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Etterbeek

Municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

  • 6 min read
  • 8 chapters

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Through Middle Ages

Lab · Class 11Nomadic Medieval

History

Origins and etymology

According to legend, Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, daughter of Pippin of Landen, founded a chapel there in the 8th century. A document by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, dated 966, mentions the church of Iatrebache. The name Ietrebecca—possibly from the Celtic root ett meaning "rapid movement" and the Dutch word beek meaning "stream"—is found for the first time in a document dated 1127. The current spelling appears eleven years later in 1138, around which time a newer and larger church was built.

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, Etterbeek was a rural hamlet mostly independent of Brussels, aside from taxation rights on beer given to Brussels around 1300 by John II, Duke of Brabant. The following two centuries counted several grievous moments: in 1489, Albert III, Duke of Saxony, ravaged Etterbeek in his pursuit of the rebels who fought against Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian; in 1580, the village was destroyed again, this time by iconoclasts during the wars of religion. Peace returned under the reigns of the Archdukes Albert VII and Isabella.

Barony and municipality

In 1673, Etterbeek gained its independence from neighbouring Sint-Genesius-Rode, when King Charles II of Spain promoted it into a barony. The first baron was Don Diego-Henriquez de Castro, general treasurer of the Spanish Netherlands armies. The Barony House was sold in 1767 and can still be seen today as Etterbeek's oldest building.

Under the French regime, Etterbeek was made into a commune, within the canton of Sint-Stevens-Woluwe. From then on, and especially after the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and the development of Brussels as a capital city, the population of Etterbeek grew quickly. In 1876, there were more than 10,000 inhabitants, in 1900 more than 20,000, and in 1910 more than 33,000. In the 1900s (decade), during the reign of King Leopold II, construction boomed and changed the town's character with the addition of the broad avenues and residential areas that exist today.

21st century

In 2010, the municipal council approved the initial stages of a large-scale urban development project on the site of the Public Centre for Social Welfare (CPAS/OCMW), near the Avenue des Casernes/Kazernelaan. This project, called the Jardins de la Chasse in French or Tuinen van de Jacht in Dutch, consisted of the construction of a new administrative centre, including a modern Municipal Hall, a police station, new CPAS/OCMW headquarters, housing, shops, and a green area. Demolition of the former CPAS/OCMW building began in 2014, and building of houses started in 2016, with construction of the new Municipal Hall completed in 2021. The site of the former Municipal Hall may be used for further residential development in the future.

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