Woluwe-Saint-Pierre

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre municipality in the Brussels-Caipital Region

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (French pronunciation: ​[wolyˈwe sɛ̃ pjɛːʁ]) or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (Dutch, pronoonced [sɪnt ˈpitərs ˈwoːlywə] ( listen)) is ane o the nineteen municipalities locatit in the Brussels-Caipital Region o Belgium. It is maistly a well-tae-dae residential aurie, whilk includes the wide, pairk-lined, Avenue de Tervueren an the numerous embassies locatit naur the Montgomery Square. O the three rivers that ance crossed the municipality, anerlie the Woluwe, a tributary o the Senne, can still lairgely be seen the day.

History

Middle Ages tae Albert an Isabella

The first appearance o the name Wolewe dates fae 1117 an can be foond in a chairter frae Forest (Vorst in Dutch). At that time, the oreeginal clachan an its farms wur dependencies o the abbey o Park naur Leuven. The onset o difficulties can be traced tae the middle o the 16t century, wi the hostilities waged bi Philip II o Spain agin the heretical Protestants an the ensuin pouerty an faimin teuk thair toll on the hail population. Safety an prosperity returned unner the reigns of Airchdukes Albert an Isabella at the beginnin o the 17t century. The first heich-gate linkin Tervuren tae Brussels, then kent as the “Street o the Duke”, dates frae that period.

18t century till nou

The French Revolution wis an aa a troubled period for Woluwe-Saint-Pierre – Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. The roads became insecur; the relieegious freedoms wur drastically curtailed; hintle o the local wildlife wis exterminatit for fuid; an the lack o coal an wood forced fowk tae uise peat for heatin. The local admeenistration gained its unthirldom frae Brussels, obtained its first mayor on Mey 26 an its first municipal cooncil in 1819. The commercial opportunities that opened up tae the new commune merked the stairt o a new era o weal. The ceety didnae expand vera fast, housomeivver, till the last twa decades o the 19t century. New roads, sic as the Tervuren Avenue, a new train track, imposin mansions, sic as the “Palais Stoclet”, an the Woluwe Park wur aw biggit or designed atween 1880 an 1910. An important race track, nou demolished, wis biggit in 1906. The residential auries came intae bein richt efter the First Warld War an further urbanisation teuk place efter the Seicont Warld War. The day, agricultur an fisheries, common afore 1918, hae completely disappeared. The aurie lives naurly exclusively aff the service sector o the economy.

Sichts

Woluwe Saint-Pierre’s toun haw

• The extensive Woluwe Park includes giant sequoias, cypresses, an a variety o birds such as swans, gulls, an herons.
• The imposin modren ceety haw is open tae visitors.
• The toun’s main kirk (Saunt Peter) wis erectit in 1755 on the steid o a hintle aulder biggin an perpendicular tae it, wi funds frae the abbey o Forest. Traces o the aulder biggin can still be seen on the left o the current kirk.
• Several turn-o-the-century hooses an manors can still be seen the day, such as the Palais Stoclet, whilk wis biggit atween 1905 an 1909 on a design bi Josef Hoffmann an contains mosaics an pentins bi Gustav Klimt.
• The Bibliotheca Wittockiana hooses ane o the maist prestigious beukbindin collections in the warld.

Famous inhabitants

• Henri, comte de Paris, duc de France, pretender tae the French throne (b. 1933)
• Eddy Merckx (no currently residin), professional cyclist, multiple winner o the Tour de France an Giro d'Italia in the 1960s an 1970s.

Twin ceeties

• Rwanda: Ruyumba, Gitarama Province
• Sooth Korea: Gangnam
• USA: New Iberia, Louisiana
• Romanie: Pecica
• Cheenae: Chaoyang
• Indie: Chennai

See an aa

• Woluwe-Saint-Lambert or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, an adjacent municipality
• Woluwe River
• Sint-Stevens-Woluwe

References

• Falkenback, Pierre (1973). Historique de Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (in French). Brussels: Commune de Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. OCLC 1419423.
• Culot, P. (1996). Bibliotheca Wittockiana. Brussels:Crédit communal, ISBN 9055441031.

Freemit airtins

• Offeecial steid o the municipality Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, in French, Dutch, an Inglis
• Offeecial wabsteid o the Bibliotheca Wittockiana