Municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (French pronunciation:[wolywesɛ̃lɑ̃bɛʁ]) or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch, pronounced[sɪntˈlɑmbrɛxtsˈʋoːlyu.ə]ⓘ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). In French, it is often spelt Woluwé-Saint-Lambert (with an acuteaccent 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 Woluwe stream, from which it takes its name, flows through the municipality.
As of 1January2022[update], the municipality had a population of 58,541 inhabitants.[2] The total area is 7.29km2 (2.81sqmi), which gives a population density of 8,018/km2 (20,770/sqmi). It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses, often compared to Uccle, another affluent Brussels municipality, as well as the 14th or 17th arrondissement in Paris.
The neighbouring municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre also lies within the Brussels-Capital Region, while the former municipality of Sint-Stevens-Woluwe (Woluwe-Saint-Etienne in French) has been merged with three other municipalities (Zaventem, Nossegem and Sterrebeek) to form the municipality of Zaventem, which is in the province of Flemish Brabant in Flanders.
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 stream 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 organisations 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 Forest Abbey in Forest and Park Abbey in Leuven.
16th century to present
Up until recently, the village was mostly rural, focusing mainly on agriculture. Starting in the 16th century, affluent nobles and clergymen from Brussels built châteaux in Woluwe, some of which are still visible today. True urbanisation, however, started only around 1900. Well-to-do neighbourhoods, which included some of the novel architectural styles of the Belle Époque such as Art Nouveau then Art Deco, straddled the newly built Boulevard Brand Whitlock/Brand Whitlocklaan.
The population of the municipality increased very quickly at this time, rising 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.[3]
Nowadays, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is still a mostly residential area, attracting rich and poor inhabitants from neighbouring Brussels.
Sights
The surroundings of the Woluwe stream have been laid out as park areas, such as Woluwe Park (in neighbouring Woluwe-Saint-Pierre) and Malou Park. Older historical buildings, such as the Lindekemalewatermill (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 Church of St. Lambert has a 12th-century Romanesque tower.
The Wolubilis cultural village and theatre, located at Cours Paul Henri Spaak/Henri-Spaak promenade 1 (formerly Avenue Paul Hymans/Paul Hymanslaan 251), were inaugurated in 2006.
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert has many shopping streets around Tomberg and Gribaumont metro stations. Around Roodebeek station is one of Brussels' largest shopping centres: the Woluwe Shopping Center. The shopping centre opened in 1968 and has two floors and a surface area of around 97m2 (1,040sqft). The Woluwe Shopping Center serves most of eastern Brussels.
Transport
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is served by the following stations on line 1 of the Brussels Metro: Joséphine-Charlotte, Gribaumont, Tomberg, Roodebeek, Vandervelde, Alma and Crainhem/Kraainem. Despite not having any rail connections, the E40 Motorway, as well as many bus routes, run through the municipality. Since 2018, tram 94 has been extended from Trammuseum to Roodebeek and has been renamed as tram 8.[4]
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, and is written by contributors.
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