The ( nl, Dapperheidsplein, italic=no), meaning "Valour Square", is the main

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 ...

located in the historical centre of the

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 ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

, Belgium. It is served by Saint Guidon/Sint Guido metro station on line 5 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 ...

History and layout

The square was originally known as the / ("Plain Square"). In the 1910s, it was considerably enlarged. As early as 1912,

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

style houses fitted with

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 ...

and neo-Flemish Renaissance

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s were erected. A second wave of construction (from 1923 to 1928) followed a redevelopment of the square. On the Place de la Vaillance, there was a cinema called ''Le Vaillance'', that opened in 1931 and closed in 1969, and is currently a Dutch-language music academy. At the corner of the square and the / is a 17th-century house, which long served as an inn, and now houses the Dutch-speaking cultural centre ''De Rinck''. The monument dedicated to the heroes of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by , which occupies its southern side, has been listed as a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

since 2013. File:VoetsVaillance.jpg, Monument to the Heroes of the War (Voets, 1914–1918) File:2013 Anderlecht place de la Vaillance Académie 058.jpg, Eastern side with former cinema ''Vaillance'' File:Anderlecht2019 11.jpg, Western side

Surroundings

The Place de la Vaillance is bordered to the north by the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Guido, named after Saint Guy, patron saint of Anderlecht, who died in 1012. This church, mentioned for the first time in 1075, was built in

Flamboyant Gothic Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

style between 1350 and 1470. Its square tower was completed in 1898 by the addition of an octagonal spire. Beneath the church lies a Romanesque

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

. Close to the church is the old

beguinage A beguinage, from the French term ''béguinage'', is an architectural complex which was created to house beguines: lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world. Originally the beguine institution was ...

of Anderlecht. This building dates back to the 13th century and was restored in 1634 and 1978. It is currently a museum. Not far from there, on the Rue du Chapitre, is Erasmus House, a late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

or early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style house where the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

Erasmus of Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

stayed in 1521. This site is now a museum dedicated to Erasmus and the

movement. The house is complemented by a garden which includes a space for

medicinal herbs Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection a ...

. Not far away is the picturesque the /, as well as the

Maurice Carême Maurice Carême (12 May 1899 – 13 January 1978) was a Belgian francophone poet, best known for his simple writing style and children's poetry. His work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympic ...

Museum.

References

Notes

{{reflist, 40em Squares in Brussels Anderlecht Protected heritage sites in Brussels Flemish Renaissance Revival architecture

History and layout

Surroundings

See also

References

Notes