All you need to know about the European Quarter in Brussels

Everyone in Brussels knows the Berlaymont (sometimes called the Berlaymonster by its critics). But how many of you know the history of what we now call the European Quarter? Have you ever studied the history of Brussels? Can't remember your courses? Here is a quick summary of ‘Europe in Brussels’, published in 2007 by the Publications Office.

The booklet was an initiative of the European Quarter Fund of the King Baudouin Foundation and the Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels, in collaboration with the Radio-TV Services and Studios Unit of DG Communication. Its author is Thierry Demey, a Belgian writer whose publications deal with local history and the architectural and natural heritage of Brussels.

Part One – The neighbourhood before Europe

The Treaty of Paris which formed the European Coal and Steel Community, signed in 1951, made no decision on where to base the institutions of the new community. The seat was contested between Liège, Luxembourg, Strasbourg and Turin. Half a century later, the European Union's headquarters are now located within a radius of three kilometres of the Schuman roundabout.

From the Middle Ages to the birth of the Quartier Léopold
The European institutions are located on both sides of the Maelbeek (meaning "mill stream" and now diverted into the sewers beneath the Chaussée d'Etterbeek) valley. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, this wooded and undulating countryside was popular with the nobility as a hunting ground and holiday resort.

At the end of the Middle Ages, the lords of Brussels owned a castle, a mill, lakes, fields, lands, a brewery inn and an orchard at the Eggevoorde seigneury, overlooking the Maelbeek valley. The property was then owned by several nobles before it was handed over to the Société royale de zoologie, d'horticulture et d'agrément as a starting point for creating a zoological garden, which later became Parc Léopold.

The European institutions were placed in the Quartier Léopold, an old, middle-class part of the town whose development dates back to the 19th century. The neighbourhood's decline and its gradual transformation into an administrative area began before the arrival of the European institutions which reinforced the trend. The transformation was helped by the area's grid street pattern, which facilitated the construction of large buildings.

The rue de la Loi, its roundabout and the Parc du Cinquantenaire
The Schuman roundabout, which was known as the rue de la Loi roundabout until 1964, was created when the rue de la Loi was extended beyond the Quartier Léopold in 1853. This road linked the town centre and the Linthout plateau, where the new exercise ground of the Belgian army had just been created.

Once the Belgian army's exercise ground, the Cinquantenaire site was turned into an exhibition park by King Leopold II. The palace, consisting of two wings joined by an arch, was built to host the national exhibition of artistic and industrial products held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Belgium independence in 1880. Brussels now had 30 hectares on which to organise exhibitions and patriotic ceremonies. The Cinquantenaire park and palace were born. They would retain this function until the opening of the Palais du Centenaire on the Heysel plateau in 1935.

Parc Léopold
Wild cats and bears on rue Froissart? From 1851 to 1877, there was a zoo in the middle of Parc Léopold (the main gate on rue Belliard is a reminder of its existence). The animals were put on show but things quickly turned terribly sour and they began to fall ill and die due to a lack of care and attention. In contrast, the horticultural part of the project was carried off brilliantly: several small greenhouses were built to house thousands of exotic plants (up to 600 species of orchid and 230 species of palm tree, medicinal plants and fruit trees from the tropics).

In 1877 the land fell to the city of Brussels, which gradually gave it a scientific role. After the Royal Institute for Natural Science was created, a real scientific campus was developed in the park, housing institutes of physiology, hygiene, anatomy, sociology and finally a business school. But the transfer in 1921 of the Université Libre de Bruxelles to Solbosch rather than to Parc Léopold, considered too small, led to the gradual decline of interest in the buildings inside the park, which have since been reconverted.

The Squares Neighbourhood
The transformation of the area behind the Berlaymont into a series of descending squares dates back to the late 19th century. Until then, a large lake separated the rapidly expanding Quartier Léopold from the Quartier Granvelle. The plans drawn up in 1875 completely changed the area. The central gardens are made up of four levels which get gradually wider from top to bottom: squares Marguerite, Ambiorix, avenue Palmerston and square Marie Louise. They form an attractive urban view from rue Ortelius. The economic recession meant that building development around the squares did not really get off the ground until the turn of the 20th century. Despite the changes the area has undergone, it is still a showcase for the eclectic building of the Belle Epoque which remains outstanding in its unity within diversity.

Coming soon: Part Two - Brussels, European capital?

Thibault Courbot

OIB