The () or (
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 major
square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
in central
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. It was created following the
covering of the river Senne
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, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and Central Boulevards of Brussels, ...
(1867–1871), replacing the
Temple of the Augustinians, which was demolished in 1893. It is named in honour of
Charles de Brouckère
Jonkheer Charles Joseph Marie Ghislain de Brouckère (18 January 1796 – 20 April 1860) was a Belgian nobleman and liberal politician.
Born in Bruges, elder brother of future Prime Minister of Belgium Henri de Brouckère, Charles entered pol ...
, a former
mayor of the City of Brussels
This is a list of mayors or burgomasters of the City of Brussels.
Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482)
*1380: Geert Pipenpoy
*1381: Geert Pipenpoy and Jacques Stovaert
*1421: J. Swaeff, J. Cooman
*1422: Walter Vanden Heetvelde, Petrus van Bole ...
and professor at the
Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions
* Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970
*Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...
, who played a great political role during the
Belgian Revolution of 1830
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
. The square measures approximately and is nearly entirely paved.
The Place de Brouckère is located in the perspective of the / and the
Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan to the north, forming a "Y" crossroad, and the
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan to the south. The area around the square is characterised by the presence of theatres, a large cinema, hotels and restaurants, as well as some of the city's most important entertainment venues and shopping streets. It is served by the
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 ...
and ''
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) station
De Brouckère on lines
1,
3,
4 and
5.
History
Early history
The Place de Brouckère was laid out following the
covering of the river Senne
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, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and Central Boulevards of Brussels, ...
(1867–1871), as part of the
major urban works 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 ...
under the tenure of the then-
mayor of the City of Brussels
This is a list of mayors or burgomasters of the City of Brussels.
Burgundian Netherlands (1384–1482)
*1380: Geert Pipenpoy
*1381: Geert Pipenpoy and Jacques Stovaert
*1421: J. Swaeff, J. Cooman
*1422: Walter Vanden Heetvelde, Petrus van Bole ...
,
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 ...
. It took the place of the former
Temple of the Augustinians. This church, 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, 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. 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. Its facade's masonry, however, was preserved, being disassembled and reconstructed as the facade of 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 ...
.
In the centre of the square, left empty by the destruction of the church, a
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
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, by the architect , was erected. Inaugurated in 1897, the
Anspach Fountain
The Anspach Fountain (french: Fontaine Anspach, nl, Anspachfontein) is an eclectic-style fountain-obelisk erected in 1897 in the centre of the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in Brussels, Belgium. Designed by the architect , it is dedi ...
was surmounted by a
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
effigy of
Saint Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
, the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of 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 ...
, slaying a dragon or demon. This monument stood exactly in the axis of the
Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan, like a regulator of traffic at the birth of the fork between the / and the
Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan. Inseparable from the monumental perspective of the boulevards—and yet moved following the works of the metro—it is, through its dedication and former location, a tribute to Anspach.
For its role as a prestigious central square, its triangular configuration, and the presence of cinemas and theatres all around it, including the former Continental and Métropole café-hotels, ''La Scala'' theatre and ''Eldorado'' cinema (today's ''UGC De Brouckère''), the Place de Brouckère could have been compared to a mini-
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in Brussels from the 1930s to 1960s, when large illuminated advertisements lit the square from the rooftops. Its appearance back then earned it international fame, and it was referenced in many
works of music, among them
Django Reinhardt
Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...
's
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
song ''Place De Brouckère'' (1942). On 4 September 1944, the square was the scene of great jubilation during the
liberation of Brussels by the British
Guards Armoured Division
The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier G ...
. In the 1950s, it hosted one of the tourist pavilions of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair (
Expo '58
Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...
), built especially for the occasion.
File:La place de Brouckère après la démolition du temple des Augustins. A l'avant plan, la fontaine est en construction. Collection G. Abeels.png, The Place de Brouckère after the demolition of the Temple of the Augustinians. In the foreground, the Anspach Fountain
The Anspach Fountain (french: Fontaine Anspach, nl, Anspachfontein) is an eclectic-style fountain-obelisk erected in 1897 in the centre of the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in Brussels, Belgium. Designed by the architect , it is dedi ...
is under construction.
File:Brouckèreplein 1930.jpg, The square on a pre-1930 postcard. Note the lower roof of the Hotel Continental.
File:Scenes of jubilation as British troops liberate Brussels, 4 September 1944. BU508.jpg, British tanks arrive in Brussels on 4 September 1944, ending the German occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
Redevelopment (1960s–present)
The south-eastern sides of the Place de Brouckère were razed in 1967–1971, at the same time as the two blocks delimited by the
Place de la Monnaie/Muntplein, the /, the /, the / and the /, to make room for the
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
Monnaie Center by the architects , , and , as well as the Philips Tower by Structures Architectural Bureau. On that occasion, car traffic was channelled in the square's centre between wide pavement-terraces fitted out in the "above-ground" style of the time with the addition of numerous benches, trees and planters.
The Anspach Fountain was removed in 1973 to make way for access to
De Brouckère metro station
De Brouckère is a rapid transit station located beneath the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in central Brussels, Belgium. It consists of both a metro station (serving lines 1 and 5) and a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station (ser ...
. The authorities had promised to put it back in place after the works, but it was eventually reinstalled in May 1981 in a basin that occupies the space between the / and the /, in the / neighbourhood, some from the Place de Brouckère.
If today almost all the signs have disappeared from the Place de Brouckère (with the exception of the
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
sign on the roof of the Hotel Continental), various attempts at revitalising the square are underway to bring it back to its heyday. In 2014, 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 ...
' then-mayor,
Yvan Mayeur
Yvan Mayeur (born 24 January 1960 in Etterbeek) is a former Belgian politician, former member of the Socialist Party and former mayor of Brussels from 2013 until 2017.
Nationally, Mayeur was a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 1999, ...
, declared his wish to turn the square into "A
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
in the centre of Brussels". Since 29 June 2015, the square has been pedestrianised, as part of a large
pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
in central Brussels (). On that occasion, it was partially restored to its original appearance and was repaved.
File:1974 Place De Brouckere lors de la construction de la station de metro (12218258016).jpg, The square in 1974 during the construction of De Brouckère metro station
De Brouckère is a rapid transit station located beneath the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein in central Brussels, Belgium. It consists of both a metro station (serving lines 1 and 5) and a ''premetro'' (underground tram) station (ser ...
File:Metro-Brussels-De Brouckère.jpg, The square in 2007, before its pedestrianisation and renovation
File:Place De Brouckère & Boulevard Adolphe Max.jpg, The square as it appears today
Places of interest
The Place de Brouckère is dominated by ''
fin de siècle
() is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context ...
'' buildings, but modern colossi (most notably the Philips Tower and Monnaie Center) have also risen on its southern side since the 1960s. The focal point is the Hotel Continental (1874) by the architect , an
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 ...
building well recognisable to the people of Brussels because of the large luminous
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
sign on its roof. This roof, which was originally topped with an imposing
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
sculptural group representing ''The Feast'' by
Louis Samain, was considerably simplified following a fire that ravaged the building in 1901.
The eastern side of the square is home to the
Hotel Métropole (1895), a former five-star
luxury hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
originally designed by the architects and , where the first
Solvay Conference
The Solvay Conferences (french: Conseils Solvay) have been devoted to outstanding preeminent open problems in both physics and chemistry. They began with the historic invitation-only 1911 Solvay Conference on Physics, considered a turning point i ...
on Physics and on Chemistry was held in the autumn of 1911. It was the only 19th-century hotel still in operation in Brussels in the 21st century until it closed its doors in April 2020 after 125 years of continuous operation.
, its former
brasserie
In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie () is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word ''brasserie'' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brew ...
, the ''Café Métropole'', located next door, remains in use. The
Northern Passage, an elegant 19th-century glazed shopping
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
also ends there. On the south-eastern side, next to the
metro station
A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...
's main entrances, are two covered shopping galleries: the Anspach Gallery and the Mint Gallery.
On the opposite side of the square stands a set of seven apartment buildings in an eclectic style with a dominant
neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
influence, designed by the architect Léon Jules De Blois in 1873–1876. Next to it is another set of commercial buildings grouped together behind an austere facade of
neoclassical inspiration, dating from 1872. The ensemble includes the former ''Eldorado'' cinema (1906), now the ''UGC De Brouckère'', with its Grand Room featuring African-themed
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
motifs designed by the architect in 1931–32. This cinema complex has been listed as a
protected monument
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
since 28 April 1994.
The south-western corner with the Rue des Augustins is occupied by a more recent building.
File:Hôtel Metropole.png, Hotel Métropole (Trappeniers, 1872–1874 and Chambon, 1895)
File:Bruxelles - Café Métropole - 01.JPG, Café Métropole (Bordiau, 1872)
File:Bruxelles - Hôtel Continental - 01.JPG, Hotel Continental (Carpentier, 1874)
File:Bruxelles - Tour de Brouckère Tour Philips.jpg, Philips Tower (Structures, 1967–1969)
File:Bruxelles - Centre Monnaie & Administration Communale de Bruxelles (2).jpg, Monnaie Center (Cuisinier, Gilson, Polak and Schuiten, 1967–1971)
Accessibility
Before the construction of the pedestrian zone, the Place de Brouckère was an important junction for car traffic, and it is still an important
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 ...
hub. Beneath the square is one of the busiest stations of the
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 ...
:
De Brouckère. There the east–west lines
1 and
5 intersect the lines
3 and
4 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 ...
''. The bus stop on the /, which leads into the square, is also the start and end point for various city and regional bus lines.
In popular culture
Music
* The Belgian-born French musician
Django Reinhardt
Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...
composed and performed a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
song entitled ''Place De Brouckère'' (1942).
* The Place de Brouckère is referenced amid an evocation of the ''
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...
'' by the Belgian singer
Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...
in the song ''Bruxelles'' (1962).
* The square is also mentioned in a song entitled ''Bruxelles'' by the Dutch singer
Dick Annegarn
Dick Annegarn (born in The Hague, 6 May 1952) is a Dutch rock singer-songwriter who sings mostly in French, and occasionally in Dutch and English.
Discography
Albums
* '' Sacré Géranium'' (1974)
* ''Dicks'' (1974)
* ''Je te vois'' (1974)
* ' ...
(1974).
See also
*
Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, an opera house close to Place de Brouckère
*
Neoclassical architecture in Belgium
Neoclassical architecture ( nl, Neoclassicistische architectuur, french: Architecture néo-classique) appeared in Belgium during the period of Austrian occupation in the mid-18th century and enjoyed considerable longevity in the country, survivi ...
*
Art Deco in Brussels
The Art Deco movement of architecture and design appeared in Brussels, Belgium, immediately after World War I when the famed architect Victor Horta began designing the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Centre for Fine Arts, and continued until th ...
*
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
*
*
*
* {{cite book, ref={{harvid, Mardaga, 1989, title=Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles, volume=1A: Pentagone A-D, location=Liège, language=fr, publisher=Pierre Mardaga, year=1989, url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/files/cities/1000/documents/01-vol-a-fr-def_k.pdf
Squares in Brussels
City of Brussels
Protected heritage sites in Brussels
19th century in Brussels
Car-free zones in Europe