Saint-Josse-ten-Noode () or Sint-Joost-ten-Node (), often simply called Saint-Josse or Sint-Joost, is one of the 19 municipalities of 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 ...

, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels and

Schaerbeek ( French and archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and ...

. , the municipality had a total population of 26,965. The total area is , which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of . From a total of 581 municipalities in Belgium, Saint-Josse is both the smallest in area size and the most densely populated. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

(French–Dutch).

History

Named after Saint Judoc, Saint-Josse was originally a farming village on the outskirts of Brussels. In the centuries before the dismantling of the ramparts encircling Brussels, Saint-Josse was also the place where noblemen built country estates, the most notable amongst them the Castle of the Dukes of Brabant built by

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belon ...

in 1456. The area surrounding that castle was planted with wine groves, which explains the presence of the bushel of grapes in the municipality's coat of arms. After the demolition of the ramparts, Saint-Josse was one of the first areas outside Brussels to urbanise. The rich built houses around the new boulevards and higher parts of the municipality, while industries and workman's cottages were built in the lower lying part close to the river Senne. In 1855, 58% of the land area of Saint-Joose was annexed by the municipality of the City of Brussels to make way for the Squares Ambiorix, Palmerston, Marie-Louise and Marguerite of the newly created

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) ...

(now the European Quarter). According to an inventory of architecture commissioned by the region of Brussels, Saint-Josse has on average the oldest buildings of all 19 Brussels municipalities.

Demographics

While foreigners were a majority in 1995, in 2007 most of the population had Belgian citizenship, which has resulted in a sharp increase of municipal councillors with a foreign background, benefitting from the open proportional electoral system: from none in 1988 to two (from Morocco) in 1994, a near majority of 13 (seven from Morocco, five from Turkey) out of 27 in 2000 (including three aldermen) and a majority of 20 out of 27 in 2007 (including six aldermen out of seven, the seventh is a member of the Flemish minority).

List of mayors

Historical list of

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

s or

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

s of Saint-Josse: * 1800–1808: André-Etienne-Joseph O'Kelly * 1808–1813: Jacques-Joseph De Glimes (GLIM) * 1813: Théodore-Nicolas-Joseph Aerts 1813 * 1813–1823: Jean-François Wauvermans * 1823–1842: Urbain Henri Verbist * 1842–1846: Léonard Constant Willems * 1846–1867: Jacques Joseph Damas Gillon * 1867–1870: Louis Guillaume Felix Sainctelette * 1870–1884: Fritz Jottrand * 1885–1899: Armand Steurs * 1900–1926: Henri Frick * 1926–1942: Georges Petre (alderman, then mayor from 1926 until his destitution and assassination by the

Rexists The Rexist Party (french: Parti Rexiste), or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle,

in 1942) * 1944–1947: Joseph Dery * 1947–1953: André Saint-Remi * 1953–1999: Guy Cudell * 1999–2012: Jean Demannez (councillor in 1976, alderman in 1977, mayor in 1999, reelected in 2000 and 2006) * 2012–present: Emir Kir

Culture

The Charlier Museum is devoted to Belgian art of the end of the 19th century. The

Jazz Station 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 f ...

is a museum and archive on

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 majo ...

, and a venue for jazz concerts.Bruzz
Het ABC van Jean Demannez
22 September 2015

References

Notes

External links

Official website

Municipal archives – ArchivIris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region Populated places in Belgium Turkish communities outside Turkey