Auderghem
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Auderghem (French and former Dutch spelling) or Oudergem (current Dutch spelling) is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.
Located to the southeast of the capital, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to the Sonian Forest (Forêt de Soignes, Zoniënwoud), the municipality has an environmental advantage. Despite large roads slicing through and the increasing traffic, it has been able to preserve a relatively important part of its natural and historic legacy: the creeks, the Abbey of Rouge-Cloître or Rood Klooster (Red Cloister) and its art center, the Castle of Solitude, the Priory of Val Duchesse or Hertoginnedal (Duchess Valley), the Château of Trois Fontaines or Drie Fonteinen (Three Fountains), and the remarkable Chapel of Saint Anne.
Auderghem - Oudergem is adjacent to the municipalities of Etterbeek, Ixelles - Elsene, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, and Watermael-Boitsfort - Watermaal-Bosvoorde.
The municipality is governed by its 16th magistrate, Didier Gosuin.
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[edit] History
Three forest villages (Auderghem, Watermael, and Bosvoorde), were one for centuries. In 1794, the soldiers of the French Revolution decided to separate these into three separate municipalities. In 1811, Napoleon decided to reunite the three villages, by imperial decree, into a single administrative entity. But Auderghem was withdrawn from this union by royal act, leaving Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde on its own. Thus, Auderghem or Oudergem became an independent municipality in 1863, with only 1,600 inhabitants.
With the construction of the rail line linking Brussels and Tervuren as well as, in 1910, the construction of the Boulevard du Souverain or Vorstlaan, modernization came to the municipality and the population grew quickly.
[edit] Sights
The Priory of Val Duchesse or Hertoginnedal, a gift of the king, is unfortunately rarely open to the public. In 1963, Belgium's cabinet ministers met here, planting the seeds of a federalization of the country though at conditions fiercely critisized especially in many Flemish nationalist circles.
In contrast, the Chapel of Saint Anne, whose origins go back to the 12th century, is open to the public. Decommissioned in 1843, it was sold several times. Its splendid sculptures from the Middle Ages and notable period furniture are still there to admire.
The municipality offers many green spaces.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official site of the Municipality of Auderghem (in French)
- Official site of the Municipality of Oudergem (in Dutch)
