Place Rouppe
{{Short description|Square in Brussels, Belgium}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox street
| name = {{unbulleted list|{{native name|fr|Place Rouppe|italic=no}}|{{native name|nl|Rouppeplein|italic=no}}}}
| image = Place Rouppe 01.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| image_alt =
| caption = The {{lang|fr|Place Rouppe|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Rouppeplein|italic=no}} and {{lang|fr|Avenue de Stalingrad|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Stalingradlaan|italic=no}} in Brussels
| map_type = Belgium Brussels#Belgium
| coordinates = {{coord|50|50|34|N|04|20|45|E|type:landmark_region:BE|display=inline,title}}
| map_caption = Location within Brussels
| length =
| width =
| location = City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
| quarter = Midi–Lemonnier or Stalingrad Quarter
| terminus_a =
| terminus_b =
| completion_date =
| inauguration_date = 1841
| inauguration_label =
| designer = {{ill|Victor Jamaer|fr|Victor Jamaer}}
}}
The {{lang|fr|Place Rouppe|italic=no}} (French) or {{lang|nl|Rouppeplein|italic=no}} (Dutch) is a square in central Brussels, Belgium. It is named in honour of Nicolas-Jean Rouppe, the first mayor of the City of Brussels following the Belgian Revolution of 1830.{{sfn|Gérard|2023|p=23}} Rectangular and symmetrical in shape, it is located in the Midi–Lemonnier or Stalingrad Quarter (southern part of the City of Brussels), between the {{lang|fr|Rue du Midi|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Zuidstraat|italic=no}} and the {{lang|fr|Avenue de Stalingrad|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Stalingradlaan|italic=no}}.{{Cite web|title=Place Rouppe – Inventaire du patrimoine architectural|url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/fr/Bruxelles_Pentagone/Place_Rouppe/10002107|access-date=2022-02-03|website=monument.heritage.brussels|language=fr}}
History
The Place Rouppe was inaugurated on 26 September 1841 as a forecourt for Bogards' railway station, Brussels' first South Station, so-called for the former cloister of the Bogards' convent whose site it was built on, and to which the {{lang|fr|Rue des Bogards|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Bogaardenstraat|italic=no}} is nowadays the only reference. The former presence of a station at this location also explains the unusual width of the current {{lang|fr|Avenue de Stalingrad|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Stalingradlaan|italic=no}}, which goes from the square to the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road), a reminder of the train tracks that used to run in its middle.{{sfn|Gérard|2023|p=23}}
File:Bruxelles à travers les âges (1884) (14740516436).jpg
In 1848, the Rouppe Fountain was inaugurated in the middle of the square. It was designed by the architect Joseph Poelaert and the sculptor Charles-Auguste Fraikin. In 1869, a new South Station was built on the site of the current Brussels-South Station, because Bogards' station had already become too small. The current layout, a central square surrounded by a cast iron gate and rows of trees, dates from 1884 and was designed by the city's architect {{ill|Victor Jamaer|fr|Victor Jamaer}}.
Rouppe Fountain
Since 1844, the centre of square has been occupied by a monumental fountain known as the Rouppe Fountain. This monument, the work of Joseph Poelaert, and originally bearing a medallion bust of Rouppe, was inaugurated in 1848. It was inspired by the fountains of the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The fountain is made up of two basins; the water from the upper bronze basin flows into the lower blue stone basin through twelve lion mouths. At the request of the City of Brussels, the sculptor Fraikin, a former student of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, replaced the original medallion with an allegorical white marble statue representing the City of Brussels. She holds a laurel wreath in one hand and wears a reproduction of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula on her head.{{Cite web |title=Bruxelles - fontaine Rouppe |url=https://lemuseedeleauetdelafontaine.be/listing/bruxelles-fontaine-rouppe/ |access-date=2023-12-21 |website=Musée de l'Eau et de la Fontaine |language=fr-FR}}
See also
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book|last=De Roose|first=Fabien|title=De fonteinen van Brussel|location=Tielt|language=nl|publisher=Lannoo|year=1999|isbn=978-90-209-3838-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLAhP50BmbwC&pg=PA19}}
- {{cite book|last=Gérard|first=Hervé|title=Bruxelles et ses places|location=Brussels|language=fr|publisher=180° éditions|year=2023|isbn=978-2-940721-32-0}}
- {{cite book|ref={{harvid|Mardaga|1994}}|title=Le Patrimoine monumental de la Belgique: Bruxelles|volume=1C: Pentagone N-Z|location=Liège|language=fr|publisher=Pierre Mardaga|year=1994|url=https://monument.heritage.brussels/files/cities/1000/documents/03-vol-c-fr-def_k.pdf|p=218–221}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Place Rouppe/Rouppeplein}}