Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch)
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (French)
Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch); Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (French)
; Flag	; Coat of arms
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region
	; Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Location in Belgium
Sovereign state	Belgium
Region	Brussels-Capital Region
Community	French Community; Flemish Community
Arrondissement	Brussels
Coordinates	50°51′0″N 04°25′0″E / 50.85°N 4.41667°ECoordinates: 50°51′0″N 04°25′0″E / 50.85°N 4.41667°E
Area	7.22 km²
Population; – Males; – Females; - Density	47,952 (1 January 2006); 45.31%; 54.69%; 6637 inhab./km²
Unemployment rate	11.6% (1 January 2006)
Mean annual income	€13,234/pers. (2003)
Postal codes	1200
Area codes	02
Website	www.woluwe1200.be

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Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (French pronunciation: [wolyˈwe sɛ̃ lɑ̃bɛːʁ]) or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch, pronounced [sɪnt ˈlɑmbrɛçts ˈwoːlywə] ( listen)) is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached houses, often compared with Uccle (Ukkel in Dutch), another affluent community around Brussels and the 7th or 16th arrondissement in Paris.

The French spelling, however, sometimes is Woluwé-Saint-Lambert with an accent on the first "e". Though the first version (without an accent) is the official version, the second one fits more the French pronunciation.

[edit] Geography

Avenue de Broqueville
De Broquevillelaan

Woluwe hosts the the medical faculty of the Université catholique de Louvain which also is a university hospital Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc. Various radio and television stations (e.g., RTL Group) and several shopping areas, notably the Avenue 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 Broquevillelaan and Avenue Paul Hymanslaan. Line 1B of the Brussels Metro runs under these roads.

The Woluwe River goes through the town.

[edit] History

[edit] Medieval origins

Woluwe River

Several archaeological finds on the territory of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert show traces of human activity during the Bronze 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 Lambert, the 7th-century bishop of Maastricht who was martyred in Liège. At the end of the 12th century, the rights to the parish of Saint Lambert were given to the canons of the chapter of St. Michael and Gudula in Brussels. Various charitable organizations and hospitals then started acquiring land in this area. Throughout the Middle Ages, Woluwe was part of the Duchy of Brabant, governed under the usual feudal 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 Forest (Vorst in Dutch) and ‘t Park in Leuven.

Wolubilis

[edit] 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 Epoque such as Art Nouveau then Art Deco, straddled the newly built Brand Whitlock Boulevard.

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.^[1]

Today, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is still mostly a residential area, attracting rich and poor inhabitants from neighbouring Brussels.

Lindekemale watermill

[edit] Sights

The surroundings of the Woluwe River have been laid out as park areas, such as the Park of the Woluwe and Park Malou. Older historical buildings, such as the Lindekemale watermill, the Hof ter Musschen farm, and the 16th-century Slot castle, also tend to be found near the river.
The Saint-Lambert church has a 12th-century Romanesque tower.
The municipality's Art Deco 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, built in 1776.