Square Sainctelette Explained

Map Type:Belgium Brussels#Belgium
Coordinates:50.8556°N 4.3469°W
Quarter:Quays or Maritime Quarter
Completion Date:1911
Inauguration Label:Denomination
Location:City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium

The French: Square Sainctelette|italic=no (Dutch; Flemish: '''Sainctelettesquare'''|italic=no) is a square located in the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It lies along the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, on the border with the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean municipality, from which it is separated by the canal. It is named in honour of Charles-Xavier Sainctelette, a former Belgian minister for public works.

History

Early history

The Square Sainctelette, named after Belgian minister for public works Charles-Xavier Sainctelette (1825–1898), was constructed in 1911 together with the French: Quai du Commerce|italic=no/Dutch; Flemish: Handelskaai|italic=no, the French: Boulevard de Dixmude|italic=no/Dutch; Flemish: Diksmuidelaan|italic=no, the French: Boulevard d'Ypres|italic=no/Dutch; Flemish: Ieperlaan|italic=no and the French: Place de l'Yser|italic=no/Dutch; Flemish: Ijzerplein|italic=no. The district, called the Quays or Maritime Quarter, was known for its wholesale shops, fruit and vegetable auctions and market halls. These were active until the 1970s. At the end of the 1960s, there was an increase in Mediterranean wholesalers.

The square is surrounded by apartment buildings in Art Deco and Haussmann-esque style. The Citroën Garage was built in the early 1930s in modernist style. Next to the Citroën garage is the Kaaitheater, a theatre built in Art Deco and modernist styles that was known as the Lunatheater in the early 1930s.

Below the square is Sainctelette metro station, which has never been opened.

21st century

The Square Sainctelette has a mixture of residential and office buildings, with culture represented by the Kaaitheater and Citroën garage, which has been converted into the KANAL - Centre Pompidou museum of modern and contemporary art. As a traffic axis, the square, located in the north-western corner of Brussels' Pentagon (French: Pentagone|link=no, Dutch; Flemish: Vijfhoek|link=no), is part of the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road).

In 2019, the square was voted the most dangerous intersection in Brussels in an online poll carried out by the Dutch-language Brussels broadcaster BRUZZ.[1] In the same year, plans were completed for a drastic redesign of the square.[2] At the beginning of 2022, an application was made to transform the square into a contiguous space with the Place de l'Yser.[3]

On 16 October 2023, an intersection and building just off the square were the scene of a terrorist attack in which two Swedish football supporters were killed by a gunman and a third injured.[4]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.bruzz.be/mobiliteit/dit-zijn-volgens-jou-de-gevaarlijkste-kruispunten-van-brussel-2019-04-02 Gevaarlijkste kruispunt van Brussel, BRUZZ, 2 april 2019
  2. https://www.bruzz.be/stedenbouw/dit-wordt-het-nieuwe-sainctelette-2019-04-30 Dit wordt het nieuwe Sainctelette
  3. https://www.bruzz.be/mobiliteit/vergunning-aangevraagd-voor-langverwachte-heraanleg-zwart-punt-sainctelette-2022-03-01 Vergunning aangevraagd voor langverwachte heraanleg 'zwart punt' Sainctelette
  4. Web site: Brussels shooting: Police shoot dead attacker who killed Swedes. 17 October 2023. BBC News.