Horta is a premetro (underground tram) station located under the Chaussée de Waterloo/Waterloosesteenweg in the Saint-Gilles municipality of Brussels, Belgium. The station is named after the Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta, who designed a number of significant buildings in the area. It opened on 3 December 1993.
The station forms part of a southerly extension to the north–south premetro line (formerly line 3), which originally linked Brussels-North railway station to Brussels-South railway station. The underground station serves the 3, 4 and 51 trams, while the 81 and 97 trams and 52 bus stop to the north-west around the French: Barrière de Saint-Gilles|italic=no/Dutch; Flemish: Bareel van Sint-Gillis|italic=no.
In 2025, the line is scheduled to be converted to serve line 3 of the heavy metro alone, in preparation for which third rails were installed in 2021.[1]
The station is unusual in that it can only be reached from the eastern end, at the entrance on the Chaussée de Waterloo/Waterloosesteenweg, whereas no entrance was built leading to the French: Place van Meenen|italic=no/Dutch; Flemish: Van Meenenplein|italic=no, which would have eased access to the Municipal Hall.
An underground car park occupies the space between the platforms and the small park above. This was previously the site of a nursery school, the Ecole gardienne no. 1, the municipality's first and biggest. Opened in 1864, it catered for 533 children in 10 classes, and had two playgrounds and a canteen.[2]
In 2023, a block of flats with cycle parking was being built over the entrance to the east of the Chaussée de Waterloo, on a corner plot that had been empty since the tunnel was dug. The project was abandoned, however, in 2024, due to water infiltrations. A "lighter" project, which will green the street corner, is in preparation.[3] [4]
Decorative ironwork and stained glass designed by Victor Horta for the Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis and the Hôtel Aubecq, which were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s respectively, is on display in the station.
The interior tilework is grey. The station is a favourite hangout for adolescents, and STIB/MIVB security officers, community wardens and police are often in attendance. On 22 January 2012, following the eviction of squatters from one of the techncal rooms, the station suffered a graffiti attack of such scale (paint had been splashed carelessly all the way along the walls) that it was closed for 24 hours while it was cleaned.[5]