The Poelaert Elevators (french: Ascenseurs Poelaert, nl, Poelaertliften),
in popular language Elevators of the Marolles (french: Ascenseurs des Marolles, link=no,
nl, Liften van de Marollen, link=no
) is a public
elevator in the
Marolles/Marollen district of
Brussels, Belgium. It connects the lower and upper town at the / with the /,
in the vicinity of the
Palace of Justice. The elevator consists of two independent elevators, hence the plural ''elevators'' (french: ascenseurs, link=no, nl, liften, link=no) sometimes used for its name.
Construction
The idea of building a means of transport connecting the
Marolles/Marollen neighbourhood and the / is much older; in the 19th century, it was proposed to build a
funicular for this purpose.
In the early 1990s, the architect Patrice Neirinck of AVA Architects promoted the concept of building a vertical elevator.
The proposal sought to "open up the Marolles district" and "revitalise the /", located at the bottom, making it a crossing point.
was appointed as the general contractor, and the supply of the two elevators and the electromechanical systems were provided by
Schindler Group.
The architectural project was executed by the AVA Architects office, under the coordination of the architect Patrice Neirinck, while the Verdeyen & Moenaert took care of the stability study.
The construction cost about 78 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 (equivalent to about €2 million),
of which 51 million francs (about €1.25 million) for the bulk of the investment, and 27 million francs (about €676,000) for the elevators. Funding was provided by the
Brussels-Capital Region and the
Belgian Federal Government under a cooperation agreement. The Ministry of Communications and Infrastructure was in charge of the project management, receiving technical assistance from the Directorate of Electromechanical Constructions.
After the construction of the tower, the future metal walkway was installed between the upper part and the Place Poelaert. The walkway was made at
Geel,
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , and transported to Brussels by a special convoy, arriving on the esplanade at the Palace of Justice around 10:00 on 13 October 2001.
The entire lift was inaugurated in June 2002
and became one of the area's most popular tourist attractions. Its administration and operation was entrusted by the municipality to the
Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company
The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (french: Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles or ; nl, Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel or ) is the local public transport operator in Brussels, Belgium. It is u ...
(STIB/MIVB).
Operation
The operation of the new elevator was marked by numerous technical problems, the first being reported only one month after the inauguration, on 21 July 2002.
In 2019, for example, STIB/MIVB had to intervene a total of 131 times to remedy the faults that occurred at the two elevators: 43 wedges in one of them, 88 wedges in the other. The main reasons that led to the shutdown of the elevators were the unfavorable weather conditions and vandalism.
In April 2018, 1,300 colored T-shirts were hung from the structure of the elevator, as part of the work entitled ''If I Had Wings'', a cultural experiment by Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen.
In July 2020, the Minister for Mobility and Public Works of the Brussels-Capital Region,
Elke Van den Brandt, confirmed that the lift would be rehabilitated in the first quarter of 2021.
About a million people use the elevator every year.
Specifications
The Poelaert Elevators have the following specifications:
References
Notes
{{reflist
Buildings and structures in Brussels
Transport in Brussels
Transport infrastructure completed in 2002
Elevators