Anderlecht is a Brussels municipality with a history of Roman villas and mushroom cellars.
In short: Beyond its fame as a football powerhouse, Anderlecht is a diverse Brussels municipality defined by centuries of transformation. From its origins as a medieval religious center to its industrial evolution along the canal, this district hides a unique past involving humanist scholars, missionary networks, and subterranean mushroom farming.
Anderlecht occupies the south-western portion of the Brussels-Capital Region, spanning 17.91 square kilometres. While its first human traces date back to the Stone and Bronze Ages, the name Anderlecht only emerged in 1047. By the 15th and 16th centuries, it had become a cultural beacon, notably hosting the humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam in 1521. The area's strategic high ground, Scheut, later became the site of the 1695 bombardment of Brussels, the most destructive event in the city's history.
The 19th century triggered rapid industrialisation, particularly along the Brussels–Charleroi Canal. This growth transformed the landscape, leading to the development of working-class districts like Cureghem and garden cities such as La Roue. The municipality's architectural diversity is striking, ranging from the 10th-century Romanesque crypt of the Church of St. Peter and St. Guido to the Art Deco Synagogue of Anderlecht, completed in 1933. The area also served as the base for the Scheut Missionaries, who expanded their influence from China to the Congo.
Perhaps most unusual is the history of the Cureghem Cellars. Originally built as a foundation for a 1890s cattle market, these subterranean brick vaults were repurposed in the 1930s for mushroom cultivation. Decades later, the space found new life as an event venue, famously hosting the Body Worlds exhibition between 2008 and 2009. Today, Anderlecht remains a heterogeneous mix of residential neighbourhoods, industrial heritage, and modern urban renewal projects like the Plan Canal, housing a population of 126,581 as of January 2024.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Anderlecht
- Also: Wikidata — R.S.C. Anderlecht · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Anderlecht · CC0
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