Boulevard Anspach
{{Short description|Thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox street
| name = {{unbulleted list|{{native name|fr|Boulevard Anspach|italic=no}}|{{native name|nl|Anspachlaan|italic=no}}}}
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| image = Pictures taken from former Actiris Building on Anspach, Brussels 19.jpg
| image_size = 250px
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| caption = View on the {{lang|fr|Boulevard Anspach|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Anspachlaan|italic=no}} from the former Actiris building
| map_type = Belgium Brussels#Belgium
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| map_caption = Location within Brussels
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| former_names = {{unbulleted list|{{native name|fr|Boulevard Central}}|{{native name|nl|Centraallaan}}}}
| part_of = Central Boulevards of Brussels
| namesake = Jules Anspach
| type = Boulevard
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| location = City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
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| quarter = Central Quarter
| postal_code = 1000
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| coordinates = {{coord|50|50|52|N|4|20|57|E|type:landmark_region:BE|display=inline,title}}
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| completion_date = 1868–1871
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| designer = Léon Suys
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The {{lang|fr|Boulevard Anspach|italic=no}} (French) or {{lang|nl|Anspachlaan|italic=no}} (Dutch) is a central boulevard in Brussels, Belgium, connecting the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein to the Place Fontainas/Fontainasplein. It was created following the covering of the river Senne (1867–1871), and bears the name of Jules Anspach, a former mayor of the City of Brussels.
The Boulevard Anspach is continued to the north by both the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain/Émile Jacqmainlaan and the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan, forming a "Y" crossroad at the Place de Brouckère. To the south, it crosses the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein about halfway through, and continues towards the Place Fontainas where it becomes the Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier/Maurice Lemonnierlaan.
Many places of interest lie along the Boulevard Anspach, for instance the former Brussels Stock Exchange, the Ancienne Belgique concert hall, the Pathé Palace cinema (officially named the Cinéma Palace since 2018),Fabienne Bradfer, Gaëlle Moury, Réapprendre à voir un film grâce au Palace, Le Soir, 12 February 2018, p. 23 as well as numerous shops and restaurants. De Brouckère metro station on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels Metro is accessible from the Boulevard Anspach, as well as Bourse/Beurs premetro (underground tram) station.
History
File:Le boulevard Anspach à Bruxelles en 1880.jpg
The Boulevard Anspach was built between 1868 and 1871, as part of the Central Boulevards, which were created after the covering of the river Senne,{{sfn|Demey|1990|p=65}}Map of Suys' proposal. City Archives of Brussels: p.p. 1.169 although the river no longer flows underneath it. Prior to 1879, it was named the {{lang|fr|Boulevard Central|italic=no}}/{{lang|fr|Centraallaan|italic=no}} ("Central Boulevard"),{{sfn|Eggericx|1997|p=26}}{{Cite web|title=eBru {{!}} Le boulevard Anspach {{!}} Bruxelles Pentagone|url=http://www.ebru.be/Streets/bruxelles-1000-boulevard-anspach.html|access-date=2021-12-28|website=www.ebru.be}} when it was renamed in honour of Jules Anspach (1829–1879), the former mayor of the City of Brussels who instigated these works.{{sfn|Demey|1990|p=65}}
On 4 September 1944, the Boulevard Anspach was the scene of great jubilation during the liberation of Brussels by the British Guards Armoured Division. In 1976, as part of the North–South line, the premetro took the place of the river, which was then diverted along the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road).
In June 2012, "protest picnics" were held on the Boulevard Anspach to express dissatisfaction with the City of Brussels' mobility policy. Following these events, the city's then-mayor, Freddy Thielemans, decided to make the boulevard car-free every Sunday afternoon for the entire summer.{{Cite web|last=NWS|first=VRT|date=2012-06-15|title=Anspachlaan wordt elke zondagmiddag autovrij|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2012/06/15/anspachlaan_wordtelkezondagmiddagautovrij-1-1333161/|access-date=2021-08-22|website=vrtnws.be|language=nl}} His successor, Yvan Mayeur, wished to expand the Boulevard Anspach into a permanent pedestrian zone with a new street cover, equipped with fountains, works of art, benches and trees. On 29 June 2015, the boulevard finally became completely car-free between the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, as part of a broader pedestrianisation of Brussels' city centre ({{langx|fr|Le Piétonnier|link=no}}).{{cite news|last1=O'Sullivan|first1=Feargus|title=Europe's Most Congested City Contemplates Going Car-Free|url=http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/01/europes-most-congested-city-contemplates-going-car-free/8027/|accessdate=9 February 2015|work=City Lab|publisher=The Atlantic|date=7 January 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Vermeersch|first1=Laurent|title=Centrale lanen: twee fonteinen en twee fietsparkings|url=http://www.brusselnieuws.be/nl/nieuws/centrale-lanen-twee-fonteinen-en-twee-fietsparkings|accessdate=9 February 2015|publisher=Brussel Nieuws|date=6 February 2015|language=Dutch}}{{Cite web|title=Project. Pedestrian zone|url=https://www.brussels.be/project-pedestrian-zone|date=2017-02-28|website=www.brussels.be|language=en|access-date=2018-12-15}}
Notable buildings
The Boulevard Anspach is home to many buildings in neoclassical, Beaux-Arts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and eclectic styles. Some examples include:
- No. 3: Café Sésino (1875), an eclectic building by {{ill|Désiré De Keyser|fr|Désiré De Keyser}}. It won the fifth prize in the architectural competition of 1876, and was demolished in 1967.
- No. 56–58: Modernist building (1939) by {{ill|Adrien Blomme|fr|Adrien Blomme}}, originally built for Wielemans-Ceuppens breweries. It once housed the famous café Aux Armes des Brasseurs.{{Cite web|url=http://www.irismonument.be/fr.Bruxelles_Pentagone.Boulevard_Anspach.56.html|title=Bruxelles Pentagone - Boulevard Anspach 56-58 - BLOMME A.|website=www.irismonument.be|access-date=2018-12-20}}
- No. 59–61: Eclectic apartment building (1872) by Gédéon Bordiau, decorated with caryatids by Julien Dillens{{Cite web|url=http://www.irismonument.be/fr.Bruxelles_Pentagone.Boulevard_Anspach.59.html|title=Bruxelles Pentagone - Boulevard Anspach 59-61 - Rue du Marche aux Poulets 16-18-20 - BORDIAU Gedeon|website=www.irismonument.be|access-date=2018-12-20}}
- No. 78: Café de la Bourse (1874), neo-Baroque building by {{ill|Charles-Émile Janlet|fr|Émile Janlet}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.irismonument.be/fr.Bruxelles_Pentagone.Boulevard_Anspach.76.html|title=Bruxelles Pentagone - Boulevard Anspach 76-78 - Rue de la Bourse 2 - JANLET E.|website=www.irismonument.be|access-date=2018-12-20}}
- No. 85: Pathé Palace (1913), an Art Nouveau cinema by {{ill|Paul Hamesse|fr|Paul Hamesse}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.irismonument.be/fr.Bruxelles_Pentagone.Boulevard_Anspach.85.html|title=Bruxelles Pentagone - Pathe Palace - Boulevard Anspach 85-87 - Borgval 19-21-23 - Rue Jules Van Praet 24-26-28 - HAMESSE Paul|website=www.irismonument.be|access-date=2018-12-20}}
File:Café Sesino.png|Café Sésino (De Keyser, 1875) (demolished)
File:Aux Armes des Brasseurs.JPG|Aux Armes des Brasseurs (Blomme, 1939)
File:Bruxelles Immeuble de rapport éclectique 2043-02210.jpg|Apartment building (Bordiau and Dillens, 1872)
File:Café de la Bourse (2).jpg|Café de la Bourse (Janlet, 1874)
File:Pathé Palace (1).jpg|Pathé Palace cinema (Hamesse, 1913)
See also
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book|last=Demey|first=Thierry|title=Bruxelles, chronique d'une capitale en chantier|volume=I: Du voûtement de la Senne à la jonction Nord-Midi|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=Paul Legrain/CFC|year=1990|oclc=44643865}}
- {{cite book|last=Demey|first=Thierry|title=Bruxelles, des remparts aux boulevards|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=Badeaux|year=2013|isbn=978-2-930609-02-7}}
- {{cite book|last=Eggericx|first=Laure|title=Les Boulevards du Centre|series=Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire|volume=20|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=Centre d'information, de Documentation et d'Etude du Patrimoine|year=1997|url=http://patrimoine.brussels/liens/publications-numeriques/versions-pdf/bvah/les-boulevards-du-centre}}
- {{cite book|ref={{harvid|Mardaga|1989}}|title=Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles|volume=1A: Pentagone A-D|location=Liège|language=fr|publisher=Pierre Mardaga|year=1989|url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/files/cities/1000/documents/01-vol-a-fr-def_k.pdf}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan, Brussels}}