The Robert Schuman Roundabout (french: Rond-point Robert Schuman, nl, Robert Schumanplein), sometimes called Robert Schuman Square, is a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

at the end of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat in

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, that serves as a focus for major

institutions of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Counci ...

(EU). It is named after

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...

, one of the

founding fathers of the European Union The founding fathers of the European Union are men who are considered to be major contributors to European unity and the development of what is now the European Union. The number and list of the founding fathers of the EU varies depending on the ...

and gives its name to the surrounding district (also known as the European Quarter) and

Schuman 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, ...

Location and buildings

The Robert Schuman Roundabout is in the centre of Brussels' European Quarter. The major buildings next to it are the

Berlaymont building The Berlaymont () is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located on the Robert Schuman Roundabout at 200, rue de l ...

(headquarters of 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 ...

), and the

Justus Lipsius building The Justus Lipsius building, located in Brussels, Belgium, was the headquarters of the Council of the European Union from 1995, and the ''de facto'' home of the European Council from 2002 (''de jure'' as of 2004), until their relocation to the a ...

(used to hold low-level meetings of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

and provide office space to the Council's Secretariat) and numerous other EU offices. File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Schuman - Berlaymont - 01.jpg, The

, primary headquarters of the

File:Belgique - Bruxelles - The Capital - 02.jpg, The Capital (Atelier d'architecture de Genval, 2001–2009) File:Immeuble Rond-point Robert Schuman 8 par Antoine Varlet.jpg, Building ( Varlet, 1928)

Accessibility and future

The roundabout is above the eastern end of the metro segment of

. The station is undergoing renovation to improve its interchange and link it to a new regional railway via a new tunnel. There are already a web of rail and road tunnels running under and around the roundabout. The area is to see some major rebuilding as EU offices are converted into shops and other civilian uses and the roundabout will be converted into one of three pedestrian squares, the theme of the new Schuman Square will concentrate on "policy and politics" (see Brussels and the EU#Future for details).

Roads meeting at the roundabout

* The Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat runs west–north–west towards the centre of Brussels, one-way. It also continues east–south–east for a short distance towards the western end of the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark. The bulk of the traffic on this main carriageway avoids the roundabout by taking the tunnel underneath, the road becoming the Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan and heading out of Brussels east/east–south–east towards

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Woluwe-Saint-Pierre () or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by Etterbeek, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, as well as th ...

and eventually

Tervuren Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total a ...

. * The / leads north–east towards

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

and the /. The Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat tunnel also follows this route, leading out towards

Diamant premetro station The Diamant premetro station is a station on the Brussels Metro located in the municipality of Schaerbeek in Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on May 2, 1972. The station is a "premetro" station. It is thus not used by conventional subway tr ...

and the E40. * The / leads north towards the /. * The / runs south–east through the middle of

Etterbeek Etterbeek ( French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

, towards the ''La Chasse'' junction and

Auderghem Auderghem (former Dutch spelling, now used in French; pronounced ) or Oudergem () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). Located to the southeast of the region, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to t ...

. * The / is one of the smaller roads leaving the roundabout, heading towards the /.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuman Roundabout Squares in Brussels City of Brussels European quarter of Brussels

Location and buildings

Accessibility and future

Roads meeting at the roundabout

See also

References