:Schaerbeek

The first mention of Schaerbeek's name was Scarenbecca, recorded in a document from the Bishop of Cambrai in 1120.{{Cite web |url=http://www.schaerbeek.irisnet.be/plone/culture_loisir/histoire-et-patrimoine/schaerbeek-et-son-histoire/etymologie |title=Schaerbeek et son Histoire — Schaerbeek |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110718151359/http://www.schaerbeek.irisnet.be/plone/culture_loisir/histoire-et-patrimoine/schaerbeek-et-son-histoire/etymologie |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead}} The origin of the name may come from the Franconian (Old Dutch) words {{lang|odt|schaer}} ("notch", "score") and {{lang|odt|beek}} ("creek", "beck").{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/Enquete-Communale-Final/d/19264207 |title=Enquete Communale – Final |publisher=Scribd.com |date=31 August 2009 |access-date=2012-02-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130025750/http://www.scribd.com/Enquete-Communale-Final/d/19264207 |archive-date=30 January 2010 |df=dmy-all }}

Schaerbeek is nicknamed "the city of donkeys" ({{langx|fr|link=no|la cité des ânes}}, {{langx|nl|link=no|de ezelsgemeente}}). This name is reminiscent of times when people of Schaerbeek, who were cultivators of sour cherries primarily for Kriek production, would arrive at the Brussels marketplace with donkeys laden with sour cherries. Donkeys are still kept in Josaphat Park, and sour cherry trees line the streets of the Diamant Quarter of Schaerbeek (the {{lang|fr|Avenue Milcamps|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Milcampslaan|italic=no}}, the {{lang|fr|Avenue Émile Max|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Émile Maxlaan|italic=no}}, and the {{lang|fr|Avenue Opale|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Opaallaan|italic=no}}). The {{lang|fr|Square des Griottiers|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Morelleboomsquare|italic=no}} is named after these trees.

The period at which human activity started in Schaerbeek can be inferred from the Stone Age flint tools that were recovered in the Josaphat valley. Tombs and coins dating from the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian (2nd century AD) were also found near the old Roman roads that crossed Schaerbeek's territory.

The first mention of the town's name appears in a legal document dated 1120, whereby the Bishop of Cambrai granted the administration of the churches of Scarenbecca and Everna (today's neighbouring Evere) to the canons of Soignies, located in modern-day Hainaut, Belgium. Politically, the town was part of the Duchy of Brabant. In 1301, John II, Duke of Brabant, had the town administered by the schepen (aldermen) of Brussels. A new church dedicated to Saint Servatius was built around that same time, at the same location as the old church.

At the end of the 14th century, the lands of Schaerbeek that belonged to the Lords of Kraainem were sold and reconverted into a hunting ground. The official entry of the visiting Dukes of Burgundy into Brussels, their second capital, was also through Schaerbeek, where they had to swear to uphold the city's privileges. The game reservation and the rural character of the village lasted until the end of the 18th century. The areas not covered by woods were used to cultivate vegetables and grow vines. In 1540, Schaerbeek counted 112 houses and 600 inhabitants.

File:2 ème enceinte, Porte de Schaerbeek.JPG in 1612]]

Until the 16th century, the village had lived in relative peace. This would change in the middle of the 16th century as the Reformation set in. Schaerbeek suffered through ravages and destruction about a dozen times over the following two centuries, starting in the 1570s with William the Silent's mercenary troops fighting the Catholic Duke of Alba. Spanish, French, British, and Bavarian troops all came through Schaerbeek, with the usual exactions and requisitions inflicted on the population.

After the French Revolution, it was decreed that Schaerbeek would be taken away from Brussels and proclaimed an independent municipality, with its own mayor, schepen, and municipal assembly. On 27 September 1830, during the Belgian Revolution, some fighting occurred in the Josaphat valley between the revolutionary troops and the retreating Dutch troops. In 1879, a more modern Church of St. Servatius was built near the old one, which was eventually demolished in 1905. The Municipal Hall and Schaerbeek railway station were built in 1887 and 1902, respectively. In 1889, the shooting range known as the Tir national was established.

At the end of the 19th and in the early 20th centuries, Schaerbeek became home to the gentry. The {{lang|fr|Avenue Louis Bertrand|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Louis Bertrandlaan|italic=no}} was laid out to herald a new, tree-filled residential district for the city's burgeoning middle classes, many of whom employed the period's best architects to design their new homes. Gustave Strauven, {{Interlanguage link|Franz Hemelsoet|fr}} and {{Interlanguage link|Henri Jacobs|fr}} were just three of the architects who reinvented family houses, apartment buildings and educational buildings in the Art Nouveau style.

File:Schaerbeek Place des Carabiniers 01.jpg

At the turn of the 20th century, Schaerbeek was a booming suburb which attracted a large middle-class population. In 1904, the newly landscaped Josaphat Park was inaugurated.{{Cite web|url=https://www.1030.be/fr/culture-loisirs/histoire-tourisme-patrimoine/histoire-de-schaerbeek/schaerbeek-au-fil-du-temps|title=Schaerbeek au fil du temps {{!}} Schaerbeek|website=Schaerbeek 1030 Schaarbeek|language=fr|access-date=2020-04-25}} One year later, the old St. Servatius' Church, the last witness to Schaerbeek's medieval past, was demolished. In 1915, the British nurse Edith Cavell was executed by an occupying German Army firing squad at the Tir national. Dwight D. Eisenhower came to visit the municipality at the close of World War II. Five years later, the population of Schaerbeek peaked at 125,000 inhabitants.

{{Main|2016 Brussels bombings|2016 stabbing of Brussels police officers}}

On the morning of 22 March 2016, three coordinated bombings occurred in Belgium in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility. In these attacks, at least 31 victims and two suicide bombers were killed, and 300 other people were injured.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-brussels-airport-explosion-20160322-story.html|title=Another bomb found in Brussels after attacks kill at least 34; Islamic State claims responsibility|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=22 March 2016}} Hours after the attacks, police were pointed to a home in Schaerbeek by the taxi driver who drove the suspects to Brussels Airport.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12201611/Brussels-bombings-terrorist-attack-on-Belgium-airport-and-Metro-live.html|title=Brussels attacks: 34 killed and hundreds wounded as Islamic State claims responsibility for airport and Metro bombings – live|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=22 March 2016|access-date=22 March 2016|author=David Lawler|author2=Danny Boyle}} They raided the home and found a nail bomb, {{convert|15|kg|0|abbr=on}} of acetone peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and an ISIL flag.{{Cite news|url=http://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20160323_02198234/brusselse-broers-el-bakraoui-geidentificeerd-als-zelfmoordterroristen|title=Eén verdachte wordt momenteel ondervraagd|date=23 March 2016|publisher=Gazet van Antwerpen|access-date=23 March 2016}} Inside a waste container near the house, they also found a computer belonging to Ibrahim El Bakraoui who is believed to have carried out suicide bombings during the attacks along with his brother.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brussels-attacks/brussels-attacks-el-bakraoui-brothers-were-jailed-carjackings-shootout-n544241|title=Brussels Attacks: El Bakraoui Brothers Were Jailed for Carjackings, Shootout|work=NBC News|date=23 March 2016|access-date=23 March 2016|author=Alastair Jamieson|author2=Annick M'Kele}}

Nearly seven months later, on 5 October, three police officers were attacked by a man with a camping knife in Schaerbeek. Two of them suffered stab wounds, while the third was physically assaulted but otherwise uninjured. The assailant was then shot in the leg, subdued, and taken to hospital for medical treatment.{{cite news|last1=Samuel|first1=Henry|title=Two policemen injured in Brussels stabbing in suspected terror attack|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/05/two-policemen-injured-in-brussels-stabbing-in-jihadi-hotbed-dist/|access-date=5 October 2016|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=5 October 2016}} He was charged with attempted terrorism-related murder but the court did not see these charges proven. He was convicted to a nine-year prison sentence for assault and battery.[https://www.demorgen.be/binnenland/aanval-op-twee-agenten-geen-terreurdaad-en-geen-moordpoging-maar-dader-veroordeeld-tot-9-jaar-cel-bbc384b8/] Aanval op twee agenten geen terreurdaad en geen moordpoging, maar dader veroordeeld tot 9 jaar cel”

There are two distinct parts of Schaerbeek; an eastern part and a western part. The eastern part (the area that includes the {{lang|fr|Square Vergote|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Vergoteplein|italic=no}}, the {{lang|fr|Boulevard Lambermont|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Lambermontlaan|italic=no}}, the Flowers Quarter, the {{lang|fr|Place de Jamblinne de Meux|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|De Jamblinne de Meuxplein|italic=no}}, the Diamant Quarter and Josaphat Park) is an affluent area noted for its architecture and its convenient location (close to the EU institutions and the financial heart of the city, as well as NATO's headquarters).

The western part (the area near Brussels-North railway station, the {{lang|fr|Chaussée de Haecht|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Haachtsesteenweg|italic=no}} and the Van Praet bridge) is home to Brussels' large Belgian Turkish community. The area around St. Mary's Royal Church is dubbed the "Little Anatolia" ({{langx|fr|la petite Anatolie|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|het Klein Anatolië|link=no}}) because of all the Turkish restaurants and shops on the Chaussée de Haecht.{{cite web|url=http://www.schaerbeek.be/files/documents/culture_loisir/parcours-decouverte/parcours1.pdf|title=Promenades découvertes de Schaerbeek : Parcours 1: les abords de la place de la Reine|language=fr|access-date=2012-12-23}} The area is also home to a significant Belgian Moroccan population and other immigrant communities such as Spanish, Congolese, and Asian immigrants. However, the district offers a social blend because of the numerous schools like the Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel, the municipal administrations and the proximity of the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat.

• Schaerbeek counts a number of Art Deco and Art Nouveau houses, including the Autrique House, the first house built by Victor Horta in the Brussels area.{{Cite web |title=Autrique House |url=https://www.visit.brussels/en/visitors/venue-details.Autrique-House.241931 |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=www.visit.brussels |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-01-01 |title=Autrique House |url=https://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/museums/autrique-house |access-date=2023-09-09 |website=Brussels Museums |language=en}}
• The Municipal Hall of Schaerbeek, designed in neo-Flemish Renaissance style by the architect {{ill|Jules Jacques Van Ysendyck|fr|Jules Jacques Van Ysendyck}}, was inaugurated by King Leopold II in 1887.{{Cite web |title=Hôtel communal de Schaerbeek – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural |url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/fr/buildings/22498 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=monument.heritage.brussels |language=fr}}
• Josaphat Park, also inaugurated by King Leopold II (in 1904), provides a haven of quiet in the heart of the city. It is bordered by the Brusilia Residence, the tallest residential building in Belgium.
• Schaerbeek railway station, where the national railway museum of Belgium, Train World, opened in 2015.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-01 |title=Train World |url=https://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/museums/train-world |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Brussels Museums |language=en}}
• St. Mary's Royal Church, an eclectic Roman Catholic church built between 1845 and 1888, which has been listed as a protected monument since 1976.{{Cite web|url=http://www.irismonument.be/fr.Schaerbeek.Place_de_la_Reine.A001.html|title=Schaerbeek - Église Sainte-Marie - Place de la Reine - VAN OVERSTRAETEN Henri Désiré Louis|website=www.irismonument.be|access-date=2020-04-25}}
• The Clockarium is a clock museum. There is also a beer museum and a mechanical organ museum nearby.{{Cite web |title=Clockarium |url=https://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/museums/clockarium |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Brussels Museums |language=en}}

Schaerbeek Cemetery, despite its name, is actually located in Evere.

File:Koninklijke Sint-Mariakerk Schaarbeek 2011 09 01 02.jpg|St. Mary's Royal Church

File:Schaerbeek station (DSCF0592).jpg|Schaerbeek railway station

File:Autrique House (1).jpg|Autrique House

File:Cité-jardin Terdelt 01.JPG|Terdelt garden city

File:Parc Josaphat (DSCF1381).jpg|Josaphat Park

File:Brusilia, Schaarbeek.jpg|Brusilia Residence

Schaerbeek has a large concentration of immigrants from other countries, and their children, including many of Turkish ancestry, a significant part of which originates from Afyon or Emirdağ, Turkey.{{verify source|date=April 2020}}

Similar to Molenbeek, Schaerbeek has a large Muslim population. {{As of|2016}}, the largest share of Muslims in Schaerbeek is of Moroccan origin, but there are also significant communities of Turks and Albanians. That year, the mayor of Schaerbeek Bernard Clerfayt (DéFI) argued that the diversity in the foreign population means there is a lack of a ghetto effect, and Molenbeek's then-mayor Françoise Schepmans (MR) stated that the foreign population in Schaerbeek was more diverse than that of Molenbeek.{{cite web|author=Capadites, Christina|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/molenbeek-and-schaerbeek-brussels-belgium-a-tale-of-two-terror-tragedies/|title=Molenbeek and Schaerbeek: A tale of two tragedies|publisher=CBS News|date=2016-04-11|access-date=2016-09-12}} 22% of young people in Schaerbeek are unemployed. The municipality lies in a semi-circle of neighbourhoods in Brussels often referred to as the "poor croissant".

{{As of|2023}}, taking into account the nationality of birth of the parents, 52.78% of Schaerbeek's population is of non-European origin (predominantly Moroccan and Turkish), 21.13% of European origin other than Belgian (mainly Bulgarian, Romanian, French, Spanish, and Polish), while 18.46% is solely of native Belgian ancestry.{{Cite web |title=Origin {{!}} Statbel |url=https://statbel.fgov.be/en/themes/population/structure-population/origin#figures |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=statbel.fgov.be}}

Migrant communities in Schaerbeek with over 1,000 people as of 1 January 2020:{{Cite web |title=Nationalités {{!}} IBSA |url=https://ibsa.brussels/themes/population/nationalites |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=ibsa.brussels}}

The current city council was elected in the October 2018 elections.{{Cite web|url=http://bru2018.brussels/fr/results/municipalities/6085/index.html|title=Résultats officiels des élections communales 2018|accessdate=17 July 2021|language=French}} The current mayor of Schaerbeek is Bernard Clerfayt, a member of DéFl, who is in coalition on the municipal council with Ecolo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rtbf.be/info/election_schaerbeek?zip=1030|title=Schaerbeek: Bernard Clerfayt rempile pour 6 ans avec Ecolo, le cdH renvoyé dans l'opposition|language=French|date=14 October 2018|accessdate=17 July 2021}}

During the Belgian federal election of 18 May 2003, a candidate received 4,096 unexplained extra votes. After an inquiry, the anomaly was attributed to a single-event upset in an electronic voting machine, likely to have been caused by an ionising particle.{{cite web |url=http://www.poureva.be/spip.php?article32&lang=fr |title=Rapport concernant les élections du 18 mai 2003 |publisher=PourEVA |type=5.3.7 L’incident de Schaerbeek |language=fr |access-date=9 March 2017 }}{{cite web |first=Becky |last=Ferreira |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/space-weather-cosmic-rays-voting-aaas/ |title=How Space Weather Can Influence Elections on Earth |website=Motherboard |date=17 February 2017 }}

Public communal French-language secondary schools include:"[http://www.schaerbeek.be/vivre-schaerbeek/enfance-jeunesse-famille/reseau-communal Réseau communal]." Schaerbeek. Retrieved on September 12, 2016.

• {{Interlanguage link|Athénée Fernand Blum|fr|3=Athénée communal Fernand Blum}}, a traditional gateway to the {{lang|fr|Université libre de Bruxelles}} (ULB)
• Institut communal d'enseignement technique Frans Fischer
• Lycée Emile Max

French-language subsidised religious secondary schools include:"[http://www.schaerbeek.be/vivre-schaerbeek/enfance-jeunesse-famille/education/reseau-libre-communaute-francaise Réseau Libre et communauté française]." Schaerbeek. Retrieved on September 12, 2016.

• {{Interlanguage link|Centre scolaire Sainte-Marie La Sagesse|fr|3=Institut Sainte-Marie (Schaerbeek)}}
• Collège Roi Baudouin
• Institut de la Saint-Famille d'Helmet
• Collège Roi Baudouin Enseignement technique et professionnel
• Institut Technique Cardinal Mercié-Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur
• Institut Saint-Dominique
• Institut de la Vierge Fidèle

Koninklijk Atheneum Emmanuel Hiel serves as the public Dutch-language secondary school in Schaerbeek, operated by the Flemish Community."[http://www.schaerbeek.be/vivre-schaerbeek/enfance-jeunesse-famille/education/enseignement-neerlandophone Enseignement néerlandophone]"/"[http://www.schaerbeek.be/nl/leven-schaarbeek/kinderen-jeugd-gezin/onderwijs/kleuteronderwijs/nederlandstalig-onderwijs Nederlandstalig onderwijs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911001451/http://www.schaerbeek.be/nl/leven-schaarbeek/kinderen-jeugd-gezin/onderwijs/kleuteronderwijs/nederlandstalig-onderwijs |date=11 September 2016 }}." Schaerbeek. Retrieved on September 12, 2016.

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• Todor Angelov (1900–1943), Bulgarian member of the Resistance during World War II
• Jacques Brel (1929–1978), singer-songwriter and actor
• Roger Camille, also known as Kiko (1936–2006), cartoonist
• Nicolas Colsaerts (born 1982), European Tour professional golfer
• Claude Coppens (born 1936), pianist and composer
• Monique de Bissy (1923–2009), French-Belgian member of the Resistance during World War II
• Michel de Ghelderode (1898–1962), avant-garde dramatist, employed at the Municipal Hall from 1923 to 1946
• Andrée de Jongh (1916–2007), member of the Resistance during World War II
• Paul Deschanel (1855–1922), French statesman and President of France
• Daniel Ducarme (1954–2010), politician and Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region
• Georges Eekhoud (1854–1927), novelist
• Virginie Efira (born 1977), actress and television presenter
• Jan Ferguut (1835–1902), writer and poet
• Emilio Ferrera (born 1967), football player and coach
• Agustín Goovaerts (1885–1939), architect
• Georges Grun (born 1962), football player
• {{Interlanguage link|Franz Hemelsoet|nl}} (1875–1947), Art Nouveau architect
• Jan Cornelis Hofman (1889–1966), Dutch post-impressionist painter, died there.
• Alain Hutchinson (born 1949), politician and MEP
• {{Interlanguage link|Henri Jacobs|fr}} (1864–1935), Art Nouveau architect
• Camille Jenatzy (1868–1913), racing driver
• Henry Le Bœuf (1874–1935), banker and patron of the arts
• René Magritte (1898–1967), surrealist painter
• Maurane (1960–2018), singer and actress
• Anca Parghel (1957–2008), Romanian jazz singer, lived on the {{lang|fr|Avenue Paul Deschanel|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Paul Deschanellaan|italic=no}}.
• Rob Redding (born 1976), American media proprietor and abstract artist
• Jean Roba (1930–2006), comic book author, creator of Boule et Bill
• François Schuiten (born 1956), comic book artist
• Roger Somville (1923–2014), painter
• Paul-Henri Spaak (1899–1972), politician, statesman, Prime Minister, Secretary General of NATO, and one of the Founding fathers of the European Union
• Gustave Strauven (1878–1919), Art Nouveau architect
• Raymond van het Groenewoud (born 1950), musician and singer

{{div col end}}

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Belgium}}

Schaerbeek is twinned with:

• {{Flagicon|BEL}} Houffalize, Belgium
• {{Flagicon|MAR}} Al-Hoceima, Morocco
• {{Flagicon|Palestine}} Nablus, Palestine
• {{Flagicon|TUR}} Beyoğlu, Turkey
• {{Flagicon|USA}} Prairie Village, Kansas, United States
• {{Flagicon|KOS}} Dardania, Pristina, Kosovo
• {{Flagicon|CAN}} Quebec City, Canada
• {{Flagicon|ROU}} Vicovu de Sus, Romania
• {{Flagicon|CHN}} Anyang, China

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{portal|Belgium}}

• {{commons category-inline}}
• [https://www.1030.be/ Official website] {{in lang|fr|nl}}
• [http://www.mabiblio.be/ Local libraries] (Evere-Schaerbeek)
• [http://www.polbruno.be/ Police zone site – 5344 Polbruno] (Evere-Saint-Josse-Schaerbeek)

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Schaerbeek

|NE = Evere

|SE = Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

|S = Brussels, Etterbeek

|SW = Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

|NW = Brussels

}}

{{Schaerbeek}}

{{Brussels|state2=expanded}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region

Category:Populated places in Belgium

Category:Turkish diaspora in Europe