Woluwe-Saint-Lambert or
Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, sɪnt ˈlɑmbrɛçts ˈwoːlywə) is one of the nineteen
municipalitiesA municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
located in the Brussels-Capital Region of
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, often compared with
UccleUccle or Ukkel is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Uccle is known for its well-to-do areas, its green spots and its high rental rates.-History:...
(
Ukkel in Dutch), another affluent
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
municipality, and the
7thThe 7th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It includes some of Paris's major tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Hôtel des Invalides , and a concentration of such world famous museums as the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée du quai...
or
16th arrondissementThe 16th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France...
in
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In French it is often spelt
Woluwé-Saint-Lambert with an
acuteThe acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
accent on the first "e" to reflect the Frenchified pronunciation of what was originally a Dutch place name, but the official spelling is without an accent.
The neighbouring municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre / Sint-Pieters-Woluwe also lies within the Brussels-Capital Region, while the former municipality of
Sint-Stevens-WoluweSint-Stevens-Woluwe is a town located near Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It is part of Zaventem municipality, in the Flemish Brabant province.-See also:*Woluwe River, the river flowing through the town....
(Woluwe-Saint-Etienne in French) has been merged with three other municipalities (Zaventem,
NossegemNossegem is a town located near Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It is part of Zaventem municipality, in the Flemish Brabant province.In 2005, the Nossegem Curve was opened, which connects Brussels Airport with the railway in the direction of Leuven....
and
SterrebeekSterrebeek is a town in the municipality of Zaventem, and a suburb on the east-northeast side of Brussels.Brussels American School is located in Sterrebeek....
) to form the municipality of
ZaventemZaventem is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Nossegem, Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, Sterrebeek and Zaventem proper. On January 1, 2006 Zaventem had a total population of 28,651...
, which is in the province of
Flemish BrabantFlemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
in
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
Geography
Woluwe hosts the medical faculty of the
Université catholique de LouvainThe Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
and its hospital, the
Cliniques Universitaires Saint-LucThe Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc is a non-profit-making hospital situated in the municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert/Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe in the east of Brussels, Belgium...
, and several shopping areas, notably the Avenue Georges Henri (Georges Henrilaan) and the Woluwe Shopping Centre. Some of the municipality's major roads are named after prominent 20th century Belgian statesmen, such as the prestigious
Avenue de Broqueville/de BroquevillelaanCharles Marie Pierre Albert, Count de Broqueville was the 20th Prime Minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. He was born in Postel, Belgium. He was the leader of Belgium's Catholic Party, and he served as prime minister between 1911 and 1918...
and
Avenue Paul Hymans/Paul HymanslaanPaul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans , was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the first President of the League of Nations, and served again as its president in 1932-33....
. Line 1 (formerly line 1B) of the
Brussels metroThe Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of a network with four metro line services with some shared sections. The metro has 49.9 km of network and 59 stations...
runs under these roads.
The Woluwe River flows through the municipality.
Medieval origins
Several archaeological finds on the territory of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert show traces of human activity during the
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. The first historical mention of the village, however, dates from the 11th century, when some of the forested land near the Woluwe River was cleared for farming. A church was built and dedicated to
Saint LambertSaint Lambert was the bishop of Maastricht from about 670 until his death. Lambert was from a noble family of Maastricht, a protégé of his uncle, Bishop Theodard of Maastricht. When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric II made Lambert bishop of Maastricht...
, the 7th-century bishop of Maastricht who was martyred in
LiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
. At the end of the 12th century, the rights to the parish of Saint Lambert were given to the
canonsA canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of the
chapterChapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
of
St. Michael and GudulaThe St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church at the Treurenberg hill in Brussels, Belgium. In French, it is called Cathédrale Saints-Michel-et-Gudule and in Dutch Sint-Michiels- en Sint-Goedelekathedraal, usually shortened to "Sint-Goedele".In 1047, Lambert II, Count of...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Various charitable organizations and hospitals then started acquiring land in this area. Throughout the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Woluwe was part of the
Duchy of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
, governed under the usual
feudalFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
arrangement of those times. Among the Dukes vassals were some powerful local lords and landowners. Some of Woluwe's territory also belonged to the powerful abbeys of
ForestForest or Vorst is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.The town is commonly known for its concert hall...
(
Vorst in Dutch) and ‘t Park in
LeuvenLeuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
.
16th century until now
Up until recently, the village was mostly rural, focusing mainly on agriculture. Starting in the 16th century, affluent nobles and clergymen from Brussels built castles in Woluwe, some of which are still visible today. True urbanization, however, started only around 1900. Well-to-do neighbourhoods, which included some of the novel architectural styles of the
Belle EpoqueThe Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
such as
Art NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
then
Art DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
, straddled the newly built
Boulevard Brand Whitlock/Brand WhitlocklaanBrand Whitlock , an American municipal reformer, diplomat, journalist, and author. Born Joseph Brand Whitlock at Urbana, Ohio, son of the Rev. Elias and Mollie Lavinia Whitlock, he was educated in the public schools and by private tutors. He also studied law under Senator J. M...
.
The population of the municipality increased very quickly at this time. It rose from 1,649 inhabitants in 1880 to 8,883 inhabitants 30 years later. By 1960 there were 36,960 people in the municipality, and since 1970 the population has been stable at around 47,000.
Today, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is still mostly a residential area, attracting rich and poor inhabitants from neighbouring Brussels.
Sights
- The surroundings of the Woluwe River have been laid out as park areas, such as Woluwe Park and Park Malou. Older historical buildings, such as the Lindekemale
The Lindekemale watermill is a 12th century watermill at the north side of the Park Malou in Brussels, Belgium, currently operating as a restaurant.- Situation :...
watermillA watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
(now a restaurant), the Hof ter Musschen farm (now a seminar centre), and the 16th-century Slot castle (now a chain restaurant), also tend to be found near the river.
- The Saint-Lambert church has a 12th-century Romanesque
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
tower.
- The Marie la Misérable chapel (14th century).
- The municipality's Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Town Hall, built in the 1930s, is located above the Tomberg metro station.
- The Wolubilis cultural village and theatre, located on Avenue Paul Hymanslaan, were inaugurated in 2006.
- The neoclassic Château Malou
The Château Malou is a neoclassical building in the municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in Brussels, Belgium.- History :The château was built in 1776 in the neoclassic style by a wealthy merchant called Lambert de Lamberts...
, built in 1776.
Famous inhabitants
- Jules Malou
Jules Edouard Xavier Malou was a Belgian statesman, a leader of the clerical party.He was born at Ypres. He was a civil servant in the department of justice when he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies by his native constituency in 1841, and was for some time governor of the province of Antwerp...
, statesmanA statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and former Prime Minister of Belgium (1810–1886)
- Tarec Saffiedine
Tarec Saffiedine is an Belgian mixed martial artist of Lebanese descent, who competes in the welterweight division. He has fought in a number of promotions around the world including DREAM in Japan and Strikeforce in the United States....
, (born 1986) martial artistMartial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
- Prince Amedeo, Princess Maria Laura, Prince Joachim, Princess Luisa Maria, and Princess Laetitia Maria, born in 1986, 1988, 1991, 1995, and 2003, respectively.
- Princess Louise of Belgium
Princess Louise of Belgium born Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 6 February 2004, is the first child of Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium. She is currently 13th in the line of succession to the Belgian throne.-Family:...
, Prince Nicolas of BelgiumPrince Nicolas of Belgium born Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, 13 December 2005, is the second child of Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium. He is currently 14th in the line of succession to the Belgian throne....
, and Prince Aymeric of BelgiumPrince Aymeric of Belgium , is the third child of Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium...
, born in 2004, 2005, and 2005, respectively.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with::
MeudonMeudon is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:...
: M’Bazi
See also
- Woluwe-Saint-Pierre or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, an adjacent municipality
- Woluwe River
The Woluwe is a stream that goes through several municipalities in the southeast and east of Brussels and is a right tributary of the Senne/Zenne . The Kleine Maalbeek is a tributary of the Woluwe . Many ponds formed along the stream over time, among which the Mellaerts Ponds still exist...
- Sint-Stevens-Woluwe
Sint-Stevens-Woluwe is a town located near Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It is part of Zaventem municipality, in the Flemish Brabant province.-See also:*Woluwe River, the river flowing through the town....
, a district of an adjacent municipality.
- White Star Woluwé F.C.
Royal White Star Woluwe F.C. is a Belgian football club located in the municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Brussels.-History:The club, founded in 1948, was formerly known as Kapelleveld FC, playing in Evere, but they changed their name in 1950 to Woluwe FC when they moved to the Stade Fallon in...
External links