![Voûtement de la Senneb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Vo%C3%BBtement_de_la_Senneb.png)
The covering of the Senne (french: Voûtement de la Senne, nl, Overwelving van de Zenne) was the covering and later diverting of the main river of
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and
major boulevards in its place. Carried out between 1867 and 1871, it is one of the defining events in the
history of Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
The
Senne/Zenne (French/Dutch) was historically the main
waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
of Brussels, but it became more polluted and less navigable as the city grew. By the second half of the 19th century, it had become a serious
health hazard
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probabi ...
and was filled with pollution, garbage and decaying organic matter. It flooded frequently, inundating the lower town and the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
neighbourhoods which surrounded it.
Numerous proposals were made to remedy this problem, and in 1865, the
City of Brussels' then-mayor,
Jules Anspach
Baron Jules Victor Anspach (20 July 1829 – 19 May 1879) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels, best known for his renovations surrounding the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871). He is buried in Brussels Cemetery.
A ...
, selected a design by the architect
Léon Suys
Léon-Pierre Suys (; ; (14 June 1823 – 5 May 1887) was a Belgian architect.
Suys's father Tilman-François Suys was the architect of King Leopold I, and the cofounder of the Belgian Royal Commission of Sites and Monuments, of which his friend ...
to cover the river and build a series of grand
central boulevards and public buildings. The project faced fierce opposition and controversy, mostly due to its cost and the need for
expropriation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
and demolition of working-class neighbourhoods. The construction was contracted to a British company, but control was returned to the government following an
embezzlement
Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
scandal. This delayed the project, but it was still completed in 1871. Its completion allowed the construction of the modern buildings and boulevards which are central to downtown Brussels today.
In the 1930s, plans were made to cover the Senne along its entire course within the greater Brussels area, which had grown significantly since the 19th-century covering. By 1955 the course of the Senne was diverted to the downtown's peripheral boulevards. In 1976, the disused tunnels were converted into the
North–South Axis
The North–South Axis is a tram tunnel in Brussels, Belgium, which crosses the city centre from North to South between Brussels-North railway station and Albert premetro station.
The first section of this tunnel was opened on 4 October 1976 be ...
of Brussels' underground tram system, the ''
premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Histo ...
''. Actual purification of the waste water from the
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
was not completed until March 2007, when two treatment stations were built, thus finally cleansing the Senne after centuries of problems.
The Senne in Brussels
![Brussels 1837](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Brussels_1837.jpg)
At the beginning of the 19th century, Brussels was still in many ways a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
city. The
Royal Quarter in the historic upper town, inhabited mainly by the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and the richer members of the
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, was upscale and modern. The rest of the city, however, in particular the lower town, located in the western half of the
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simpl ...
, in the valley of the
Senne Senne may refer to:
Places
*Senne (Germany), a natural region of Germany
*Senne, a district of Bielefeld, Germany
*Senne (river), a river of Belgium
*Senné (disambiguation), places in Slovakia
People with the name
*Yōkō Senne, a 13th-cent ...
river, was densely populated and industrial, characterised by an illogical street layout, back alleys, narrow streets, and numerous dead-ends.
The Senne split into two branches in
Anderlecht
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 ...
, penetrating the Pentagon, the former site of the
second city walls, in two places. The main and more southern arm entered through the Greater Sluice Gate, near today's
Brussels-South railway station
Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium ...
. The smaller northerly arm entered through the Lesser Sluice Gate, near today's
Ninove Gate
Ninove () is a city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is situated on the river Dender, and is part of the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Ninove proper and since the 1976 merger of ...
. The courses of the two traced a meandering path through the city centre, forming several islands, the largest of which was known as
Saint-Géry Island
Saint-Géry Island (french: île Saint-Géry) or Sint-Goriks Island (Dutch: ) was the largest island in the river Senne in Brussels, Belgium. It was named after Saint Gaugericus, nl, Sint-Goriks, link=no of Cambrai, who according to legend, buil ...
. The two branches met up on the north side of Saint-Géry Island, exiting the Pentagon one block east of the Antwerp Gate. A man-made arm, called the "Lesser Senne" (french: Petite Senne, link=no, nl, Kleine Zenne, link=no) continued on the borders of the Pentagon in the former
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, outside the sluice gates. It followed the
Brussels–Charleroi Canal
The Brussels–Charleroi Canal, also known as the Charleroi Canal amongst other similar names, (french: canal Bruxelles-Charleroi, nl, kanaal Brussel-Charleroi) is an important canal in Belgium. The canal is quite large, with a Class IV Freyc ...
before rejoining the main part of the Senne north of the city.
![Senne slums](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Senne_slums.jpg)
Still described, in the 18th century, as a river with a "useful and pleasant course", the Senne had long since lost its usefulness as a
navigable waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
, being replaced by canals, including the Charleroi Canal. The Senne had always been a river with an inconsistent flow, often overflowing its banks. In times of heavy rainfall, even the sluice gates were unable to regulate the flow of the river which was often swollen by numerous creeks flowing down from higher ground. Making matters worse, within the city, the river's bed was narrowed by encroaching construction due to demographic pressure. The supports of numerous unregulated bridges impeded water flow and caused water levels to rise even further, exacerbated by a riverbed of accumulated waste.
During dry periods, however, much of the Senne's water was diverted for the needs of the city's populace, as well as to maintain the water level in the Charleroi Canal. This left a flow too feeble to evacuate the filthy water, leaving the
sewage
Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...
, garbage,
detritus
In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...
and industrial waste that had been dumped into the river to accumulate in the stagnant water. The Senne, which a witness in 1853 described as "the most nauseous little river in the world", had become an open-air
sewer spreading pestilential odours throughout the city. Early in the second half of the 19th century, Brussels saw numerous dry periods, floods and a
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic, caused as much by the river itself as by the poverty and the lack of
hygiene
Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
and
potable water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...
in the lower city. This forced the governments of the
Province of Brabant
The Province of Brabant (, , ) was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speak ...
and the
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...
to act.
Attempts at purification
![Covering of the Senne EN v1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Covering_of_the_Senne_EN_v1.2.svg)
The first studies and propositions to clean up the river date back to 1859, and during the following years, many different commissions of engineers were assigned to examine possible solutions. Dozens of different ideas were submitted, many of which were completely unfeasible. Several of them proposed diverting large amounts of cleaner water from other rivers upstream to dilute the Senne, while greatly improving the drainage system in the city. Other proposals involved diverting the main course of the Senne completely to the Lesser Senne, which would then be enlarged and thus more useful for boat traffic and mills. Others considered any sort of sanitisation impossible, and proposed covering the Senne without greatly changing its course. Among these was a proposal to double the size of the underground drainage tunnels, creating space for a subterranean railroad tunnel. The idea was ahead of its time, but would be implemented a century later with the
North–South connection
The North–South connection (french: Jonction Nord-Midi, nl, Noord-Zuidverbinding) is a railway link of national and international importance through central Brussels, Belgium, that connects the major railway stations in the city. It is line ...
.
In 1865,
King Leopold II
* german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor
, house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
, father = Leopold I of Belgium
, mother = Louise of Orléans
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Brussels, Belgium
, death_date = ...
, speaking to the
City of Brussels' then-mayor,
Jules Anspach
Baron Jules Victor Anspach (20 July 1829 – 19 May 1879) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels, best known for his renovations surrounding the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871). He is buried in Brussels Cemetery.
A ...
, expressed the wish that Brussels "will succeed in getting rid of this cesspool called the Senne" before the end of his reign. In October of that year, the municipal council adopted a project submitted by the architect
Léon Suys
Léon-Pierre Suys (; ; (14 June 1823 – 5 May 1887) was a Belgian architect.
Suys's father Tilman-François Suys was the architect of King Leopold I, and the cofounder of the Belgian Royal Commission of Sites and Monuments, of which his friend ...
, which had Anspach's backing. The plan involved suppressing the secondary arm of the Senne by closing the Lesser Sluice Gate and rectifying the sinuous course of its main arm between
Brussels-South railway station
Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium ...
and the north of the city. This main branch would be channelled into tunnels, to be placed directly beneath a long, straight boulevard, stretching from the Greater Sluice Gate to the
Temple of the Augustinians (now the
Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein) before splitting into two. One branch was to head towards
Brussels-North railway station
Brussels-North railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Nord, nl, Station Brussel-Noord), officially Brussels-North (french: Bruxelles-Nord, link=no, nl, Brussel-Noord, link=no), is one of the three major railway stations in Brussels, Bel ...
and the present-day
Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein, the other towards the
Antwerp Gate, thus forming a long, narrow "Y" shape.
Anspach's backing of Suys' proposal was a calculated decision, as he had radical plans to transform the city. Anspach saw the proposal as an unexpected boon, as it allowed him to accomplish several of his goals at once. It had long been his ambition to transform the impoverished lower city into a centre of business and commerce, suitable for a modern capital (Belgium had
declared its independence in 1830, with Brussels its capital). He wanted to attract the
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
, most of whom had left the dingy downtown for the cleaner
suburbs
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
, including the
Leopold Quarter
The Leopold Quarter (french: Quartier Léopold, Dutch: ) is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today, the term is sometimes confused with the European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union (EU) an ...
(now often called the
European Quarter) and the
Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, causing a large loss in
tax revenue
Tax revenue is the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural resou ...
for the city. The elimination of the numerous alleys and dead-ends in the lower town in favour of a large, straight, wide, open-air boulevard, linking the two rapidly growing train stations, seemed both a necessity and an opportunity to beautify the city and improve both traffic circulation and hygiene.
Controversy and opposition
![Anspach et la Senne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Anspach_et_la_Senne.jpg)
The
Belgian Parliament
The Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: Chambre des Représentants, german: Abgeordnetenkammer) and the Senate (Dutch: , french: Sénat, german: Senat). It s ...
had recently passed a law allowing the
expropriation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of privately owned land by the government when the land was to be used for the "greater good". This could be done even if the project was still speculative in nature, and allowed for more land to be taken beyond what was strictly necessary for a project. The city expropriated large swathes of the lower town, counting on reselling the land for a profit, which, after the project was complete, would be on a grandiose modern boulevard in an
upper-class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
neighbourhood. The selling of land after the completion of the project was seen as a way of financing the project itself. That the poorer residents of the lower town were forced away into other already overcrowded districts or into the surrounding suburbs did not trouble the upper classes very much, as the displaced residents did not pay taxes or have the right to vote.
Even after Suys' proposal was officially adopted, Anspach faced strong opposition to the project. This opposition came first from engineers who felt that the covering was incompatible with Brussels'
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
, would accumulate potentially dangerous gases and would not be able to handle enough water to prevent floods. Others opposed to the project complained about the high taxes resulting from its high cost, poor compensation for seized property and the lack of public input into the project. The press accused Anspach of being responsible for demolishing Brussels' old town, and published numerous caricatures mocking him.
A
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
, Anspach feared the weakness and rigidity of the government and therefore gave the work of covering the river to a private
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
company, the Belgian Public Works Company (the English name was used), which was created for the task. However, partway through construction, it was forced to relinquish control to the City of Brussels after an embezzlement scandal in which a company director allegedly attempted to steal 2.5 million
Belgian franc
The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s from the company. Anspach only barely kept his office in the 1869 by-elections.
Demolition and construction
![Voûtement de la Senne 1867](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Vo%C3%BBtement_de_la_Senne_1867.JPG)
The contract was signed on 15 June 1866, and the expropriation of the first 1,100 houses was completed in a few months. The gigantic work, involving thousands of workers, began on 13 February 1867. The river was temporarily diverted and much of the old city centre was opened up. Excluding the important sewers built upriver and downriver in the adjacent suburbs, the covered section itself was in length. Constructed from bricks, the covering consisted of two parallel tunnels, and a set of two lateral drainage pipes, each taking in waste water from its respective side of the street.
There were several technical difficulties that delayed the covering, many of which were due to the geology of Brussels, though they were not as bad as some engineers had forecast. The embezzlement scandal also caused a significant delay in construction, largely due to the change in control. The project was completed in 1871, with the municipal council ceremonially opening the reconstructed sluice gates on 30 November.
The new central boulevards
![Le boulevard Anspach à Bruxelles en 1880](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Le_boulevard_Anspach_%C3%A0_Bruxelles_en_1880.jpg)
The series of boulevards created by the project—the / (now the /), the / (now the
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan), the / (now the
Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan), and the / (now the /)—were laid out between 1869 and 1871, and were progressively opened to traffic from 1871 to 1873. The opening of these new routes offered a more efficient way to get into Brussels' lower town than the cramped streets such as the /, the / and the
Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat, and helped revitalise the lower quarters of the town.
![Bruxelles-MaisonDesChats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Bruxelles-MaisonDesChats.jpg)
In order to accomplish this revitalisation and attract investment, public buildings were constructed as part of
Léon Suys
Léon-Pierre Suys (; ; (14 June 1823 – 5 May 1887) was a Belgian architect.
Suys's father Tilman-François Suys was the architect of King Leopold I, and the cofounder of the Belgian Royal Commission of Sites and Monuments, of which his friend ...
' massive programme of beautification of the city centre, including the
Brussels Stock Exchange
The Brussels Stock Exchange (french: Bourse de Bruxelles, nl, Beurs van Brussel), abbreviated to BSE, was founded in Brussels, Belgium, by decree of Napoleon in 1801. In 2002, the BSE merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Paris stock exchang ...
(1868–1873). The vast Central Halls (french: Halles Centrales, link=no, nl, Centrale Hallen, link=no), a good example of
metallic architecture, located between the / and the /, replaced unhygienic open-air markets, though they were torn down in 1958. The monumental fountain, which was to break the monotony of the boulevards at the
Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein, was abandoned for budgetary reasons.
The construction of private buildings on the boulevards and surrounding areas took place later. Brussels' middle class continued to prefer living in new suburbs rather than the cramped areas of the city centre. Besides, the high prices of the land (expected to finance part of the construction costs) and the high rents were not within the means of the lower classes. Moreover, life in apartments was no longer desirable for residents of Brussels, who preferred to live in
single family home
A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...
s. For these reasons, the buildings constructed by private citizens had difficulty finding buyers.
To give builders an incentive to create elaborate and appealing
facades on their works, two architectural competitions were organised; first in the period 1872–1876 and again in 1876–1878. Great freedom was given to the architects; no unity of style was sought nor imposed and the monumental composition adopted a ''de facto''
eclectic
Eclectic may refer to:
Music
* ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014
* ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996
* Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act
* Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
approach throughout the immense perspective of the boulevards. The first prize of 20,000
Belgian franc
The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s for the 1872–1876 competition was awarded to the architect
Henri Beyaert
Hendrik Beyaert (Dutch) or Henri Beyaert ( French) (29 July 1823 – 22 January 1894) was a Belgian architect. He is considered one of the most important Belgian architects of the 19th century.
Biography
Beyaert was of very humble descen ...
who designed the or (loosely, "House of Cats") on the Boulevard du Nord. Nonetheless, it took another 20 years, until 1895, for buildings to solidly line the boulevards.
The former
Temple of the Augustinians, built at the beginning of the 17th century in the
Brabantine Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style after designs by
Jacob Franquart
Jacob Franquart or Jacob Franckaert the Younger (1582/83 – 6 January 1651 (buried)) was a Flemish architect, painter, print artist, draftsman, military engineer and poet. , was the only remaining part of a convent destroyed in 1796 by
French revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
aries. After having been used as a Protestant church from 1815 to 1830, it subsequently saw use as a concert hall, a commercial exchange, and a post office. At the centre of the
Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, the church's facade was intended by Suys to be one of the focal points of the new boulevards. The work to cover the river, which nearly surrounded the church, preserved the integrity of the building at great trouble and expense, but it was finally demolished in 1893, its style no longer popular with the people and its presence unsuitable for the area. The church was replaced by a fountain-
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
dedicated to the memory of
Jules Anspach
Baron Jules Victor Anspach (20 July 1829 – 19 May 1879) was a Belgian politician and mayor of the City of Brussels, best known for his renovations surrounding the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871). He is buried in Brussels Cemetery.
A ...
. Its facade's masonry, however, was preserved, being disassembled and reconstructed as the facade for the Church of the Holy Trinity in
Ixelles
( French, ) or (Dutch, ), is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the muni ...
.
Diversion and treatment
![Grande Écluse Bxl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Grande_%C3%89cluse_Bxl.JPG)
Although the original covering of the Senne resolved sanitary problems and
flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
in Brussels' old city, this was not the case in peripheral areas. The Senne was still very polluted, despite work done to the
sewers and
spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...
s in the canal. The drainage into the canal was not able to completely stop the floods that regularly affected certain outer areas of the city.
In 1930, a group was created whose objective was to channel the Senne into tunnels for nearly its entire course through the Brussels metropolitan area. This was done in order to expand the benefits that the covering achieved in the old city. In the centre, the course of the river was to be changed (using a
diversion) from the
central boulevards to the peripheral boulevards of the
Small Ring
The Small Ring (french: Petite Ceinture, nl, Kleine Ring) inner ring road, formally R20 and N0 is a series of roadways in central Brussels, Belgium, surrounding the historic city centre. The city centre is usually defined as the area within t ...
. The project, delayed by the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the work carried out on the
North–South connection
The North–South connection (french: Jonction Nord-Midi, nl, Noord-Zuidverbinding) is a railway link of national and international importance through central Brussels, Belgium, that connects the major railway stations in the city. It is line ...
, was finished in 1955.
![Station d'épuration Bxl-Nord](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Station_d%27%C3%A9puration_Bxl-Nord.JPG)
The disused channels of the central boulevards later facilitated the construction of the
North–South Axis
The North–South Axis is a tram tunnel in Brussels, Belgium, which crosses the city centre from North to South between Brussels-North railway station and Albert premetro station.
The first section of this tunnel was opened on 4 October 1976 be ...
of the ''
premetro
A premetro is a tramway or light railway which includes segments built to rapid transit standards, generally as part of a process of conversion to a metro-standards railway usually by the construction of tunnels in the central city area.
Histo ...
'' (underground tram), which opened in 1976. The conversion of the existing tunnels to metro tunnels ensured that there was minimal disruption on the surface. Some of the former pipes also served as
storm drain
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, United States, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to Drainage, drain excess rain and ground water ...
s. The Anspach Fountain was reinstalled in May 1981 in a basin that occupies the space between the / and the / in the / neighbourhood.
Actual
purification of the
waste water
Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial ...
from the
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
was not completed until the 21st century, when two
purification stations were built. The south station treats refuse water from 360,000 inhabitants, which is about one third of the polluted water, and lies on the border of
Anderlecht
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 ...
and
Forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
. The north station, completed in March 2007, is located near the border of the Brussels-Capital Region, between the Senne and the Charleroi-Willebroek Canal, near Buda Bridge.
A portion of the cost was footed by the
Flemish Government
The Flemish Government ( nl, Vlaamse regering ) is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, a ...
, as 7 of the adjacent municipalities lie within the
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...
. This station is capable of treating the water of 1.2 million inhabitants and should finally be capable of fully purifying the Senne, which had long caused much of the pollution of the
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
river.
[
In 2021, a small part () of the river was uncovered again near the suburb of Buda. Plans are underway to uncover a larger section in Maximilien Park (north of the city centre) by 2025.] These moves were made after the success of the water treatment in earlier decades, and a desire to include more green space in the city, as well as to build the ecological resilience
In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic events such as fires, flooding, windstorms ...
of the river, which had been essentially dead.
See also
* Haussmann's renovation of Paris
Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval neighbourho ...
* History of Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
* Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the " long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch occupation of the region, leading to the creation of the ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
An 1837 map of Brussels, showing the city before the covering of the Senne.
An 1883 map of Brussels, showing the city after the covering of the Senne.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covering Of The Senne
19th century in Brussels
Subterranean rivers
Urban planning in Belgium
Water pollution in Belgium