Schaerbeek is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium). Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
The eastern part of Schaerbeek (the area that includes Vergote Square, Boulevard Lambermont/Lambermontlaan, the Fleurs Quarter, Jamblinne de Meux Square, the Diamant Quarter and Josaphat Park) is a affluent area noted for its architecture and its convenient location (close to the EU institutions and the financial heart of the city, as well as NATO’s headquarters in the neighbouring municipality of Evere).
The western part of Schaerbeek is home to Brussels’ large Belgian Turkish community. The area around St. Mary’s Royal Church is dubbed “Little Anatolia” because of all the Turkish restaurants and shops on Chaussée de Haecht. The area is also home to a significant Belgian Moroccan population and other immigrant communities such as Spanish, Congolese, and Asian immigrants. However, the district offers a social blend because of the numerous schools like the Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Brussel, the municipal administrations and the proximity of Rue Royale/Koningsstraat.
| Country | Belgium |
|---|---|
| Community | Flemish Community French Community |
| Region | Brussels |
| Arrondissement | Brussels |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bernard Clerfayt (FDF) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.14 km2 (3.14 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 133,010 |
| • Density | 16,000/km2 (42,000/sq mi) |
Schaerbeek is nicknamed “the city of donkeys”. This name is reminiscent of times when people of Schaerbeek, who were cultivators of sour cherries primarily for Kriek production, would arrive at the Brussels marketplace with donkeys laden with sour cherries.
Sights
- Schaerbeek counts a number of Art Deco and Art Nouveau houses, including the Autrique House, the first house built by Victor Horta in the Brussels area.
- The impressive Town Hall was inaugurated by King Leopold II in 1887.
- Josaphat Park, also inaugurated by King Leopold II (in 1904), provides a haven of quiet in the heart of the city. It is bordered by the Brusilia Residence, the tallest residential building in Belgium.
- Schaerbeek railway station, where the new national railway museum of Belgium, Train World, opened in 2015.
- St. Mary’s Royal Church, an eclectic Roman Catholic church built between 1845 and 1888, which has been listed as a protected monument since 1976.
- The Clockarium is a clock museum. There is also a beer museum and a mechanical organ museum nearby.
Education
Public communal French-language secondary schools include:
- Athénée Fernand Blum, a traditional gateway to the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
- Institut communal d’enseignement technique Frans Fischer
- Lycée Emile Max
French-language subsidised religious secondary schools include:
- Centre scolaire Sainte-Marie La Sagesse
- Collège Roi Baudouin
- Institut de la Saint-Famille d’Helmet
- Collège Roi Baudouin Enseignement technique et professionnel
- Institut Technique Cardinal Mercié-Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur
- Institut Saint-Dominique
- Institut de la Vierge Fidèle
