Maelbeek ( French, former Dutch spelling) or Maalbeek (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, ) is a

Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro (french: Métro de Bruxelles, nl, Brusselse metro) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three ''premetro'' lines. The me ...

station in 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 ...

, Belgium. Its name originates from the

Maalbeek The Maelbeek or Maalbeek () is a stream that runs through several municipalities in Brussels, including Etterbeek, Ixelles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek. It is a tributary of the Zenne, which it joins up in Schaerbeek, from its source locat ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

. The station opened as a ''

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. Hist ...

'' (underground tram) station on 17 December 1969 and became a full

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

station on 20 September 1976. Following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by lines 1 and 5, which cross Brussels from east to west.

History

/ station was inaugurated on 17 December 1969 as a ''

'' station (i.e. a station served by underground tramways), as part of the first underground

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

route in Belgium, which initially stretched from De Brouckère to Schuman. On 20 September 1976, this ''premetro'' line was converted into a heavy metro line, which was later split into two distinct lines on 6 October 1982: former lines 1A and 1B, both serving Maelbeek. , the lines were reorganised and renumbered 1 and 5.

2016 Brussels bombings

On 22 March 2016 at 09:11

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, an explosion took place at / station. The bomb exploded from the second carriage of a four carriage train as it started leaving the station and heading in the direction of Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet. The

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack and branding Belgium a participant in the ongoing

military intervention against ISIL In response to rapid territorial gains made by the so-called Islamic State during the first half of 2014, and its universally condemned executions, reported human rights abuses and the fear of further spillovers of the Syrian Civil War, many s ...

. The suicide attack took place about an hour after the bombings took place in

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport, nl, Luchthaven Brussel, vls, Vliegpling Brussel, german: Flughafen Brüssel is an international airport northeast of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In 2019, more than 26 million passengers arrived or departed at Bruss ...

. The Flemish radio and television organisation VRT officially reported 20 people were killed at the metro station, with 106 injured. The station was closed for over a month following the attacks. On 25 April 2016, it reopened again. File:Maelbeek metro entrance after March 2016 Brussels attacks 2016-03-24 --3.JPG, Maelbeek metro entrance after the 2016 Brussels bombings File:MetroMaalbeekherdenking.jpg, Memorial wall after the attacks

Interior and art

The walls of the / platforms are decorated with white

Azulejo ''Azulejo'' (, ; from the Arabic ''al- zillīj'', ) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, resta ...

tiles manufactured in Portugal. The visual artist was commissioned to paint eight portraits on the walls.

Location

/ station is located under the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, a street best known for the many official buildings of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

(EU), including the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

, as well as of the

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

. One of the station's exits leads to the Rue de la Loi, with a side entrance leading to the /. The other exit leads to the /. It is located under the bridge carrying the Rue de la Loi. Nearby (also on the Chaussée d'Etterbeek) is an entrance leading to the

SNCB/NMBS french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government o ...

(

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...

) southbound platforms of

Schuman railway station Brussels-Schuman railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Schuman, nl, Station Brussel-Schuman), officially Brussels-Schuman (french: Bruxelles-Schuman, link=no, nl, Brussel-Schuman, link=no), is a railway station in the City of Brussels, ...

. This entrance is located under the railway bridge with stairs up to the platforms.

Nearby locations

Chapel of the Resurrection The Chapel of the Resurrection is the centerpiece structure on the campus of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Primarily used to facilitate many Lutheran campus worship services, the Chapel of the Resurrection also serves as a site f ...

* European Quarter *

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maelbeek Maalbeek metro station Brussels metro stations located underground Railway stations opened in 1969 City of Brussels 1969 establishments in Belgium