See also: Forest

Forest (in Dutch: Vorst ) is one of the 19 common bilingual of Belgium located in the Région of Brussels-Capital.

It counts 48.283 inhabitants (at December 31st 2005, according to the last census of the commune) on a surface of 6,2 km ².

On the territory of Forest are an important prison, a automobile factory of Volkswagen as well as a famous theater: National Forest.

She is bordering on the communes of Uccle, Saint-Gilles, Ixelles, Anderlecht and Drogenbos.

One also finds in Forest the culminating point of the area of Brussels, Altitude 100 (altitude: + - 100m), on which the Church of Altitude Hundred is (also called Eglise Saint-Augustin), single religious building of Brussels attached to the style Art Déco, very present in the commune.

History of Forest

The legend of Holy-Pointed

It refers to the period of conversion pagan francs but the worship of Holy is attested only towards the end of XIIe century. One night, Pointed, girl of pagan lord converted with Christianity, escapes from the castle of his/her father to hear the mass with the vault of Forest. This one orders with its guards to follow it. Arrival at the edge of the Seine, miracle! Pointed goes on water. Amazed, the guards warn the lord who shouts with the sorcery of Christians and requires that one bring back Alène for him. The young girl struggles and in the fight, the guards tear off the arm to him. An angel appears, collects it and carries it on the furnace bridge of the vault. His/her parents convert and the pilgrims start to flow in front of the skin of the Holy one. Henceforth, they will call upon martyrdom to cure their evils. Today still, one resorts to Holy-Pointed to look after the pains with the teeth.

Etymology

1105 Forestum , 1130 Forest

Wood of which the use is reserved to the sovereign (low Latin forestum , of Latin forestis “specific to the field”), i.e. the Duc of the Brabant.

Until the XIXe century, the top of the commune sheltered forests and wood whereas bottom was marshy. Of its timbered aspect, Forest kept some vestiges like the Duden park (hunting ground of Charles-Quint) or the park of Forest (created by the king Léopold II).

The communal house

Located street of the priest, the communal Hotel, of style Art Déco is the work of the architect Dewin; it was inaugurated in 1938. Many artists took part in his finishing, of which Victor Rousseau, Hoffman, Canneel, Colpaert, etc The communal Hotel occupies a surface of 4230 m ². In the North-West of this one, a 48 meters height spouts out tower.

The war memorial

Located on the Public garden Omer Denis, set up in the honor of the Forestois soldiers who gave their life during the First World War (1914-1918). A work of the sculptor Victor Rousseau and the architect Van Neck being with the same site of the old abbey church opposite the communal Hotel.

The Fountain Saint-Beno4it cheese

Until the end of last century, the housewives went to the fountain to wash their linens there. Many sources of water of the commune flow there in order to feed the Saint-Benoît fountain.

Districts

Forest is a commune divided into districts rather distinct from/to each other. One can, however, divide it into two parts: top of Forest with its rather middle-class district (around the Molière avenue and of Altitude 100); and the bottom (Saint-Denis place), more popular and animated, which offers annual gatherings like the medieval festivals. A third district is also present, that of industries and companies being next to the commune of Drogenbos. But few dwellings there are found.

• List of the streets of Forest

Forestois famous

• Charles Lecocq (1901-1922) - Poet who died in Forest
• André Baillon (1875 - 1931) - French-speaking Writer who lived in Forest.
• Fernand Bernier (1902 - 1969) - French-speaking Writer who lived in Forest.
• Esther Deltenre, actress for the Belgian Cinéma dies there in 1958.
• Jean Delville (1867 - 1953) - Painter.
• Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau (1760 - 1821) - Count de Bergendael, Marshal of Holland, it was useful in the French Army and was made Count of the Empire by Napoleon Bonaparte. The vault Saint-Pointed of the Saint-Denis church shelters a sepulchral stone which recalls that it was buried there.
• Stuart Merrill (1863 - 1915) - French-speaking Writer of American origin which lived in Forest.
• Jean Preckher (1866 - 1939) - Type-setter and leader forestois.
• Victor Rousseau (1865 - 1954) - Sculptor born in Feluy, it left his birthplace to settle in Forest where it worked and died. Its works impregnated purification and of Hellénisme. We owe him for example in Forest the war memorial and two blue stone works which decorate the frontage of the communal Hotel.
• Raymond Goethals (1921-2004) - Trainer of football which led in particular the Olympique of Marseilles to the championship victory of Europe (1993).
• Marguerite Bervoets (1914-1944) - Resistant guillotinée to the prison of Wolfenbüttel (Germany) on August 8th, 1944
• Paul Vanden Boeynants (1919-2001). Politician of Christian democratic tendency. He was twice Prime Minister.
• Piet Volckaert (1901-1973) - Painter
• Micha Wald (1974 -…) - Scenario writer and Belgian realizer. Its film " Robber of chevaux" at summer selected for the 46e Week of the Critic of the Cannes festival in 2007.
• Evelyne Huytebroeck (1958 -…) - Minister of environment, of the Energy and the Policy of water within the Government of the Area of Brussels-Capital

Twinning

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