Sablon, Brussels

Coordinates: 50°50′24″N 4°21′22″E / 50.84000°N 4.35611°E / 50.84000; 4.35611
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"Zavel" redirects here. For the Russian-born American cantor and composer, see Zavel Kwartin.

  • Sablon (
    Brussels-Capital Region
MunicipalityCity of Brussels
WebsiteOfficial website

The Sablon (French: [sa.blɔ̃]) or Zavel (Dutch: [ˈzaːvəl] ⓘ) is a neighbourhood and hill in the historic upper town of Brussels, Belgium. At its heart are twin squares: the larger Grand Sablon or Grote Zavel ("Large Sablon") square in the north-west and the smaller Petit Sablon or Kleine Zavel ("Small Sablon") square and garden in the south-east, divided by the Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon. This area is served by Brussels-Chapel railway station and Brussels-Central railway station, as well as the tram stop Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavel (on lines 92 and 93).[1][2]

History

jay of the Grand Serment [Crossbowmen's Guild] with a crossbow in the Sablon in Brussels depicts an Ommegang
in 1615.

Early history

The Sablon lies near the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg neighbourhood, and lay not far outside the first walls of Brussels. It was originally an unused open space, with areas of wetlands, grassland and sand, where a hermit made his home. The words sablon in French and zavel in Dutch both mean a fine-grained sand, halfway between silt and sand.[3] Saint John's Hospital (French: Hôpital Saint-Jean, Dutch: Sint-Jansgasthuis) used the area as a cemetery in the 13th century, having run out of space in its own cemetery.[4]

In 1304, the

Our Lady on the site, completed in 1318, setting off the transformation of the area.[4] Legend has is that the chapel became famous after a local devout woman named Beatrijs Soetkens had a vision in which the Virgin Mary instructed her to steal the miraculous statue of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw op ‘t Stocxken ("Our Lady on the little stick") in Antwerp, bring it to Brussels, and place it in the chapel of the Crossbowmen's Guild. The woman stole the statue, and through a series of miraculous events, was able to transport it to Brussels by boat in 1348. It was then solemnly placed in the chapel and venerated as the patron of the Guild. The Guild also promised to hold an annual procession, called an Ommegang, in which the statue was carried through Brussels. This Ommegang developed into an important religious and civil event in Brussels' annual calendar.[3]

15th to 18th centuries

The Egmont Palace, now part of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Sablon/Zavel

In the 15th century, the neighbourhood began to enlarge substantially. The chapel was rebuilt as the larger and more elegant

Palace of Justice stands.[5]

In the 16th century, Brussels' most prominent noblemen established themselves on the upper Sablon and on the Rue aux Laines. The

Dutch Revolt.[6] To eliminate any trace of this seditious act against the king, the Duke of Alba razed the mansion to the ground in 1568.[6]

The proximity of the cemetery was already an irritation to its aristocratic neighbours in 1554, but it would be another century and a half before the government of Brussels recognised that the situation had become unbearable. They reported that corpses "were often neglected and left in only half-covered graves, from which dogs had several times pulled parts off and run around in broad daylight with arms and legs in their mouths".[7] It was therefore decided in 1704 to move the cemetery to the Marolles/Marollen district.[3]

19th century to present

The Square du Grand Sablon/Grote Zavelsquare and its market, c. 1900

The Sablon neighbourhood was remodelled in the 19th century as the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapstraat was driven through the area, creating a Haussmann-esque style artery between the Royal Palace of Brussels in the Royal Quarter and the new Palace of Justice in the Marolles. The new street skirted the church, and all buildings immediately adjacent to it were demolished starting in 1872, opening up new views of the church. On that occasion, buildings not directly adjacent to the church were renovated and improved.[8]

Wittamer & Co chocolatier on the Grand Sablon. After losing its prestige, the area is chic once again.

From the 19th to early 20th centuries, the Grand Sablon became a renowned site for a sport called jeu de balle or

ball game similar to modern handball. Though the sport is no longer played much today, it enjoyed immense popularity at the time. The Kings of the Belgians would frequently be seen among the spectators of a match; Leopold II explained that he would frequently come watch the games, as he lived in the area.[9]

The social composition of the neighbourhood changed over the course of time. In the 19th century, it was incrementally abandoned by the aristocracy in favour of newer, more chic neighbourhoods, such as the

confectioners have come to the area,[3] which is once again the heart of the Brussels upper class.[11]

Grand Sablon

Fountain of Minerva [fr] on the Square du Grand Sablon

History

The Square du Grand Sablon/Grote Zavelsquare lies to the north-west of the church. It is in the shape of a long triangle, around 50 m (160 ft) wide in the south-east, terminating in a point around 130 m (430 ft) to the north-west. When Brussels' residents mention the "Sablon" without qualification, they are usually referring to the Grand Sablon.[12] The Grand Sablon was linked to the Petit Sablon by the Rue Bodenbroek/Bodenbroekstraat and the Rue des Sablons/Zavelstraat, though the division between the two Sablons was accentuated by the Rue de la Régence/Regentschapstraat cutting through the area.[3]

In the 16th century, the Grand Sablon was known as the Peerdemerct (

Latin: Forum Equorum), due to the horse market that was held there from 1320 to 1754. The place was also known as the Zavelpoel ("Sandy pond")[13] due to a pond in the centre, which would last until 1615. After the pond was filled in, a fountain was erected in its place in 1661. Water was brought to the fountain by a new conduit from Obbrussel (now Saint-Gilles). This fountain was replaced in 1751 by the present Fountain of Minerva [fr], which was a posthumous gift from the exiled British nobleman Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, who wished to thank the people of Brussels for their hospitality. The fountain was renovated in 1999.[14]

The Grand Sablon was often the stage for festivals and competitions, but also for tragic events. On 1 June 1568, it was the site of a mass execution, as 18 signatories of the Compromise of Nobles were decapitated.[15]

Saint-Verhaegen/Sint-Verhaegen festivities start at the Grand Sablon.

Present day

The Grand Sablon is nowadays a genuine neighbourhood with residents and small businesses, while at the same time being a popular place to stroll and a tourist attraction. Surrounding the square are numerous antique stores, fashionable boutiques, hotels, restaurants, an auction house, and numerous pastry shops and well-known Belgian chocolatiers, including Neuhaus, Pierre Marcolini and Godiva. On Saturdays and Sundays, the Grand Sablon hosts the Sablon Antiques and Books Market.[3]

As is the case with many other public squares in Brussels, the Grand Sablon has been partially transformed into a parking lot. A plan to refurbish the space is being investigated.[citation needed]

Each year, the Sablon is the starting point for the Ommegang procession. On 20 November, it hosts the beginning of the Saint-Verhaegen/Sint-Verhaegen student parade (often shortened to St V), which celebrates the founding of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) universities.[16]

Petit Sablon

Fountain of the Counts of Egmont and Horn in the Petit Sablon's garden

To the south-east of the church, and slightly uphill, lies the Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare. It is a roughly rectangular garden, featuring trees, hedges, flowers and most notably, statues.

In the

Senne river, joining it roughly at the current Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein. Its course is still followed by the streets in the area to this day.[17] The Petit Sablon was the site of Saint John Hospital's cemetery, mentioned above, until it was moved.[3]

The present-day garden was created by the architect Henri Beyaert, and was inaugurated in 1890. It is surrounded by an ornate wrought iron fence inspired by one that once decorated the Coudenberg Palace. The fence is punctuated by tall stone pillars; atop each pillar is a statue of one or more historical professions, with 48 statues in total. To ensure that the statues were stylistically coherent, Beyaert asked the painter Xavier Mellery to design all of them, though they were executed by different sculptors. Each pillar has a unique design, as does each section of fence.[18]

In the centre of the garden stands a fountain-sculpture by

Dutch Revolt. This monument was initially in front of the King's House on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), the site of their execution. It is surrounded by a semicircle of ten statues of 16th-century political figures, intellectuals and artists.[19]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ "Line 92 to FORT-JACO - STIB Mobile". m.stib.be. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Line 93 to STADE - STIB Mobile". m.stib.be. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Le Sablon" (in French). City of Brussels. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. ^
    Brussels-Capital Region
    , 1995, p. 3
  5. ^ "Palais de Justice" (in French). Belgian federal building registry. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9789089644138
    .
  7. ^ (in French) « ...estoient souvent négligés et mis dans les fosses à moitié couverts, dont les chiens avoient plusieurs fois tiré des pièces et couru en plein jour avec les bras et les jambes... » Alexandre Henne and Alphonse Wauters, Histoire de la ville de Bruxelles, Éditions Libro-Sciences, 1968, Tome 3, p. 401
  8. ^ Mardaga 1994, p. 274.
  9. ^ (in French) Jacques Dubreucq, Bruxelles 1000. Une histoire capitale, Edited by the author, 1996, Volume 1, p. 258
  10. ^ (in French) Itinéraire de la rénovation des quartiers anciens à Bruxelles : 8 km à pied à travers le Pentagone et Molenbeek (in French), Collection Hommes et Paysages, Société Royale Belge de Géographie, 2001, p. 63
  11. ^ "De week van tvbrussel vanuit het Museum van de Stad Brussel" (in Dutch). TV Brussel. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  12. ^ D'Osta 1986, p. 293.
  13. ^ Jacobs 1994, p. 78.
  14. ^ (in French) La fontaine de Minerve coule à nouveau, Le Soir, 4 December 1999
  15. ^ Verniers 1965, p. 227.
  16. ^ "Saint-Verhaegen calme et fraîche: moins d'interventions qu'en 2012" (in French). RTBF. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  17. ^ Jacobs 1994, p. 70.
  18. ^ "Le Petit Sablon : Les 48 statuettes des Corporations Professionnelles - Bruxelles Pentagone" (in French). eBru. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  19. ^ Mardaga 1993, p. 123.

Bibliography

External links

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