Saint-Gilles (Brussels)

Saint-Gilles (in Dutch Sint-Gillis ) or Saint-Gilles-lez-Brussels (nl Sint-Gillis-Obbrussel , in Latin Municipium Sancti Ægydii Obbruxelæ ) is one of the 19 common bilingual of Belgium located in the area of Brussels-Capital.

In April 2006, it counted 46.519 inhabitants (Saint-Gillois) for a surface of 2,51 km ², that is to say 18.533 habitants/km ². It is located at the center-south of Brussels, just in the south of Brussels-city. It is characterized in particular by a very heterogeneous population from the point of view of the cultural origin. One notes for example the presence of important communities of foreign origins: Frenchwoman, Greek, Moroccan, Polish, Spanish and Portuguese primarily.

Since 1985, its burgomaster is the socialist Charles Picqué, also minister-president of the Bruxelloise area. Throughout his successive mandates, Charles Picqué was most of the time " burgomaster empêché" commune, officially not being able to sit because of its other regional, federal mandates or within the Government of the French Community. It was thus replaced by different " burgomasters making fonction" , that it indicates, even if it clearly keeps the hand on the communal businesses.

Saint-Gilles knows a movement of gentryfication, on behalf of young credits which buy an apartment there. The commune gathers districts among the most connected capital, as the Janson place (select) or the square of Saint-Gilles (more " bobo"). Many districts remain cepandant popular, which gives to the commune a strong social diversity and an identity particularly attaching. Saint-Gilles becomes thus increasingly gravitational for the young couples, with the detriment of Ixelles, considered to be too expensive and embourgeoized.

Saint-Gilles is the commune where is located the Gare of the South , the most important station of Brussels and terminals TGV, Eurostar and Thalys.

It is bordering on the communes of Brussels-city, Forest, Ixelles and Anderlecht.

History

After the construction of the Second enclosure of Brussels at the 14th century, the market gardening developed in the current commune of Saint-Gilles, external with the enclosure. These market gardenings took little by little a considerable extension since all the arable lands, were gradually transformed into surfaces of cultures, in particular thanks to work of draining. The market-gardeners had to find means further of increasing their profitability in order to face the which gallops demography of Brussels.

It seems that it is about the middle of the 17th century that Saint-Gillois created a new hybrid of cabbage which was cultivated vertically and thus occupied less space. This very profitable culture occupied quickly of big spaces, and this intensive culture was worth in Saint-Gillois the nickname of “ Kuulkappers ” (cabbage cutters).

Saint-Gilles is one of the poorest communes of Brussels, because of the low-incomes of his inhabitants. The burgomaster Charles Picqué thus initiated policies aiming at modifying the sociology of certain poor districts of his commune, especially in the bottom of Saint-Gilles. The projects aiming, since 1992, to install a great zone of offices to the accesses of the station of the South are the example more striking. These projects, accompanied by various plans of expropriation concerning the inhabitants of four small islands of the district Midday, are carried out in the name of the public utility and of the extreme urgency. They are always far from being completed in 2007.

Burgomasters of Saint-Gilles

Personalities related to the commune

Cinema

Films made in Saint-Gilles:

Twinnings

Gallery

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