Anderlecht

Anderlecht
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Anderlecht Location in Belgium
Anderlecht municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region
Coordinates: 50°50′N 04°20′E / 50.833°N 4.333°ECoordinates: 50°50′N 04°20′E / 50.833°N 4.333°E
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community French Community
Region	Brussels
Arrondissement	Brussels
Government
• Mayor	Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven (MR)
• Governing party/ies	LB - PS-SP.A-CDH
Area
• Total	17.74 km^2 (6.85 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)[1]
• Total	111,279
• Density	6,300/km^2 (16,000/sq mi)
Postal codes	1070
Area codes	02
Website	www.anderlecht.be

Anderlecht (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑndərˌlɛxt]; French pronunciation: ​[ɑ̃dɛʁlɛkt]) is one of the nineteen municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.

History

Origins and medieval times

The first traces of human activity on the right bank of the Senne date from the Stone Age and Bronze Age. The remnants of a Roman villa and of a Frankish necropolis were also found on the territory of Anderlecht. The first mention of the name Anderlecht, however, dates only from 1047 under the forms Anrelech, then Andrelet (1111), Andreler (1148), and Anderlech (1186). At that time, this community was already home to a chapter of canons and to two feudal manors, those of the powerful lords of Aa and of Anderlecht.

In 1356, Louis of Male, Count of Flanders fought against Brussels on the territory of Anderlecht, in the so-called Battle of Scheut, supposedly over a monetary matter. Although he defeated his sister-in-law, Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, and briefly took her title, she regained it the following year with the help of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1393, Joanna’s charter made Anderlecht a part of Brussels. It is also around this time that the church of Saint Guido was rebuilt above the earlier Romanesque crypt in the Brabant Gothic style.

Collegial Church of St. Peter and St. Guido

15th century until now

The city of Anderlecht became a beacon of culture in the 15th and 16th century. In 1521, Erasmus lived in the canons’ house for a few months. Charles, Duke of Aumale and Grand Veneur of France also had a residence here.

Anderlecht town hall

The 17th and 18th century were marked by the wars between the Low Countries and France. On November 13, 1792, right after the Battle of Jemappes, General Dumouriez and the French Revolutionary army routed the Austrians here once again. Among the consequences were the disbanding of the canons and Anderlecht being proclaimed an independent commune by the French. The 19th century saw a remarkable population growth, mainly because of the proximity to a rapidly expanding Brussels. Remarkable new urban developments and garden cities such as Het Rad and Moortenbeek were built at the beginning of the 20th century to house the influx of newcomers. Today, the name Anderlecht rings a bell in every Belgian ear thanks to its very successful football club.

Events

The annual Anderlecht fair, originally a cattle fair, was authorized by William II of the Netherlands in 1825. Since then, it has taken the form of a series of celebrations, which still include animal shows but also outdoors exhibitions, a floral show, and the recreation of a religious procession in honor of Saint Guido.

Economy

The Delhaize Group, which operates many supermarket chains, has its head office in Anderlecht.^[2]

Sights

Moortebeek city

Porselein street

• The Collegial Church of Saint Peter and Saint Guido is still at the centre of the city. It contains the grave of the 11-th century saint Guy of Anderlecht. Its Romanesque crypt dates from the 10th century and is one of the oldest in Belgium. Most of the church, however, dates from 1350 and later, with most of the currently visible architecture representing the Ogee style (15th-16th century). Construction of the tower started in 1517 but stopped with the square part up to the balcony; it was not completed until 1898.^[3]
• Right next to the church, the old beguinage is home to a local historical museum.
• The “House of Erasmus”, built around 1450, and its medicinal garden can be visited nearby.
• Anderlecht is the location of the “Cureghem Cellars” (Kelders van Cureghem in Dutch or Caves de Cureghem in French), a subterranean complex of handmade brick caves with Romanesque vaults, pillars, and arches, originally the site of a cattle market covered by a forged-iron roof construction in the 1890s. The cellars were simply a foundation for the upper structure until the 1930s, after which the city council decided to make better use of them. It proved more profitable to grow mushrooms in the dark and damp underground spaces for local consumption. It fell into disuse as a cattle market but in 1984 the hall officially got listed as a Belgian monument. Due to its characteristic architecture and unique layout it was refurbished and transformed by a private company, Abattoir SA. Since 1992 it serves as an attractive and functional event site for various private, corporate or public occasions and events. One of these was the anatomic exposition 'Body Worlds' (Körperwelten) by Dr. Gunther Von Hagens which ran in the cellars between 2008 and 2009 and attracted over 500.000 visitors.
• Anderlecht also offers the Cantillon Brewery - a gueuze museum housed in an actual working brewery, and a China museum, housed in a convent of the CICM Missionaries.
• The Jean-Claude Van Damme statue located on the Boulevard Sylvain Dupuis, near the Westland Shopping Center.

Famous inhabitants

• Desiderius Erasmus, humanist and theologian (1466–1536)
• Philippe Thys, cyclist and three-time champion of the Tour de France (1890–1971)
• Maurice Carême, poet (1899–1978)
• Régine, singer and inventor of the discothèque (b. 1929)
• Henri Simonet, politician and mayor (1931–1996)
• William Vance, comic book artist (b. 1935)
• Jacques Simonet, politician and mayor (1963–2007)

Sports

Anderlecht is the home of the football club RSC Anderlecht, the most successful Belgian football team in European competition as well as in the Belgian First Division.

Twin towns — sister cities

Anderlecht is twinned with:

• Boulogne-Billancourt, France
• Berlin-Neukölln, Germany
• London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, United Kingdom
• Zaandam, Netherlands
• Marino, Italy

Miscellaneous

The patron saint of Anderlecht is Guy of Anderlecht.^[4]

References

1. Population per municipality on 1 January 2013 (XLS; 607.5 KB)
2. "Contacts." Delhaize Group. Retrieved on 16 May 2012. "Square Marie Curie 40 1070 Brussels - Belgium"
3. Eug. De Seyn, "Geschied- en aardrijkskundig woordenboek der Belgische gemeenten" (Historic and Geographic Dictionary of Belgian communes), A. Bieleveld, Brussels 1933-1934.
4. Guy of Anderlecht at saints.sqpn.com. Retrieved 26.March 2013

External links

• Official site of Anderlecht (only in French or Dutch)
• Mayor Jacques Simonet died