currently experiencing a large revitalisation programme, as part of the of the Brussels-Capital Region.
Historical centre
The historical centre of Anderlecht is the municipality's central district. Formerly known as Rinck, it is divided into several sectors: The / district, also called the / district, is the meeting point for those who hail to the heart of Anderlecht. It is also where the Place de la Vaillance/Dapperheidsplein (Anderlecht's central square), the Church of St. Guido, the /, as well as Anderlecht's main schools are located. The / is the municipality's main shopping street. It is centred on the / and some neighbouring streets. The smaller Aumale district in its northern part mainly comprises the / and its surrounding streets. It includes the Erasmus House (a museum devoted to the Dutch humanist writer and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam), the old beguinage (a late medieval lay convent, now a museum dedicated to religious community life), as well as the Bibliothèque de l'Espace Maurice Carême French-language public library.
Cureghem/Kuregem
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, has undergone 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 /, in the heart of this district. In its lower part, bordering the City of Brussels, are the Square de l'Aviation/Luchtvaartsquare and the /.
Meir
Located to the south of the historical centre of Anderlecht, this district is centred on the Meir Roundabout and Astrid Park, where the football club RSC Anderlecht plays its home matches in the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. Planned shortly before the First World War, the development of this residential neighbourhood took place mainly between the two world wars. Its layout, characterised by broad avenues, villas and row houses interspersed with green spaces, reflects the planned transition from former rural land into an urbanised residential zone. Aimed at the middle class, it forms an extremely coherent and well-preserved architectural ensemble in which the Art Deco style predominates.
Veeweyde/Veeweide / is centrally located in the upper part of Anderlecht, south of the Meir district. The neighbourhood, which takes its name from an old hamlet meaning "pasture", includes the Busselenberg (a residential area centred around the park of the same name), the smaller Musicians' district (a residential area between the / and the /), as well as the Aurore housing estate on the banks of the canal. In recent years, this area has seen urban renewal efforts, with the canal quays being converted into a pedestrian and cycle-friendly promenade.
La Roue/Het Rad
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. It is crossed by the last end of the Chaussée de Mons in Brussels, and is bounded to the east by the Brussels–Charleroi Canal and to the south by the Flemish municipality of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, in the Pajottenland. Mostly built in the 1920s, with its modest and picturesque houses, it offers a vision of an early 20th-century working-class neighbourhood. At its southern edge, 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 large department stores.
Scheut
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. Historically, the Scheut Plateau held strategic importance and later evolved into a largely residential and commercial zone. It is in this district, on the /, 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).
Main sights Anderlecht has a rich cultural and architectural heritage. Some of the main points of interest include: The Municipal Hall of Anderlecht, located on the /, designed in neo-Flemish Renaissance style by the architect , which was opened in 1879. The Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Guido, located in the municipality's historical centre, on the northern side of the Place de la Vaillance/Dapperheidsplein, its main square. Its Romanesque crypt dates from the 10th century and is one of the oldest in Belgium. It contains a very old tombstone considered to be the grave of the 11th-century Saint Guy. Most of the church, however, dates from around 1350 and later, with most of the currently visible architecture representing the Ogee style (15th–16th centuries). Construction of the tower started in 1517 but ceased with the square part up to the balcony, and was not completed until 1898.Eug. De Seyn, "Geschied- en aardrijkskundig woordenboek der Belgische gemeenten" (Historic and Geographic Dictionary of Belgian communes), A. Bieleveld, Brussels 1933-1934.