Auderghem
Encyclopedia
Auderghem or Oudergem (ˈɔudərʝɛm) is one of the nineteen municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.
Located to the southeast of the capital, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to the Sonian Forest
Sonian Forest
The Sonian Forest is a forest that lies across the south-eastern part of Brussels, Belgium.The forest lies in the Flemish municipalities of Sint-Genesius-Rode, Hoeilaart, Overijse and Tervuren, in Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in the Brussels-Capital Region and in...

 (Forêt de Soignes, Zoniënwoud), the municipality has an environmental advantage. Despite large roads slicing through and the increasing traffic, it has been able to preserve a relatively important part of its natural and historic legacy: the creeks, the Abbey of Rouge-Cloître or Rood Klooster (Red Cloister)
Rouge-Cloître Abbey
Rouge-Cloître Abbey is an Augustinian abbey in Auderghem, southeastern Brussels, Belgium, located on the edge of the Sonian Forest. It was founded in 1367.-References:...

 and its art center, the Priory of Val Duchesse or Hertoginnedal (Duchess Dale), the Château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...

 of Trois Fontaines or Drie Fonteinen (Three Fountains), and the remarkable Chapel of Saint Anne.
Auderghem is adjacent to the municipalities of Etterbeek
Etterbeek
Etterbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It neighbours the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek....

, Ixelles - Elsene
Ixelles-Elsene
Ixelles or Elsene is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.- Geography :...

, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Sint-Pieters-Woluwe
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Sint-Pieters-Woluwe
Woluwe-Saint-Pierre or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is mostly a well-to-do residential area, which includes the wide, park-lined, Avenue de Tervueren and the numerous embassies located near the Montgomery Square...

, and Watermael-Boitsfort - Watermaal-Bosvoorde
Watermael-Boitsfort
Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium....

.

The municipality is governed by its 16th mayor, Didier Gosuin (FDF).

History

Three forest villages (Auderghem, Watermael
Watermael-Boitsfort
Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium....

, and Boitsfort-Bosvoorde
Watermael-Boitsfort
Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium....

), were one for centuries. In 1794, the soldiers of the French Revolution decided to separate these into three distinct municipalities. In 1811, Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 decided to reunite the three villages, by imperial decree, into a single administrative entity. But Auderghem was withdrawn from this union by royal act, leaving Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde
Watermael-Boitsfort
Watermael-Boitsfort or Watermaal-Bosvoorde is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium....

 on its own. Thus, Auderghem became an independent municipality in 1863, with only 1,600 inhabitants.

With the construction of the rail line linking Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 and Tervuren
Tervuren
Tervuren is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636...

 as well as, in 1910, the construction of the Boulevard du Souverain or Vorstlaan, modernization came to the municipality and the population grew quickly.

In 1956, Paul Henri Spaak lead the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom
Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom
The Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom was held in Brussels and started on 26 June 1956 with a session in the Grand Salon of the Belgian Foreign Ministry. The negotiations went on at the Castle of the Valley of the Duchess in Auderghem and would continue until March 1957...

 at the Val Duchesse
Castle of the Valley of the Duchess
The Castle of Val-Duchesse is a former priory situated in the municipality of Auderghem in the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. The castle is owned by the Belgian Royal Trust....

 castle in Auderghem, which prepared the Treaties of Rome in 1957 and the foundation of the European Economic Community and Euratom in 1958.

Sights

The Priory of Val Duchesse or Hertoginnedal
Castle of the Valley of the Duchess
The Castle of Val-Duchesse is a former priory situated in the municipality of Auderghem in the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. The castle is owned by the Belgian Royal Trust....

, a gift of the king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

, is unfortunately rarely open to the public. In 1963, Belgium's cabinet ministers met here, planting the seeds of a federalization of the country though at conditions fiercely criticised especially in some extremist Flemish nationalist
Flemish movement
The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....

circles.

Similarly, the Chapel of Saint Anne, whose origins go back to the 12th century, is not open to the public. Decommissioned in 1843, it was sold several times. Its splendid sculptures from the Middle Ages and notable period furniture are still there to admire.

The municipality offers many green spaces.

External links

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