Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Dilbeek and Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).
There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within Anderlecht. , the municipality had a population of 122,547 inhabitants. The total area is , which gives a population density of . Its upper area is greener and less densely populated.
History
Origins and medieval times
The first traces of human activity on the right bank of the Senne date from the Stone Age and Bronze Age. The remnants of a Roman villa and of a Frankish necropolis were also found on the territory of Anderlecht. The first mention of the name Anderlecht, however, dates only from 1047 under the forms Anrelech, then Andrelet (1111), Andreler (1148), and Anderlech (1186). At that time, this community was already home to a chapter of canons and to two feudal manors, those of the powerful lords of Aa and of Anderlecht.
In 1356, the Count of Flanders, Louis II, fought against Brussels on the territory of Anderlecht, in the so-called Battle of Scheut, supposedly over a monetary matter. Although he defeated his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Brabant, Joanna, and briefly took her title, she regained it the following year with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. In 1393, Joanna's charter made Anderlecht a part of Brussels. It is also around this time that the church of Saint Guy was rebuilt in Brabantine Gothic style above an earlier Romanesque crypt.
15th–18th centuries
The village of Anderlecht became a beacon of culture in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1521, the Dutch humanist writer and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam lived in the canons' house for a few months. Charles, Duke of Aumale and Grand Veneur of France also had a residence there.
The 17th and 18th centuries were marked by the wars between the Low Countries and France. During the Nine Years' War, it is from the high ground of Scheut, in the northern part of Anderlecht, that the bombardment of Brussels of 1695 took place. Together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. On 13 November 1792, right after the Battle of Jemappes, General Dumouriez and the French Revolutionary army routed the Austrians there once again. Among the consequences were the disbanding of the canons and Anderlecht being proclaimed an independent municipality by the French.
By the end of the 18th century, Anderlecht including its dependencies, which extended to Brussels' city walls, counted around 2,000 inhabitants. In Scheut, on the site of the Carthusian Monastery, stood a chapel called Our Lady of Scheut, whose pleasant location, in the middle of a grove, made this place very popular at the time.
19th century and later
The 19th century saw a remarkable population growth, mainly because of the proximity to a rapidly expanding Brussels. The / was laid out in 1828, through the former property of the Carthusians. The population multiplied by ten between 1830 and 1890 and doubled again between 1890 and 1910. Along the / and the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, a series of industrial and working-class districts connected the centre of Anderlecht to Cureghem.
Remarkable new urban developments and garden cities such as La Roue/Het Rad, Moortebeek and / were built at the beginning of the 20th century to house the influx of newcomers. Following World War II, some remaining green parts of the municipality also made way for large-scale urban renewal following the modernist Athens Charter and Park system, such as the housing projects Scherdemael, Peterbos and Marius Renard in the upper town, and Aurore near the canal.
Nowadays, the name Anderlecht rings a bell in every Belgian ear thanks to its very successful football club.