Covering of the Senne
The covering of the Senne (French: Voûtement de la Senne; Dutch: Overwelving van de Zenne) was the covering and later diverting of the main river of Brussels, Belgium, and the construction of public buildings and major boulevards in its place. Carried out between 1867 and 1871, it is one of the defining events in the history of Brussels.
The
Numerous proposals were made to remedy this problem, and in 1865, the
In the 1930s, plans were made to cover the Senne along its entire course within the greater Brussels area, which had grown significantly since the 19th-century covering. By 1955, the course of the Senne was diverted to the downtown's peripheral boulevards. In 1976, the disused tunnels were converted into the
The Senne in Brussels
At the beginning of the 19th century, Brussels was still in many ways a medieval city. The Royal Quarter in the historic upper town, inhabited mainly by the nobility and the richer members of the bourgeoisie, was upscale and modern. The rest of the city, however, in particular the lower town, located in the western half of the Pentagon, in the valley of the Senne river, was densely populated and industrial, characterised by an illogical street layout, back alleys, narrow streets, and numerous dead-ends.[1][2]
The Senne split into two branches in
Still described, in the 18th century, as a river with a "useful and pleasant course",
During dry periods, however, much of the Senne's water was diverted for the needs of the city's populace, as well as to maintain the water level in the Charleroi Canal.
Attempts at purification
The first studies and propositions to clean up the river date back to 1859,[12] and between 1861 and 1864, the Brussels authorities assigned successive commissions of engineers to examine possible solutions.[13][2] Dozens of different ideas were submitted, many of which were completely unfeasible. Several of them proposed diverting large amounts of cleaner water from other rivers upstream to dilute the Senne, while greatly improving the drainage system in the city. Other proposals involved diverting the Senne's main course completely to the Lesser Senne, which would then be enlarged and thus be more useful for boat traffic and mills. Others considered any sort of sanitisation impossible, and proposed covering the Senne without greatly changing its course.[4][19] Among these was a proposal to double the size of the underground drainage tunnels, creating space for a subterranean railroad tunnel. The idea was ahead of its time, but would be implemented a century later with the North–South connection.[20][21]
In 1865, King Leopold II, speaking to the City of Brussels' then-mayor, Jules Anspach, expressed the wish that Brussels "will succeed in getting rid of this cesspool called the Senne" before the end of his reign.[22] In October of that year, the municipal council adopted a project submitted by the architect Léon Suys, which had Anspach's backing. The plan involved suppressing the Senne's secondary arm by closing the Lesser Sluice Gate and rectifying the sinuous course of its main arm between Brussels-South railway station and the north of the city.[23][2] This main branch would be channelled into tunnels, to be placed directly beneath a long, straight 30-metre-wide (100 ft) boulevard, stretching from the Greater Sluice Gate to the Temple of the Augustinians (now the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein) before splitting into two. One branch was to head towards Brussels-North railway station and the present-day Place Charles Rogier/Karel Rogierplein, the other towards the Antwerp Gate, thus forming a long, narrow "Y" shape.[13][24]
Anspach's backing of Suys' proposal was a calculated decision, as he had radical plans to transform the city. Anspach saw the proposal as an unexpected boon, as it allowed him to accomplish several of his goals at once. It had long been his ambition to transform the impoverished lower city into a centre of business and commerce, suitable for a modern capital (Belgium had
Controversy and opposition
The Belgian Parliament had passed a law in 1858 allowing the expropriation of privately owned land by the government when the land was to be used for the "greater good". This could be done even if the project was still speculative in nature, and allowed for more land to be taken beyond what was strictly necessary for a project.[28][29] The city expropriated large swathes of the lower town, counting on reselling the land for a profit, which, after the project was complete, would be on a grandiose modern boulevard in an upper-class neighbourhood. The selling of land after the project's completion was seen as a way of financing the project itself.[30][29] That the lower town's poorer residents were forced away into other already overcrowded districts or into the surrounding suburbs did not trouble the upper classes very much, as the displaced residents did not pay taxes or have the right to vote.[31]
Even after Suys' proposal was officially adopted in 1865, Anspach faced strong opposition to the project. This opposition came first from engineers who felt that the covering was incompatible with Brussels' geology, would accumulate potentially dangerous gases and would not be able to handle enough water to prevent floods.[20] Others opposed to the project complained about the soaring taxes resulting from its high cost, poor compensation for seized property and the lack of public input into the project. The press accused Anspach of being responsible for demolishing Brussels' old town, and published numerous caricatures mocking him.[32][33]
A liberal, Anspach feared the government's weakness and rigidity and therefore gave the work of covering the river to a private British company, the Belgian Public Work Company (the English name was used), which was created for the task.[13][34][21] The contract was signed on 15 June 1866, and the contractor was given three years for the undertaking.[21] However, partway through construction, it was forced to relinquish control to the City of Brussels after an embezzlement scandal in which a company director, Frédéric Doulton, allegedly attempted to steal 2.5 million Belgian francs from the company.[17][35] Anspach only barely kept his office in the 1869 by-elections.[32][33]
Demolition and construction
The covering of the river itself, by far the largest operation, absorbed two-thirds of the subsidies granted by the public authorities—the Belgian State, the Province of Brabant and the City of Brussels—amounting to 18 million Belgian francs.[21][a] The city's financial resources for public works were temporarily monopolised by the operation.[37] Now in sole control of the works, the city had to rely on the sub-contractors working on the project to see it through to completion.[38]
The expropriation procedure of the first 1,100 houses located on the route was long and laborious, requiring an individual assessment of each building.[13][39] The gigantic work, involving thousands of workers, began on 13 February 1867.[40] From 1867 to 1871, the river was temporarily diverted and much of the old city centre was opened up. To prevent the water from rising with each shovel stroke, wells had to be installed at regular intervals, then the water pumped out to lower the water table below the apron.[36] Excluding the important sewers built upriver and downriver in the adjacent suburbs, the covered section itself was 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) in length.[38] Constructed from bricks, the covering consisted of two parallel 6-metre-wide (20 ft) tunnels, and a set of two lateral drainage pipes, each taking in waste water from its respective side of the street.[41]
There were several technical difficulties that delayed the covering, many of which were due to Brussels' geology, though they were not as bad as some engineers had forecast. The embezzlement scandal also caused a significant delay in construction, largely due to the change in control. In spite of this, the project was completed in 1871, with the municipal council ceremonially opening the reconstructed sluice gates on 30 November.[42][38] The work's effectiveness was soon put to the test. After a minor flood was stopped in 1873, torrential rains in 1876 brought the river's flow to 85 m3 (3,000 cu ft) without apparent disturbances.[38]
The new central boulevards
The series of boulevards created by the project—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,[44][45][46] including the Brussels Stock Exchange (1868–1873).[47][48] 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.[49][47][50] The monumental fountain at the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein, which was to break the boulevards' uniformity, was abandoned for budgetary reasons.[42]
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
The former Temple of the Augustinians, built at the beginning of the 17th century in the Brabantine Baroque style after designs by Jacob Franquart, was the only remaining part of a convent destroyed in 1796 by French revolutionaries.[58][59][60] After having been used as a Protestant church from 1815 to 1830, it subsequently saw use as a concert hall, a commercial exchange, and a post office.[61][62] At the centre of the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, the church's facade was intended by Suys to be one of the new boulevards' focal points. The work to cover the river, which nearly surrounded the church, preserved the building's integrity at great trouble and expense, but it was finally demolished in 1893, its style no longer popular with the people and its presence unsuitable for the area.[63][64][65] The church was replaced by a fountain-obelisk dedicated to the memory of Jules Anspach.[66][67][68] Its facade's masonry, however, was preserved, being disassembled and reconstructed as the facade of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Ixelles.[64][62][60]
Diversion and treatment
Although the original covering of the Senne resolved sanitary problems and
In 1930, a group was created whose objective was to channel the Senne into tunnels for nearly its entire course through the Brussels
The central boulevards' disused channels later facilitated the construction of the North–South Axis of the premetro (underground tram), which opened in 1976. The conversion of the existing tunnels to metro tunnels ensured that there was minimal disruption on the surface. Some of the former pipes also served as storm drains. The Anspach Fountain was reinstalled in May 1981 in a basin that occupies the space between the Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai and the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai in the Sainte-Catherine/Sint Katelijne neighbourhood.[71][67][68]
Actual
In 2021, a small part (200 m (660 ft)) of the river was uncovered again near the suburb of Buda. Plans are underway to uncover a larger 600 m (2,000 ft) section in Maximilien Park (north of the city centre) by 2025. These moves were made after the success of the water treatment in earlier decades, and a desire to include more green space in the city, as well as to build the river's ecological resilience, which had been essentially dead.[75]
See also
- Haussmann's renovation of Paris
- History of Brussels
- Belgium in the long nineteenth century
References
Footnotes
Citations
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 16.
- ^ a b c Demey 2013, p. 532.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 284–290.
- ^ a b c Demey 1990, p. 48.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 8.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 290–291.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 42.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 529.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 43.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 529–530.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 47.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 531.
- ^ a b c d e Mardaga 1989, p. 39.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 530–531.
- ^ De Vries 2003, p. 26.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 530.
- ^ a b De Vries 2003, p. 25.
- ^ Deligne 2005, p. 53.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 531–532.
- ^ a b Demey 1990, p. 49.
- ^ a b c d Demey 2013, p. 534.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 11.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 13.
- ^ Map of Suys' proposal. City Archives of Brussels: p.p. 1.169
- ^ Deligne 2005, p. 55.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 52.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 532–534.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 57.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 527–529.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 51.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 71.
- ^ a b Demey 1990, p. 61.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 537.
- ^ Deligne 2005, p. 5.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 537–538.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 536.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 535.
- ^ a b c d Demey 2013, p. 538.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 534–536.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 59.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 62.
- ^ a b c Demey 1990, p. 65.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 5.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 39–41.
- ^ Eggericx 1997, p. 26.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 544.
- ^ a b Eggericx 1997, p. 27.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 366.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 212–213.
- ^ a b Gérard 2023, p. 28.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 82.
- ^ a b Demey 2013, p. 213.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 40, 366.
- ^ a b Eggericx 1997, p. 30.
- ^ Demey 2013, p. 545.
- ^ Mardaga 1989, p. 200, 366.
- ^ a b Eggericx 1997, p. 31.
- ^ a b De Roose 1999, p. 50.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 84.
- ^ Demey 1990, p. 85.
- ^ Loze, Vautier & Vestre 1990, p. 40–41.
- ^ "Waterzuivering – waterzuiveringsstation Brussel Noord" (in Dutch). Vilvoorde. 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
- ^ Aquiris. 2007. Archived from the originalon 19 May 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
- ^ "Brussel eindelijk in orde met waterzuivering" (in Dutch). brusselnieuws.be. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
- ^ Boffey, Daniel (27 August 2021). "Brussels battles old prejudices as it frees unloved river from its vault". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
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 Roose, Fabien (1999). De fonteinen van Brussel (in Dutch). Tielt: Lannoo. ISBN 978-90-209-3838-8.
- 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.
- Gérard, Hervé (2023). Bruxelles et ses places (in French). Brussels: 180° éditions. ISBN 978-2-940721-32-0.
- Loze, Pierre; Vautier, Dominique; Vestre, Marina (1990). Guide de Bruxelles XIXème et Art Nouveau (in French). Brussels: Eiffel Editions - CFC Éditions.
- Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles (PDF) (in French). Vol. 1A: Pentagone A-D. Liège: Pierre Mardaga. 1989.