Marollen

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The Cité Hellemans in Marollen.

Marolles (French) or Marollen (Dutch) is an ancient district of Brussels, situated between the Law Courts of Brussels (Palace of Justice) and the Brussels-South railway station.^[1] In the heart of Marollen can be found the Kapellekerk/Église de la Chapelle and the Vossenplein/Place du Jeu de balle. Major arteries of the neighborhood include the Hoogstraat/rue Haute, the rue Blaesstraat and the Huidevetterstraat/rue des Tanneurs. Inhabitants of the district are called Marolliens. The dialect known as Marols (marollien) was spoken in this area.

[edit] History

Sketch of the district of Marollen in 1939 by Léon van Dievoet.

The area now occupied by the Marollen lay, during the Middle Ages, in the first circumvallation of the city of Brussels. Lepers were exiled to this area, and they were cared for by the nuns of Maria Colentes (Marikollen). The toponym Marollen was derived from this religious group. The Marollen became a working class neighbourhood in succeeding centuries. For the building of the Law Courts of Brussels, a large part of the city quarter of the Marollen was demolished. The Marolliens called Joseph Poelaert, the architect response for their construction, “Skieven Architect”, which roughly means ‘the crooked architect’ because he often drove the inhabitants out of their houses with the help of the local police to make room for the construction of the Law Courts.

The 2006 Brussels riots began in this area.