Sint-Jans-Molenbeek

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Dutch)
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French)
Municipality

Flag
Coat of arms
Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Dutch)
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French)

Location in Belgium

Coordinates: 50°51′28″N 04°18′57″E / 50.85778°N 4.31583°E / 50.85778; 4.31583Coordinates: 50°51′28″N 04°18′57″E / 50.85778°N 4.31583°E / 50.85778; 4.31583
Country Belgium
Community Flemish Community
French Community
Region Brussels
Arrondissement Brussels
Government
 • Mayor Françoise Schepmans (MR)
Area
 • Total 5.89 km2 (2.27 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)[1]
 • Total 96,586
 • Density 16,000/km2 (42,000/sq mi)
Postal codes 1080
Area codes 02
Website www.molenbeek.be

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Dutch, pronounced [sɪn ˈcɑns ˈmoːlə(m)ˌbeːk]) or Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French, pronounced [molənbeːk sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃]), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of 19 municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). It is bordered by the City of Brussels, Anderlecht, Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Dilbeek, Jette and Koekelberg. Sint-Jans-Molenbeek is bordered to the east by the Brussels-Charleroi Canal. The Molenbeek brook, from which it takes its name, flows through the municipality. In common with all the Brussels municipalities, it is legally bilingual.

In 2014, the municipality had a population of 94,854 inhabitants.[2] It is densely populated, at 16,357/km², twice the average of Brussels. The upper area is greener and less densely populated.

In 2015, the municipality gained international attention as the base of Islamist terrorists, who carried out attacks in both France and Belgium. The municipality's mayor has described it as "a breeding ground for violence".[3] The commune of Molenbeek has gained a reputation for being a safe haven for jihadists in relation to the support shown by some residents towards the bombers who carried out terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.[4][5][6][7]

The municipality's patron saint is Saint John the Baptist.

Etymology

The name Molenbeek comes from two Dutch words: molen, meaning "mill", and beek, meaning "brook". Although first applied to the brook that ran through the village, the name eventually came to be used to designate the village itself, around the year 985.

History

Rural beginnings

Saint John’s Dancers in Molenbeeck’ (1592) by Pieter Brueghel II
De voddenrapers [The Trash Pickers], Eugène Laermans (1914), with Molenbeek as setting

As early as the 9th century, Molenbeek was the site of a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. In the early Middle Ages, Molenbeek was known for its miraculous well of Saint Gertrude, which attracted thousands of pilgrims.

The village was made part of Brussels in the 13th century. As a result, Molenbeek lost a lot of its land to its more powerful neighbour. In addition, its main church was dismantled in 1578, leading to further decline. The town's character remained mostly rural until the 18th century.

Industrialization

At the end of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution and the building of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal brought prosperity back to Molenbeek through commerce and manufacturing. In 1785, the town regained its status as an independent commune. Attracted by the industrial opportunities, many workers moved in, first from other Belgian provinces and France, then from South European, and more recently from East European and African countries.

The growth of the community continued unabated throughout the 19th century, leading to cramped living conditions, especially near the canal. The town became known as Little Manchester.[8] In 1835, Molenbeek was the departure site of the first passenger train on the European continent.[9] At the end of the 19th century, Brussels reintegrated the canal area within its new port, which was thus lost to Molenbeek.

20th century

Until the early 20th century, Molenbeek was a booming suburb which attracted a large working-class population. The industrial decline, which had already started before World War I, accelerated after the Great Depression.

Following the industrial decline after the war, began the depopulation of the districts bordering the City of Brussels. This was not compensated until the 1960s through the construction of new residential areas in the then rural west of the town. In 1990, this expansion was stopped, leaving some woods and meadows in Molenbeek: the Scheutbos.

Tour L'Ecluse, Boulevard Mettewie, Molenbeek

Where Molenbeek was once a centre of intense industrial activity, concentrated around the canal and the railway, most of those industries have disappeared to make way for large-scale urban renewal following the modernist Athens Charter. The industrial past is remembered in a museum of social and industrial history built on the site of the foundry.

21st century

In some areas of the town, the ensuing poverty left its mark on the urban landscape and scarred the social life of the community, leading to rising crime rates and pervading cultural intolerance. Various local revitalization programs are currently under way, aiming at relieving the most impoverished districts of the municipality.

Attempts at revitalizing the municipality have, however, not been successful. In June 2011, the multinational company BBDO, citing over 150 attacks on their staff by locals, posted an open letter to then mayor Philippe Moureaux, announcing its withdrawal from the town.[10] As a result, serious questions were raised about governance, security and the administration of Moureaux.[11]

Terrorism

According to Le Monde, the assassins who killed anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Massoud both came from Molenbeek.[12] Hassan el-Haski, one of the 2004 Madrid terror bombers came from Molenbeek.[13][14] The perpetrator of the Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting, Mehdi Nemmouche, lived in Molenbeek for a time.[15] Ayoub El Khazzani, the perpetrator of the 2015 Thalys train attack, stayed with his sister in Molenbeek.[16] French police believe the weapons used in the Porte de Vincennes siege the same day as the Charlie Hebdo shooting were sourced from Molenbeek.[17] The bombers of the November 2015 Paris attacks were also traced to Molenbeek;[18] during the Molenbeek capture of Salah Abdeslam, an accomplice of the Paris bombers, protesters "threw stones and bottles at police and press during the arrest", stated the Interior Minister of Belgium, Jan Jambon.[19] Oussama Zariouh, the bomber of Brussels Central Station in June 2017,[20] lived in Molenbeek.[21]

November 2015 Paris attacks

At least three of the terrorists in the November 2015 Paris attacks — the brothers Brahim and Salah Abdeslam, alleged accomplice Mohamed Abrini, and the alleged mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud — are men who grew up and lived in Molenbeek. According to French President François Hollande, that was also where they organised the attacks.[22] On 18 March 2016, Salah Abdeslam, a suspected accomplice in those attacks, was captured in two anti-terrorist raids in Molenbeek that killed another suspect and injured two others. At least one other suspect remains at large.[23][24][25][26] Ibrahim (born 9 October 1986 in Brussels) was involved in the attempted robbery of a currency exchange office in January 2010, where he shot at police with a Kalashnikov rifle. The Mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, and the then-Mayor of Molenbeek, Philippe Moureaux, described the shooting as a "fait divers" (a small daily news item) and "normal in a large city", causing controversy.[27]

Police investigation

As several of the attackers in the Brussels and Paris terrorist attacks had connections to the area, Belgian police started door-to-door checks where a quarter of Molenbeek's inhabitants were investigated, a total of 22 668. This operation resulted in that of the 1600 organisations investigated, 102 were found to be involved with crime and a further 52 were involved with terrorism. 72 individuals were found to have terrorist connection and were subject to future surveillance.[28][29]

Districts

Pin Wheels along the canal in Molenbeek

There are two distinct areas of Molenbeek: a lower area and a higher area. The lower area, next to the canal, consists of working-class, mainly migrant, communities, mostly of Moroccan and Turkish descent, with many being second- and third-generation. The higher area features newer construction and is mostly residential.[30]

Districts of Molenbeek:

The area along the canal is currently experiencing a large revitalization programme, as part of the "Plan Canal" of the Brussels-Capital Region.[31]

Demographics

The population, as of 1 January 2015, was 95,576.[32] The area is 5.9 km², making the density over 16 000/km². The population has been described as "mainly Muslim" in the media;[8] however, actual figures range between 25% and 40%, depending on the catchment area.[33] The population of Molenbeek itself, while already impoverished and overcrowded, has further increased by 24.5% in the last decade.[34]

As of 2016, there is one main minority group in Molenbeek, Belgian Morrocans. That year, Françoise Schepmans, Mayor of Molenbeek, stated that the lack of diversity in the foreign population of Molenbeek and the fact they are all clustered in the same area is a problem.[35]

As of 2016, nearly 40% of young people in Molenbeek are unemployed. The commune lies in a semi-circle of neighbourhoods in Brussels often referred to as the "poor croissant".[35]

Historical population

Politics

Molenbeek town hall
Communal Square, Molenbeek

The municipality is governed by an elected municipal council and an executive college of the mayor and aldermen. The longtime mayor from 1992 to 2012 was Philippe Moureaux (PS). Following the Belgian local elections, 2012, an alternative majority was formed headed by mayor Françoise Schepmans (MR) and consisting of MR (15 seats), CDH-CD&V (6 seats) and Ecolo-Groen (4 seats). The Socialist Party (16 seats) became the opposition next to the Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB), Democratic Federalist Independent (DéFI), the ISLAM party and the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), each having one seat.

Mayor

Historical list of mayors or burgomasters of Molenbeek:

Sports

Football

The Molenbeek football team, FC Brussels, used to play in the Belgian first division. They folded at the end of 2012/13 as members of the Belgian second division.

Education

There are 17 French-language and six Dutch-language primary schools.[36]

Secondary schools:

Points of interest

Church of St John the Baptist

Several rundown industrial buildings have been renovated and converted into prime real estate and other community functions. Examples include:

Other points of interest include:

Transportation

Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderen metro station, Molenbeek

Public transport

Molenbeek is served by metro lines 1, 2, 5 and 6. The station Brussels-West (French: Gare de l'Ouest, Dutch: Weststation) is connected to all Brussels metro lines and is becoming a multi-modal transport hub in the western Brussels which will gain importance in the framework of the Brussels RER development.

Additionally, a comprehensive bus a tram service links the municipality to other parts of the city.

The municipality also has a number Villo! public bicycle stations on its territory.

Parks and green spaces

Regional nature park Scheutbos

Green spaces in the commune include:[42]

Notable inhabitants

  • Richard Beauthier (1913–1999), Belgian politician, was born there.
  • Norbert Benoit (Norbert Benoit Van Peperstaete) (1910–1993), filmmaker
  • Louis Bertrand (1856–1943), politician
  • Ado Chale (b. 1928), Belgian artist
  • Serge Creuz (1924–1996), painter
  • Jean De Middeleer (1908–1986), Belgian musician
  • Eugène Demolder (1862–1919), writer
  • Joseph Diongre (1878–1963), modernist architect
  • Alfred Dubois (1898–1949), professor at the Brussels Conservatory, violinist and teacher of the Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux
  • Alexis Dumont (1877–1962), architect of the Citroën building, was born there.
  • Ferdinand Elbers (1862–1943), mechanic, trade unionist, and politician
  • Hendrik Fayat (1906–1997), politician
  • Eugene Hins (1839–1923), founder of the newspaper La Pensée, leader of the Belgian freethinking movement and co-founder of the Socialist International.
  • Guy Huygens (b. 1924) painter
  • Marcel Josz (1899–1984), actor, was born there
  • Eugène Laermans (1864–1940), painter
  • Daniel Leyniers, Esquire (1881–1957), equerry, politician and senator, was born there.
  • Marka, Serge Van Laeken (b. 1961), singer, songwriter, composer and film-maker
  • Pierre-Joseph Meeûs-Vandermaelen (1793–1873), mayor of Neder-over-Heembeek in 1830 and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean from 1836 to 1842, registrar of the Court of Auditors from 1831 to 1836, decorated with the Iron Cross (Belgium), etc. He lived at 7, Faubourg de Flandre.
  • Philippe Moureaux (b. 1939), politician, senator, mayor, and professor of economic history at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
  • Michel Mourlon (1845–1915), geologist, paleontologist, and curator of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium.
  • Jean Muno (1924–1988), writer
  • Geo Norge (1898–1990), poet
  • Zeynep Sever (b. 1989), Miss Belgium 2008
  • Jean Stampe (1889–1978), war pilot, aircraft manufacturer including the famous Stampe SV-4
  • Eric Struelens (b. 1969), professional basketball player
  • Herman Teirlinck (1879–1967), writer
  • Pierre Tetar van Elven (1828–1908), painter
  • Toots Thielemans(1922–2016)[43], jazz artist
  • Henri Thomas (1878–1972), painter
  • Pierre Van Humbeeck (1829–1890), minister
  • Leon Vanderkindere (1842–1906), historian and prominent professor at the Free University of Brussels, was born there.
  • Philippe Vandermaelen (1795–1869), world-renowned geographer and cartographer. He founded the geographical establishment of Brussels in Molenbeek.
  • Franky Vercauteren (b. 1956), Belgian football personality.
  • Firmin Verhevick (1874–1962), painter, was born there.
  • Oussama Zariouh (1981-2017), Moroccan terrorist responsible for the Brussels Central Station bombing in 2017.
  • Thierry Zéno (b. 1950), author-filmmaker

Twin cities

References

  1. ↑ Population per municipality as of 1 January 2016 (XLS; 397 KB)
  2. ↑ "Chiffres-clés par commune — fr". ibsa.irisnet.be. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Levitt, Matthew (27 March 2016). "My Journey To Brussels’ Terrorist Safe Haven". Politico.
  4. ↑ "Brussels attacks: Molenbeek's gangster jihadists". BBC. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Belgian neighborhood indelibly linked to jihad". Washington Post. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Beleaguered Molenbeek struggles to fend off jihadist recruiters". The Times of Israel. 3 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "World points to "jihad Capital" Molenbeek". Het Niuewsblad. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Paris attacks: Visiting Molenbeek, the police no-go zone that was home to two of the gunmen". The Independent. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Histoire en quelques mots — Français". molenbeek.irisnet.be. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  10. ↑ "Insécurité à Molenbeek" [Insecurity in Molenbeek]. La Capitale (in French). 17 June 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "BBDO zwaar ontgoocheld in Moureaux" [BBDO greatly disappointed by Moureaux]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 17 June 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Stroobants, Jean Pierre (16 November 2015). "Molenbeek, la plaque tournante belge du terrorisme islamiste". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 12 April 2016. c’est de Molenbeek que sont partis les tueurs du commandant afghan Ahmed Shah Massoud, principal adversaire du régime des talibans, assassiné par deux faux journalistes.
  13. ↑ Bartunek, Robert-Jan; Lewis, Barbara (15 November 2015). "Belgian connection: three held in Brussels over Paris attacks". Reuters. Retrieved 11 April 2016. A prominent, Moroccan-born member of the group behind the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 was from Molenbeek.
  14. ↑ "Why did the bombers target Belgium?". The Guardian. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016. Hassan el-Haski – Madrid and Casablanca bombings - A Spanish judge sentenced Haski to 14 years in jail for belonging to a terrorist organisation, in connection with the March 2004 attacks on Madrid.
  15. ↑ Newton-Small, Jay (16 November 2015). "The Belgian Suburb at the Heart of the Paris Attacks Probe". Time. Retrieved 11 April 2016. May 2014, three people were killed and one injured in a shooting at the Jewish Museum of Belgium by alleged terrorist Mehdi Nemmouche, who is awaiting trial and spent time in Molenbeek
  16. ↑ Torfs, Michaël (25 August 2015). " 'Suspect lived in Brussels before attempted Thalys attack' ". De Redactie.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Barbara; Bartunek, Robert-Jan (15 November 2015). "Belgian connection: three held in Brussels over Paris attacks". Reuters. Retrieved 11 April 2016. Molenbeek. The area has been connected with two attacks in France this year. Security officials have said the Islamist who killed people at a Paris kosher grocery in January at the time of the attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo acquired weapons in the district.
  18. ↑ Lynch, Julia (5 April 2016). "Here’s why so many of Europe’s terrorist attacks come through this one Brussels neighborhood". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 April 2016. Molenbeek had been linked to radical Islamist terrorism. One of 19 'communes' in the Brussels metro area, the neighborhood was home to one of the attackers in the 2004 commuter train bombings in Madrid and to the Frenchman who shot four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in August 2014. The Moroccan shooter on the Brussels-Paris Thalys train in August 2015 stayed with his sister there. French police suspect that the weapons used in the Paris supermarket attack connected with the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015 were acquired in Molenbeek, and the attackers in the November 2015 Paris bombings were traced to Brussels by way of a parking ticket issued on a rental car in Molenbeek.
  19. ↑ "Belgian minister says many Muslims 'danced' after attacks". Agence France-Presse. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016. They threw stones and bottles at police and press during the arrest of Salah Abdeslam. That is the real problem.
  20. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40352351
  21. ↑ "L'auteur de l'attentat manqué de Bruxelles avait des «sympathies» pour l'État islamique". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 21 June 2017. L'homme abattu par les soldats à la gare centrale de Bruxelles était un Marocain de 36 ans. Il vivait à Molenbeek
  22. ↑ "Paris attacks: Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud identified as presumed mastermind". CBC News. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Shots in Brussels raid tied to Paris attacks". CNN. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Gunfire in Brussels raid on 'Paris attacks suspects'". BBC News. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  25. ↑ "Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam shot, arrested in Brussels raid". Russia Today. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Paris attacks: Salah Abdeslam 'worth his weight in gold'". BBC News. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  27. ↑ "Schietpartij in Anderlecht was fait divers". Het Laatste Nieuws. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "Belgium’s Molenbeek home to 51 groups with terror links: report". Politico. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "51 Molenbeekse vzw's verdacht van terreurbanden". De Morgen. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "Molenbeek-Saint-Jean". be.brussels. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  31. ↑ "Plan canal: des ambitions, une méthode, une équipe | Canal.brussels". canal.brussels. Retrieved 2017-04-28.
  32. ↑ "Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Commune, Region of Brussels)". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  33. ↑ " 'Belgium Will Become an Islamic State' ". Gatestone Institute. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  34. ↑ "La population de Molenbeek augmente de 25% en 10 ans" [The population of Molenbeek increases 25% in 10 years]. l'avenir.net (in French). Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  35. 1 2 Capadites, Christina (2016-04-11). "Molenbeek and Schaerbeek: A tale of two tragedies". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  36. ↑ "Ecoles communales fondamentales"/"Gemeentelijke basisscholen." Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. Retrieved on September 8, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Autres écoles — Français". Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Campus Toverfluit".
  39. ↑ "Andere scholen — Nederlands". Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  40. ↑ "MIMA : ouverture d'un musée du street art au coeur de Molenbeek". Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  41. ↑ "Festival Bruxellons!".
  42. ↑ "Espaces verts à Molenbeek-Saint-Jean — Français". molenbeek.irisnet.be. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  43. ↑ "Toots, an icon of the Brussels jazz scene". Visitbrussels.be.

Further reading

Media related to Sint-Jans-Molenbeek at Wikimedia Commons

Adjacent places of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek
 Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Koekelberg, Jette
Dilbeek (VBR) Brussels
   Molenbeek-Saint-Jean  
Anderlecht
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