Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Sint-Joost-ten-Node (Dutch)
Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

Location in Belgium

Coordinates: 50°51′N 04°23′E / 50.850°N 4.383°ECoordinates: 50°51′N 04°23′E / 50.850°N 4.383°E
Country Belgium
Community Flemish Community
French Community
Region Brussels
Arrondissement Brussels
Government
  Mayor Emir Kir[1]
Area
  Total 1.14 km2 (0.44 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)[2]
  Total 27,134
  Density 24,000/km2 (62,000/sq mi)
Postal codes 1210
Area codes 02
Website www.stjosse.irisnet.be

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (French: [sɛ̃ ʒos ten nɔd]; usually shortened to Saint-Josse) or Sint-Joost-ten-Node (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪn ˈcoːst tɛn ˈnoːdə])[3] is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.

On 1 January 2007 the municipality had a total population of 23,785. The total area is 1.14 km² which gives a population density of 20,664 inhabitants per km². With only 1.14 km², Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is both the municipality with the smallest territory and the highest population density in Belgium.

History

Town hall of Saint-Josse

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode was originally a farming village on the outskirts of Brussels. In the centuries before the dismantling of the ramparts encircling Brussels, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode was also the place where noblemen built country estates, the most notable amongst them the Castle of the Dukes of Brabant built by Philip the Good in 1456. The area surrounding that castle was planted with wine groves which explains the presence of the bushel of grapes in the coat of arms of the commune.[4]

After the demolition of the ramparts, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode was one of the first areas outside Brussels to urbanise. The rich built houses around the new boulevards and higher parts of the commune, while industries and workman's cottages were built in the lower lying part close to the River Zenne. In 1855, 58% of the land area of Saint-Joose-Ten-Noode was annexed by the commune of Brussels to make way for the Squares Ambiorix, Palmerston, Marie-Louise and Marguerite of the newly created Leopold Quarter (now the European Quarter). [4]

According to an inventory of architecture commissioned by the region of Brussels, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode has on average the oldest buildings of all 19 Brussels communes.[5]

Demographics

Nationalities[6]
Citizenship 1979 1995 2007
Belgium 12,222 54.5% 9,231 42.1% 14,656 61.6%
Turkey 2,304 10.3% 3,904 18.1% 1,527 6.4%
Morocco 2,664 11.9% 3,761 17.5% 1,482 6.2%
France 674 2.8%
Italy 1,661 7.4% 785 3.6% 458 1.9%
Congo (DRC) 198 0.9% 453 1.9%
Poland 432 1.8%
Romania 387 1.6%
Spain 840 3.7% 443 2.1% 317 1.3%
Bulgaria 251 1.1%
Total pop. 22,409 21,522 23,785

While foreigners were a majority in 1995, nowadays most of the population has Belgian citizenship, which has resulted in a sharp increase of municipal councillors with a foreign background, benefitting from the open proportional electoral system: from 0 in 1988 to 2 (from Morocco) in 1994, a near majority of 13 (7 from Morocco, 5 from Turkey) out of 27 in 2000 (including 3 aldermen) and a majority of 20 out of 27 [7] in 2007 (including 6 aldermen out of 7, the seventh is a member of the Flemish minority [8]) .

Mayors of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

From: "Histoire de Saint Josse Ten Noode et de Schaerbeek - Van Bemmel - 1869" and other sources available at the local public library.

References

  1. De Standaard (2012-10-16). "Emir Kir wordt burgemeester van Sint-Joost-ten-Node". De Standaard. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
  2. Population per municipality on 1 January 2013 (XLS; 607.5 KB)
  3. The first two words in isolation: [sɪnt ˈjoːst].
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Site officiel de la Commune de Saint-Josse-ten-Noode". irisnet.be.
  5. https://www.brusselnieuws.be/artikel/jongste-bevolking-woont-oudste-huizen
  6. Institut National de Statistiques
  7. Conseil communal, Commune de Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, retrieved 2009-10-02
  8. including alderman Eric Jassin, of mixed Belgian-Moroccan parentage Collège des Bourgmestre et Echevins, Commune de Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, retrieved 2009-10-02

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.