Central Boulevards of Brussels
The Central Boulevards (
The covering of the Senne and the completion of the Central Boulevards allowed the construction of the modern public buildings that are focal to downtown Brussels today, including the former Brussels Stock Exchange[4][5] and the Midi Palace,[6][7] as well as the reconstruction of the Greater Sluice Gate, south of the city.
History
Origins: covering of the Senne
The
Numerous proposals were made to remedy this problem, and in 1865, the
The covering of the Senne brought boulevards to the heart of Brussels, whereas they had hitherto been limited to the Small Ring, a series of roadways built on the site of the 14th-century walls bounding the historic city centre. The boulevards, whose initial function was to go around the capital, thus became structural urban thoroughfares. The central boulevards' completion also allowed urban renewal and the construction along them of the modern public buildings of Haussmann-esque style, which are characteristic of downtown Brussels today.[17]
Construction and development
The Central Boulevards—the Boulevard du Hainaut/Henegouwenlaan (now the Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier/Maurice Lemonnierlaan), the Boulevard Central/Centraallaan (now the
In order to accomplish this revitalisation and attract investment, public buildings were constructed as part of Léon Suys' massive programme of beautification of the city centre,[19][20][21] including the Brussels Stock Exchange (1868–1873).[4][22] The vast Central Halls (French: Halles Centrales, Dutch: Centrale Hallen), a good example of metallic architecture, located between the Rue des Halles/Hallenstraat and the Rue de la Vierge Noire/Zwarte Lievevrouwstraat, replaced unhygienic open-air markets, though they were torn down in 1958.[23][4][24] The monumental fountain at the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein, which was to break the boulevards' uniformity, was abandoned for budgetary reasons.[1]
The construction of private buildings on the boulevards and surrounding areas took place later. Brussels' middle class continued to prefer living in new suburbs rather than the cramped areas of the city centre. Besides, the high prices of the land (expected to finance part of the construction costs) and the high rents were not within the means of the lower classes. Moreover, life in apartments was no longer desirable for residents of Brussels, who preferred to live in
To give builders an incentive to create elaborate and appealing
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Destruction of the old neighbourhood and beginning of the vaulting in 1867
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The Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan in 1880, etching by Armand Heins from L'Illustration nationale
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The Place de la Bourse/Beursplein and the Boulevard Anspach in the 1920s
Contemporary (1945–present)
The covering of the Senne and the construction of the Central Boulevards have left deep traces in Brussels' historic centre. The formerly working-class districts have made way for apartment buildings and for the Stock Exchange with its commercial district, department stores, luxury hotels, concert halls,
Since 29 June 2015, the Central Boulevards have been pedestrianised between the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, as part of a broader pedestrianisation of Brussels' city centre (Le Piétonnier). The area, covering 50 hectares (120 acres), includes much of the historic centre within the Small Ring, such as the Grand-Place/Grote Markt, the Place de Brouckère and the Boulevard Anspach.[32][33][34]
The boulevards
Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier
Formerly named the Boulevard du Hainaut/Henegouwenlaan,[3] the Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier/Maurice Lemonnierlaan stretches from the Boulevard du Midi/Zuidlaan to the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein. Interrupted halfway by the Place Anneessens/Anneessensplein (former location of the Old Market), this artery is characterised by a homogeneous succession of low-rise buildings for the most part, bourgeois dwellings with a predilection for the neoclassical style, apartment buildings, and commercial buildings such as the Midi Palace.[6][7][35] In 1919, the city council ordered the boulevard to be renamed in honour of the alderman and patriot Maurice Lemonnier (1860–1930), who returned from a long captivity as a prisoner in Germany during World War I.[35] Some remarkable buildings along this relatively well-preserved stretch include the Midi Palace, the Model School (currently Charles Buls Primary School), the former Municipal School no. 13 (currently the Haute École Francisco Ferrer ) on the Place Anneessens,[35] as well as the old Castellani rotunda (now transformed into a parking lot).[36][37]
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Midi Palace on the Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier/Maurice Lemonnierlaan
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Place Anneessens/Anneessensplein (François Anneessens) and Haute École Francisco Ferrer
Boulevard Anspach
Central by its original name as much as by its location, the
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Former Brussels Stock Exchange building on the Place de la Bourse
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Boulevard Anspach
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Anspach Gallery
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Boulevard Anspach
Boulevard Adolphe Max
Unlike the other sections of the Central Boulevards, the
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Hotel Le Plaza on the Boulevard Adolphe Max
Boulevard Émile Jacqmain
Connecting the Place de Brouckère to the Boulevard du Jardin Botanique and the Boulevard d'Anvers/Antwerpselaan, the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain forms the western branch of the fork that marks the northern end of the Central Boulevards. Sumptuous in its time, the former Boulevard de la Senne/Zennelaan (because it follows the course of the river)[3] was bordered by apartment buildings, commercial buildings, luxury hotels, town houses, and some bourgeois dwellings, which have now mostly been replaced by offices. Eclectic styles dominate with a good representation of the Second Empire. Functionalism and Art Deco are also represented by some buildings typical of the interwar period.[45]
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Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles on the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain
See also
- List of streets in Brussels
- Haussmann's renovation of Paris
- History of Brussels
- Belgium in the long nineteenth century
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Demey 1990, p. 65.
- ^ a b Map of Suys' proposal. City Archives of Brussels: p.p. 1.169
- ^ a b c d e f Eggericx 1997, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Eggericx 1997, p. 27.
- ^ a b "La Bourse – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ a b Eggericx 1997, p. 24.
- ^ a b "Palais du Midi – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ De Vries 2003, p. 26.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 42.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 61.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 537.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 39.
- ^ Deligne 2005, p. 5.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 534.
- ^ De Vries 2003, p. 25.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 537–538.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 538.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 532–534.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 39–41.
- ^ a b c Eggericx 1997, p. 26.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 544.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 550–553.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 66.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 555–556.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 67.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 543.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 39–40.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 19.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 541–542.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 68.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 542.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Feargus (7 January 2014). "Europe's Most Congested City Contemplates Going Car-Free". City Lab. The Atlantic. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ Vermeersch, Laurent (6 February 2015). "Centrale lanen: twee fonteinen en twee fietsparkings" (in Dutch). Brussel Nieuws. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ "Project. Pedestrian zone". www.brussels.be. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ a b c "Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Rotonde des panoramas". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 23.
- ^ "Pathé Palace – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 32.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 32–33.
- ^ "Hier is't in den Kater en de Kat – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Passage du Nord – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Hôtel Plaza – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Hôtel Atlanta – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural". monument.heritage.brussels (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 34.
Bibliography
- Deligne, Chloé (2005). Bruxelles sortie des eaux : Les relations entre la ville et ses cours d'eau du Moyen Age à nos jours (in French). Brussels: Musées de la Ville de Bruxelles. ISBN 978-2-9600373-1-9.
- Demey, Thierry (1990). Bruxelles, chronique d'une capitale en chantier (in French). Vol. I: Du voûtement de la Senne à la jonction Nord-Midi. Brussels: Paul Legrain/CFC. OCLC 44643865.
- Demey, Thierry (2013). Bruxelles, des remparts aux boulevards (in French). Brussels: Badeaux. ISBN 978-2-930609-02-7.
- De Vries, André (2003). Brussels: A Cultural and Literary History. Oxford: Signal Books. ISBN 978-1-902669-46-5.
- Eggericx, Laure (1997). Les Boulevards du Centre. Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire (in French). Vol. 20. Brussels: Centre d'information, de Documentation et d'Etude du Patrimoine.
- Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles (PDF) (in French). Vol. 1A: Pentagone A-D. Liège: Pierre Mardaga. 1989.