Berchem-Holy-Agathe

Berchem-Holy-Agathe (Dutch: Sint-Agatha-Berchem ) is one of the 19 common bilingual of Belgium located in the Région of Brussels-Capital.

At January 1st 2007, it counted 20 411 inhabitants (Berchemois). Its surface is of 2,9 km ².

Geography of the commune

Since 1954, Berchem-Holy-Agathe belongs to the 19 communes of the agglomeration of Brussels-capital. Before 1954, the commune belonged to the Dutch-speaking part of old the Province of the Brabant. Surrounded in north by the communes of Adze and Ganshoren, at the south by Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, the west by Dilbeek, the east by Koekelberg and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, the commune is located at the North-West of Brussels.

Common intermediary between the residential communes that are Koekelberg and Molenbeek, and the North-West of the Flemish Brabant (Pajottenland), area still dedicated today mainly to agriculture, the 295 hectares of total surface area do of Berchem-Holy-Agathe one of the areas the least extended from the area of Brussels.

Having an altitude varying from 35 to 75 meters, Berchem-Holy-Agathe is crossed by three brooks (Molenbeek, Paruck and the collector of Brussels), laying out each one of their own basin, which are thrown in the Seine. The relief of the commune is directly influenced by its hydrographic network; to the three catchment areas correspond three valleys directed south-north for that of Molenbeek and west-east for that of Paruck and the collector of Brussels.

History and Demography of the Commune

One discovered three prehistoric Berchem-Holy-Agathe tools, dating from the Mesolithic era and the Neolithic era. One can thus think that there was an occupation of the territory of the commune at these times.

The Roman presence on the commune is completely ignored. The Roman villas of the common neighbors (Anderlecht, Throws and Wemmel), as well as the importance of the concentration of the Roman habitat on left bank of the Seine can let suppose that Berchem-Holy-Agathe was occupied during this period.

At medieval times, and this partially until the XIXe century, the territory of Berchem included part of the current communes of Ganshoren, Dilbeek, Large-Bigard, and Adze as well as the totality of the current commune of Koekelberg. Thus the surface of Berchem at the medieval and post-medieval times was to reach at least 420 hectares.

The oldest mention of Berchem goes back to 1132, in an act in which the church of Berchem is presented like a dependence of that of Wemmel, dependence confirmed until 1258. Berchem seems rather clearly a hamlet born with Xe or XIe century, period of important population increase and clearings. This hamlet was equipped, at the end of XIe century or the beginning of the next century, of a vault dependant on the primitive parish church. Lastly, in first half of XIIe century, in the vast movement of restitution of the churches to the abbeys, by the laic lords, the young abbey of Grimbergen acquires the church of Wemmel and consequently the vault of Berchem.

In XVe century, the village proves to be a site of stone extraction to be built as well as a place of cereal production depending on five or six large farms. Berchem introduces towards the end of the XVIIe century three hundred ground bonniers of cultures, fifty of wood and twenty-five of meadows. In the current of the XVIIIe century, market gardenings as well as brickyards and tileries are added to the traditional activities. Moreover one big number of inns and breweries are born thanks to the geographical location of Berchem, last village stage on the road from Ghent to Brussels before penetrating in the capital.

At the end of XVIe century and the XVIIe century, Berchem undergoes demographic heavy losses as well as destruction of buildings, following the multiple wars (war of religion, goes of Louis XIV towards Holland, bombardment of Brussels) having involved successive occupations. But this reduction in the population will make place, at the XVIIIe century, an important increase in the latter (doubly of the population between 1709 and 1800). In 1841, the Koekelberg hamlet, until attached there to Berchem, becomes independent after a long legal conflict going back to the end of the XVIIe century, which results in to see the population Berchem to pass from 1560 to 672 inhabitants.

The population of the commune is estimated at 3500 inhabitants before the “Great War” of 1914-1918. After this one, Berchem knows a which had important demographic increase again, on the one hand, with the middle-class urbanization and, on the other hand, the creation of one of the first social cities, the modern City (built by the architect Victor Bourgeois in 1927).

The decades following the second war make place with the urbanization and immigration, with for consequence an increase in population which reaches 18500 inhabitants in 1976. The twenty-five last years do not know big raise of demography.

Town planning of the commune

At the beginning of the XXe century, Berchem-Holy-Agathe was included in urban fabric of Brussels, following the radio-concentric extension of the city and arrival of the tram.

Following the example medieval villages, the urbanization of the commune was carried out in a little organized way and the urban majority of the development projects of the XXe century abandoned or were partially carried out (construction project of the communal place in a style Néorenaissance by the architect Victor Degand in 1911, town planning scheme of Zavelenberg, Hogenbos, the wood of Wilder, as well as the construction of a boulevard of by-pass between Ganshoren and Molenbeek, after the Second world war).

Except the church of Romance style built between 1287 and 1311 (restoration in 1744 and 1974) and the inn-relay the crown built at the beginning of the XVIIIe century and rebuilt in 1869 in the neo-classic style on decision of the alderman Vandendriesch, the whole of the current buildings of the commune was built after 1800.

Indeed, one distinguishes from the masonries of neo-classic style built at the XIXe century (Place of the Church, street of the Church and roadway of Ghent); a big number of houses or middle-class villas of style cottage English, built at the beginning of the XXe century, (street of the Church, Avenue of the Cottages, Avenue Gisseleire-Versed, Which occurred Rene Comhaire and street Openveld), houses or villas Art-Déco (Avenue of King Albert, Which occurred Saddlers of Moranville and the modern City) and finally, contemporary constructions of individual or collective dwellings (residential district of Kattebroek, you Hof you Overbeke, drève of Maricoles and social housing of Hunderenveld).

It is interesting to note that town planning berchemois is turned very little towards industry. On the other hand the commercial sector there is very represented, particularly since the years 1980 with the creation of the commercial complex, Basilix.

Among the architectural richnesses of the commune, the modern City, built in 1925 by the architect Middle-class Victor, is one of the first examples of architecture cubist to large scales in Europe, according to the ideas of the Bauhaus of Dessau. One can typically see on the place of the Co-operators a geometry bauhausienne (houses laid out in teeth of saw, presenting frontages to 45° compared to the alignment of the roadway system). This building was worth in Victor Bourgeois to obtain the Grand Prix of the international exhibition of decorative arts of Paris in 1925.

Another floret of Berchem is the Marie-Mirande villa located at the n°11 of the avenue Selliers of Moranville, only classified house of the commune. This villa constitutes one of the very rare examples of frontage posts in Brussels. Indeed, the ceramist Guillaume Janssens made it build in 1912 in the fields of the Tinant architect and made cover all the frontage with artisanal tilings carried out in his workshops. An alternation of planks and tables Art nouveau decorate all the stages.

Currently, the commune continues to urbanize under the pressure of the property developers (construction of a complex of dwellings opposite Hunderenveld).

One can think that the whole of the not built zones of the commune, except the wood of Wilder (property of the commune) as well as Zavelenberg (classified site), will be urbanized, in the next decades, under the pressure of the real estate companies increasingly stronger on a commune of the agglomeration of Brussels still having many spaces to build. Let us hope that the political powers as well as the local organizations will take their responsabilities so that Berchem-Holy-Agathe remains this semi-rural commune, semi-urban where the number of green areas decorates the framework of life.

Administration

Native personalities

See too

List of the streets of Berchem-Holy-Agathe
Garden city in Brussels (Berchem-Holy-Agathe, the Modern City )
Use of foreign workers (Belgium)
Place Hunderenveld

External bond

Official site of the commune
the Platform of Brussels (of the communes): Berchem-Holy-Agathe, contrasted the

Random links: