Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert () or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch, ) is one of the nineteen municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, often compared to Uccle, another affluent Brussels municipality, as well as the 14th or 17th arrondissement in Paris.

In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). In French it is often spelt ''Woluwé-Saint-Lambert'' with an acute accent on the first 'e' to reflect the Frenchified pronunciation of what was originally a Dutch place name, but the official spelling is without an accent.

The neighbouring municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre also lies within the Brussels-Capital Region, while the former municipality of Sint-Stevens-Woluwe (Woluwe-Saint-Etienne in French) has been merged with three other municipalities (Zaventem, Nossegem and Sterrebeek) to form the municipality of Zaventem, which is in the province of Flemish Brabant in Flanders.

Geography

Woluwe hosts the medical faculties of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) and its hospital, the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc on the UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe campus, and several shopping areas, notably the Avenue Georges Henri (Georges Henrilaan) and the Woluwe Shopping Centre. Some of the municipality's major roads are named after prominent 20th-century Belgian statesmen, such as the prestigious Avenue de Broqueville/de Broquevillelaan and Avenue Paul Hymans/Paul Hymanslaan. Line 1 (formerly line 1B) of the Brussels metro runs under these roads.

The Woluwe stream flows through the municipality.

History

Medieval origins

Several archaeological finds on the territory of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert show traces of human activity during the Bronze Age. The first historical mention of the village, however, dates from the 11th century, when some of the forested land near the Woluwe stream was cleared for farming. A church was built and dedicated to Saint Lambert, the 7th-century bishop of Maastricht who was martyred in Liège. At the end of the 12th century, the rights to the parish of Saint Lambert were given to the canons of the chapter of St. Michael and Gudula in Brussels. Various charitable organizations and hospitals then started acquiring land in this area. Throughout the Middle Ages, Woluwe was part of the Duchy of Brabant, governed under the usual feudal arrangement of those times. Among the Dukes' vassals were some powerful local lords and landowners. Some of Woluwe's territory also belonged to the powerful Forest Abbey and Park Abbey.

16th century to present

Up until recently, the village was mostly rural, focusing mainly on agriculture. Starting in the 16th century, affluent nobles and clergymen from Brussels built châteaux in Woluwe, some of which are still visible today. True urbanization, however, started only around 1900. Well-to-do neighbourhoods, which included some of the novel architectural styles of the '' Belle Époque'' such as Art Nouveau then Art Deco, straddled the newly built Boulevard Brand Whitlock/Brand Whitlocklaan.

The population of the municipality increased very quickly at this time. It rose from 1,649 inhabitants in 1880 to 8,883 inhabitants 30 years later. By 1960 there were 36,960 people in the municipality, and since 1970 the population has been stable at around 47,000.

Today, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is still mostly a residential area, attracting rich and poor inhabitants from neighbouring Brussels.

Sights

* The surroundings of the Woluwe stream have been laid out as park areas, such as Woluwe Park (in neighbouring Woluwe-Saint-Pierre) and Malou Park. Older historical buildings, such as the '' Lindekemale'' watermill (now a restaurant), the ''Hof ter Musschen'' farm (now a seminar centre), and the 16th-century ''Slot'' castle (now a chain restaurant), also tend to be found near the river.
* The Church of St. Lambert has a 12th-century Romanesque tower.
* The ''Marie la Misérable'' Chapel (14th century).
* The municipality's Art Deco Municipal Hall, built in the 1930s, is located above Tomberg metro station.
* The Wolubilis cultural village and theatre, located at Cours Paul Henri Spaak/Henri-Spaak promenade 1 (formerly Avenue Paul Hymanslaan 251), were inaugurated in 2006.
* The neoclassical Château Malou, built in 1776.

File:Moulin Lindekemale (DSCF3284).jpg, Lindekemale watermill
File:2741woluweStLambertWindmill.jpg, Windmill near the ''Hof ter Musschen'' farm
File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Kapelleveld - 14.jpg, Kapelleveld garden city
File:Wolubilis 02.JPG, Wolubilis

Shopping

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert has many shopping streets around Tomberg and Gribaumont metro stations. Around Roodebeek station is one of Brussels' largest shopping centres, the Woluwe Shopping Centre. The shopping centre opened in 1968 and has two floors and a surface area of around 97000 m². The Woluwe Shopping Centre serves most of eastern Brussels.

Transport

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is served by the Brussels Metro Line 1 by the following stations: Josephine-Charlotte, Gribaumont, Tomberg, Roodebeek, Vandervelde, Alma and Crainhem/Kraainem. Despite not having any rail connections, the E40 Motorway runs through the commune as well as many bus routes. Since 2018, tram 94 is extended from Trammuseum to Roodebeek and has been renamed as tram 8.

Education

In 1974, following the Leuven crisis, the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) moved its faculties of the Sector of Medical Sciences to the commune, creating Brussels' second largest campus, UCLouvain Bruxelles Woluwe, with more than 14,000 students. It also founded a new hospital on site, the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc. The site includes a number of other educational institutions, like the Haute école Léonard de Vinci or the EPHEC.

Schools include:
* European School of Brussels II
* Don Bosco Middle School
* Athenée Royale de Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

Famous inhabitants

* Jules Malou, statesman and former Prime Minister of Belgium (1810–1886)
* Tarec Saffiedine, (born 1986) martial artist
* Hergé, (1907-1983) and creator of Tintin

Famous people born in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

* Prince Amedeo, Princess Maria Laura and Prince Joachim, born at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc in 1986, 1988 and 1991 respectively.
** ''Rem: Princess Luisa Maria, and Princess Laetitia Maria were born in the Clinique Saint Jean in Brussels in 1995, and 2003, respectively''.
* Princess Louise of Belgium and twins Prince Nicolas of Belgium and Prince Aymeric of Belgium, born at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc in 2004 and 2005, respectively.
* Vincent Debaty, French rugby union footballer (b. 1981).
* Twins Jonathan Borlée and Kevin Borlée, and their younger sister Olivia Borlée, athletes.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is twinned with:
*: Meudon
*: Mbazi

See also

*Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (Sint-Pieters-Woluwe), an adjacent municipality
*Woluwe River
*Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, a district of an adjacent municipality.
* White Star Woluwe F.C.
*UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe

References

External links

Official site of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert municipality
(only in French or Dutch)
Wolubilis cultural centre
(only in French or Dutch)
Hof ter Musschen
(only in French or Dutch)
Woluwe Shopping CentreUniversity of Louvain - Woluwe

{{Authority control

Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region
Populated places in Belgium