(
French, ) or (
Dutch, ) is one of the
19 municipalities of the
Brussels-Capital Region
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...
, Belgium. Located to the south-east of
Brussels' city centre, it is
geographically bisected by the
City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
. It is also bordered by the municipalities of
Auderghem,
Etterbeek
Etterbeek (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 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 Cit ...
,
Forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
,
Uccle
Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...
,
Saint-Gilles and
Watermael-Boitsfort.
, the municipality had a population of 88,521 inhabitants.
The total area is , which gives a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
of .
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. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
(French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the region,
[ and is particularly noted for its communities of European and Congolese immigrants.]
Geography
Ixelles is located in the south-east of Brussels and is divided into two parts by the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, which is part of the City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
. The municipality's smaller western part includes the Rue du Bailli/Baljuwstraat and extends roughly from the Avenue Louise to the /, whilst its larger eastern part includes campuses of Brussels' two leading universities—the French-speaking Université libre de Bruxelles
The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...
(ULB) and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...
(VUB)—along with the Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein. The Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos is located just south of Ixelles.
The construction of the Avenue Louise was commissioned in 1847 as a monumental avenue bordered by chestnut trees that would allow easy access from Brussels' city centre to the popular recreational area of the Bois de la Cambre. It was also to be the first ''Haussmann-esque'' artery of the city. Originally, fierce resistance to the project was put up by the town of Ixelles—then, as now, a separate municipality (local authority) from the City of Brussels—through whose territory the avenue was to run. After years of fruitless negotiations, Brussels finally annexed the narrow band of land needed for the avenue, in addition to the Bois de la Cambre itself, in 1864. That decision accounts for the unusual shape of today's City of Brussels and for the separation of Ixelles into two separate areas.
History
Medieval origins
The placename was first mentioned in 1210 as ''Elsela'', from the Old Dutch
In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...
, meaning alder
Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
woods. The origins of the village date from the foundation of La Cambre Abbey. Hendrik I, Duke of Brabant, donated the Pennebeke domain to the Cistercian
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
nun Gisela in 1201. She in turn founded the Abbey, and in 1210, acquired property on which the duke ordered the construction of a mill.[ The marshlands around the Abbey were later drained and sanitised, which resulted in four springs which served as a source of fish for the Abbey's inhabitants and the neighbouring hamlets. The Abbey was located near the springs of the Maelbeek stream in the ]Sonian Forest
The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood (, ; , ) is a forest at the south-eastern edge of Brussels, Belgium. It is connected to the Bois de la Cambre, Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, an urban public park which enters the city up to from the Pentag ...
, the remnant of which closest to Brussels became known as the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos in the 19th century. The Abbey was recognised by Jan III van Bethune, the Bishop of Cambrai in 1202, soon after its foundation. The saints Boniface of Brussels and Alice of Schaerbeek were two of its most famous residents in the 13th century.
Around 1300, during the reign of John II, Duke of Brabant, a hostel was built near the Abbey to provide meals to the wood bearers working in the forest. Soon, a hamlet and a couple of chapels were built, including the Church of the Holy Cross, also inaugurated by the Bishop of Cambrai and dedicated to Mary and the Holy Cross in 1459. Initially, these hamlets and provisions were constructed for the labourers who helped drain and sanitise the marshlands. At that time, part of Ixelles was a dependence of Brussels; the other part was the property of the local lord.
Before the Revolution
In 1478, the wars between King Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...
, brought devastation to the Abbey and the surrounding areas. In 1585, during the period of the Habsburg Netherlands
Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...
, the Spanish burned down most of the buildings to prevent them from being used as a refuge by Calvinist
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
s. The Abbey was restored in time for the Joyous Entry of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella in 1599. Further manors and castles (Ermitage, Ten Bosch and Ixelles, for example) were built in Ixelles in the 16th century, gradually transforming the hamlet into a full-fledged village.
Thanks to the Maelbeek springs and the purity of its waters, a brewing industry became active in the area. It started inside the Abbey, but by the 16th century, had expanded beyond its walls. Due to the liberalisation of beer manufacturing by the Council of Brabant in 1602, the industry grew, which resulted in a lively scene by the banks of the spring. By the 17th and 18th centuries, around 20 breweries-cabarets had settled in Ixelles, among which Saint-Hubert, De Sterre and L'Italie.
Independent municipality
In 1795, like many other towns surrounding Brussels, Ixelles was proclaimed a separate municipality by the French regime after the Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
. The municipalities of Neder-Elsene ("Lower Ixelles", where the Abbey is located), Opper-Elsene ("Upper Ixelles", a Brussels suburb), Boondaal, Tenbos, and Solbos, all became part of Ixelles. Moreover, the Abbey was stripped of its religious functions, becoming among others a cotton-manufacturing plant, a farm, a military school, and a hospital. Many of the medieval gates of Brussels that lined what is now the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road) were taken down and more streets were built to accommodate the migration towards the suburbs. Ixelles' population grew nearly one-hundredfold, from 677 in 1813 to more than 58,000 in 1900. With this intense growth also came the Francisation
Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), also known as Frenchification, is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by more a ...
of the municipality.
At the end of the 19th century, some of the ponds were drained, leaving only the so-called " Ixelles Ponds", and a new Church of the Holy Cross was built in 1860. The first trams appeared in 1884 and the first cinema in 1919. By then, Ixelles and the Avenue Louise had become one of the most fashionable areas of Brussels. Artists and celebrities moved in, leading to architectural novelties such as Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
and Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
.
Matongé
Ixelles is known throughout Belgium for its large community of people of Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
n origin. This population is mainly concentrated near the Namur Gate and the /, and the neighbourhood is nicknamed ''Matongé'' or ''Matongué'' after the marketplace and commercial district with the same name in Kalamu, Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
(Democratic Republic of the Congo). The core of ''Matongé'' was formed in late 1950s by the foundation of ''Maisaf'' (an abbreviation of ''Maison Africaine'', meaning "African House"), which served as a centre and residence for university students from the Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
. After Congolese independence in 1960, the district faced an influx of immigrants from the new state who shaped the neighbourhood in a style to resemble the original ''Matongé''. During the 1960s and into the '70s, the area was a well known meeting place for students and diplomats from Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
. At the time they were known locally as ''Belgicains''. Communities from other African countries (mainly from Rwanda, Burundi, Mali, Cameroon, and Senegal) are also present in the district.
Two famous shopping arcades, the Ixelles Gallery and the Namur Gate Gallery, are located in the heart of ''Matongé''. In the galleries and the adjoining streets, a large number of specialised food shops and suppliers can be found. The area is renowned for its clothes, shoes and material shops, hairdressers and wigmakers, booksellers, jewellers and craft shops, making the area unmissable for many local and even international visitors. Over 45 different nationalities amongst the residents and shopkeepers can be counted, including most African countries. Statistically, many of the shopkeepers are not necessarily local residents. Amongst the visitors and window shoppers to ''Matongé'' are many who appreciate African fashion and lifestyle.
The district also attained notoriety from the early 2000s with gang violence perpetrated by African gangs, partly composed of exiled child soldiers like ''Black Démolition''. It was the scene of race riots in January 2001. ''Matongé'', with its more recent immigrant communities from Latin America, Pakistan, and India along with African ones, is seen as a symbol of multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
in Belgium. The local authorities, community groups and residents with a certain degree of success have more recently re-established the area as a safe place to visit. As the area and property ages there is increased pressure and interest from property developers to expand the European Quarter on one side and the fashionable Avenue Louise on the other, effectively ''Matongé'' is sandwiched between the two.
Every year since 2001 at the end of June, a multicultural festival, ''Matongé en Couleurs'', has been organised in the area. The date coincides with the celebration of Congolese independence. The film '' Juju Factory'', released in 2006, was partly filmed in the area. The local television channel BX1 (formerly Télé Bruxelles) broadcasts a weekly magazine programme, ''Téle Matongé XL''.
The pedestrian street / has many snack-bars where African food is sold. Most of these have been decorated by the famous Afro-European artist John Bush. ''Le Soleil d'Afrique'' has almost become his museum, with not only his original paintings on display, but also other painted surfaces and furniture.
Main sights
* The buildings of La Cambre Abbey, close to the territory of Ixelles, house a renowned school for the visual arts, the National Geographic Institute, and various parish functions.
* The Ixelles Ponds and Tenbosch Park are noted parks in the middle of the municipality.
* The Flagey Building
The Flagey Building (; ), also known as the Radio House (; ), is a building located in Ixelles, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, housing the Flagey cultural centre. It is located on the south-western corner of the Place Eugène Flagey/Eug ...
, also known as the ''Radio House'', a Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...
building on the Place Eugène Flagey, used to house the Belgian National Institute of Radio Broadcasting (INR/NIR).
* The Résidence de la Cambre, the first high-rise building in Brussels, on the /, is another notable Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
building.
* Ixelles was a centre of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
architecture in the first decades of the 20th century. Several Art Nouveau houses built by Victor Horta are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, and some of them can be visited.
* The three Brussels universities—the Université libre de Bruxelles
The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...
(ULB), Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...
(VUB) and Saint-Louis University—have campuses in Ixelles. As a result, the south-eastern part of the municipality is home to a large number of students.
* Ixelles Cemetery is one of the most important cemeteries in the country as it contains the graves of a number of famous Belgian personalities. It was there, in 1891, that the French General Georges Boulanger, leader of the right-wing ''Boulangerists'', committed suicide, on the tomb of his mistress, who had died a couple of months earlier.
* Ixelles also houses several interesting churches and museums, including the Museum of Ixelles, as well as the Constantin Meunier Museum, established in the residence where the artist lived part of his life.
File:Abb.de la Cambre, palais abbatial.JPG, View from the ''cour d'honneur
A court of honor ( ; ) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes with a fourth side, co ...
'' (main courtyard) of La Cambre Abbey, located in the City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
close to Ixelles
File:Ancien atelier et habitation de Clas Grüner Sterner Door 1.jpg, An Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
doorway in Ixelles, dating from 1902
File:Ixelles Ponds.JPG, View of the Ixelles Ponds towards the Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein
File:DSC 4320© Lara Herbinia.jpg, The main building on the ''Solbosch'' campus of the Université libre de Bruxelles
The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...
(ULB), located in the City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...
close to Ixelles
File:Ancien Institut national de Radiodiffusion - vue d'ensemble.JPG, Flagey Building
The Flagey Building (; ), also known as the Radio House (; ), is a building located in Ixelles, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, housing the Flagey cultural centre. It is located on the south-western corner of the Place Eugène Flagey/Eug ...
(or ''Radio House'') on the Place Eugène Flagey
Events
Several fairs are organised in Ixelles, including the Spring Fair on the Place Eugène Flagey, which takes place between the fourth and sixth Sunday after Easter, as well as the Boondael Fair at the end of July.
Brussels Universities Cyclocross is a cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...
race that is regularly held in the adjacent campuses of the Université libre de Bruxelles
The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...
(ULB) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...
(VUB), located in eastern Ixelles.
Demographics
Migrant communities in Ixelles with over 1,000 people as of 1 January 2020:
Politics
The current city council was elected in the October 2018 elections. The current mayor of Ixelles is , a member of Ecolo
Ecolo (), officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales (, ) is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The party is active in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region.
Ecolo's F ...
, who is in coalition on the municipal council with PS - sp.a.
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Ixelles is twinned with:
* Biarritz
Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...
, France (since 1958)
* Kalamu, municipality in Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
, Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2003)[
* Zababdeh, Palestine (since 2003)][
* Kibbutz Megiddo, Israel (since 2012,] suspended in July 2024)
* Lichtenberg, Germany
Notable people
Born in Ixelles:
* Agnès Varda (1928-2019), film director
* Albert Crahay (1903–1991), soldier and commander of the Belgian battalion at the Battle of the Imjin River during the Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
* Anna Boch
Anna-Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936), known as Anna, was a Belgium, Belgian Painting, painter, art collector, and the only female member of the artistic group, Les XX. Born in La Louvière, Saint-Vaast, Hainaut Province, Hai ...
(1848–1936), impressionist painter and art collector
* Annemie Neyts (born 1944), politician and MEP
* Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...
(1929–1993), British actress, model, and humanitarian
* Auguste Alfred Lucien Lameere (1864–1942), entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
* Auguste Perret (1874–1954), architect
* Boris Szulzinger (born 1945), film director and producer
* Camille Lemonnier (1844–1913), writer and poet
* Emile Vandervelde
Emile Vandervelde (25 January 1866 – 27 December 1938) was a Belgium, Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss" (''le patron''), Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism.
C ...
(1866–1938), statesman, socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
leader, Minister of Justice, and Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
* Frank Ntilikina (born 1998), professional basketball player
* Grand Jojo (1936–2021), singer-songwriter
* Michel Regnier, also known as Greg (1931–1999), comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
author
* Jacky Ickx (born 1945), racing driver
* Jaco Van Dormael (born 1957), screenwriter and film director
* Jacques Feyder (1885–1948), screenwriter and film director
* Jean-François van Boxmeer (born 1961), businessman, chairman and CEO of Heineken International
* Jules de Burlet (1844–1897), politician, senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
, Interior Minister
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
, Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, and Belgian ambassador to Portugal
* Julio Cortázar (1914–1984), novelist
* Kris Bosmans (born 1980), cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
* Leo Joseph Suenens (1904–1996), cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
and Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels
* Marc Dutroux
Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rape, serial rapist, and child sexual abuse, child molester. Initially convicted for the child abduction, abduction and rape of five young girls in 19 ...
(born 1956), convicted child molester and serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
* Marc Moulin (1942–2008), jazz and fusion musician, author
* Michel de Ghelderode
Michel de Ghelderode (born Adémar Adolphe Louis Martens; 3 April 1898 – 1 April 1962) was an avant-garde Demographics of Belgium, Belgian dramatist, from Flanders, who spoke and wrote in French. His works often dealt with the extremes of huma ...
(1898–1962), avant-garde
In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
dramatist
* Natacha Régnier (born 1974), actress
* Paul Hymans
Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933.
Life
Hymans was ...
(1865–1941), politician and first President of the League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
* Paul Saintenoy (1862–1952), architect, teacher, architectural historian, and writer
* Pierre Kolp (born 1969), composer
* Pierre Rapsat (1948–2002), singer-songwriter
* Sophie Wilmès (born 1975), politician, Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, and Minister of Foreign Affairs
* Ursula von der Leyen (born 1958), German Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, German Minister of Defence, and President of the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
* Yannick Carrasco (born 1993), football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player
Lived in Ixelles:
* Anna Boch
Anna-Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936), known as Anna, was a Belgium, Belgian Painting, painter, art collector, and the only female member of the artistic group, Les XX. Born in La Louvière, Saint-Vaast, Hainaut Province, Hai ...
(1848–1936), artist and art collector, owner of the Villa Anna
* Antoine Wiertz (1806–1865), painter and sculptor
* August de Boeck (1865–1937), composer, organist, and music pedagogue
* Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...
(1840–1917), sculptor
* Charles de Coster (1827–1879), novelist
* Constantin Meunier (1831–1905), painter and sculptor
* Damso (born 1992), Belgian-Congolese rapper, singer, and songwriter
* Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape ...
(1865–1915), British nurse and World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
martyr, ran a nursing school there from 1907.
* Elisée Reclus (1830–1905), geographer and anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
* Ernest Solvay (1838–1922), chemist, industrialist, and philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
* Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...
(1858–1924), Italian composer; lived and died at 1, /; a tablet with an inscription is visible on the building wall.
* Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821–1909), painter
* Jean-Baptiste Moens (1833–1908), philatelist
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...
and stamp dealer
A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or revenue stamps for use on court documents. Stamp dealers who sell to Stamp collect ...
* Jacky Ickx (born 1945), racing driver
* Johan Michiel Dautzenberg (1834–1878), writer
* Karl Marx
Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
(1818–1883), German philosopher, social theorist, political economist, and socialist revolutionary
* Maria Malibran (1808–1836), mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...
* Naim Khader (1939–1981), representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
* Neel Doff (1858–1942), writer
* Octave Maus (1856–1919), art critic, writer, and lawyer
* Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...
(1809–1865), anarchist thinker
* Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
(1870–1924), Russian revolutionary and first head of the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Footnotes
References
External links
*
Official website
Museum of Ixelles
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region
Populated places in Belgium