The history of Brussels

The origin of Brussels

The Senne river used to flow where the old Brussels’ center is today. The valley around the river was swampy, and few people originally lived there. Small farmer villages were mostly located in the area’s around the valley, because these lands were extremely well suited for agriculture.

We lack information about the exact year in which Brussels was founded, but we do know that it was around the year 1000 that a small port was built on the Senne river. There was also a chapel with the name ‘Sint-Géry’, or ‘Sint-Goriks’ as it is called in Dutch. Since then the Senne was men-moved little by little toits current location. However, on the location where the chapel once stood is now a beautiful Neo-Renaissance market hall which holds the same name as the chapel once did.

The small port grew thanks to its trading abilities, and an urban center formed. It also benefitted greatly from its location on trading routes between Cologne, Bruges and Ghent. In the second half of the 13th century the duke’s court moved from Leuven to Brussels, showing Brussels’ exponential growth.

When you walk through the city today, you will need to know its history – or have a guide with you – to see the hints that show how the city once was. The hints to the pasts are plenty, as the Sint-Gorikshalls are an example of. Other examples are the market squares where the ports used to be, or the small part of the inner city wall that still exist. Walk through the city and there is a story to be told in every street, that’s one of the perks of living in a smaller city.

Another important part of Brussels’ history is its success in its crafts, especially of cloth and textiles in the 14^th century. Flamboyant guild houses were constructed on the Grand Place, the economic center of the city of that time.These baroque buildings along with the Gothic town hall show the prestige that the city once held, and still make it one of the most impressive parts of the city to visit.

What’s more to see are the Brussels tapestries, which were considered the greatest in the world in the 16 and 17^th centuries. By the year 1600 a third ofBrussels population of 60.000 was employed in the tapestry business, making it its primary business. These works of art are enormous, hand-made and craftsmen continuously looked for improved techniques and dyes that allowed for greater detail.

The Brussels’ Ommegang

One of the most spectacular events to witness in Brussels is the Ommegang procession. According to legend, a woman named Beatrix had had a vision in which the Virgin Mary instructed her to steal the statue of ‘Our Lady on the Little Stick’ from the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. She had to transport it to the chapel of the Crossbowmen’s guild in the Sablon district. This was in the year 1348, and miraculously she succeeded. Out of gratitude the guild made the Lady on the Little Stick their patron, and promised to hold an annual procession in which they would carry the statue through the city. To this day, the crossbow guild still exists.

Over the years the Ommegang procession has become more and more famous. In 1549 the Ommegang procession was used to celebrate the entry of The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his son Philip. Charles V was the most important ruler in Europe at the time and was born in Ghent. He is also considered the first to make Brussels the (unofficial) capital of Europe, since he often used the city as his diplomatic headquarters to rule northern Europe.

As a result, the Ommegang became a religious and civil event which we still celebrate today. Thousands of actors dress up and many events are held during the day, such as a crossbow shooting contest. In 2019, UNESCO declared theevent as heritage of humanity.
‍

Congo

There are many stories about Brussels. Historic events such as the French bombardment in 1695 that destroyed 4.000 houses in the city, or other particular medieval legends that are still celebrated such as the Mayboom plantation, held in celebration of our Victory over Leuven in 1308. It is the abundance of happenings inBrussels that have all those links to the past that make visiting our city so interesting.

To keep things concise however, there is one last important piece that made Brussels the city it is today. It is a dark page in our history books. Leopold II, who was first duke and later became king, was obsessed with finding a colony for Belgium. Therefore he hired the explorer Henry Morton Stanley to make an expedition on his behalf in Africa. Stanley would build roads, trading posts and persuaded the illiterate local chiefs to sign treaties.  All of this took place in the late 19^th century, and Belgium had no navy or merchant marine. Therefore, the government decided that it would not know what to do with the enormous colony that Leopold was acquiring. In return, Leopold became the private proprietor and called the land Congo Free State.

Leopold himself benefitted immensely from the riches that Congo held, namely ivory and rubber. Yet, the manner in which he acquired these riches was dark and horrific. The horrors that took place in Congo finally forced Leopold to relinquish his ownership. Belgium then became the owner of Congo in 1908. Years later, in 1960, Congo would proceed to achieve independence from Belgium as well.

Walk through Brussels today and you will notice that Brussels still holds many ties to its colonial past. Some of our greatest buildings were funded with the money generated through Congo. Examples are the beautiful Royal Greenhouse at Laeken and the spectacular triumphal arch in the Parc du Cinquantenaire. And, there is the Matongé district, right between the other living districts of Brussels. Here, Congolese students came to attend our universities in the 1950’s. Ever since, the area has remained mostly populated by people with African nationalities. Still, the integration of different nationalities is one of the biggest challenges Brussels has to overcome in its transformation.

Are you interested in learning more? We would be more than happy to be your guide and show you the city that we deeply care about.