Cobblestones whisper secrets on Rue Guillaume Demuylder. These secrets echo the life of Guillaume Demuylder, the street’s namesake. Rue Guillaume Demuylder is a quiet street in Auderghem, Brussels. It connects Boulevard des Invalides to Place Thomas Balis and Chaussée de Wavre. It stretches a modest 220 meters. This seemingly ordinary street holds an extraordinary story.
Rue Guillaume Demuylder began its life in 1913. The Plissart family initiated the area’s development. Streets like Rue des Paysagistes and Rue Theodore Baron had already been established on their land. World War I interrupted the neighborhood’s growth. But after the war, in 1927, the council officially named this street “Rue Guillaume Demuylder”. Before Place Thomas Balis existed, Rue Guillaume Demuylder extended to Chaussée de Wavre. There it met Allée des Colzas. The first building permit was issued in 1930 to Comptoir des Matéraux of Brussels. They constructed buildings at numbers 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, and 35. The company later built similar structures on other avenues in Auderghem.
Guillaume Demuylder, born in Etterbeek in 1879, was a greengrocer. He lived with his wife and three children on Rue Valduc. At 34, he was conscripted into the army as a civilian military worker. He served at the military hospital in Bourbourg, France. Sadly, he died there in 1918. His remains were returned to Belgium in 1922. He was buried with honors near the monument in the Auderghem cemetery, alongside other soldiers of the Great War. Rue Guillaume Demuylder stands not just as a pathway, but as a quiet memorial to a local man caught in the tide of history. His story, woven into the fabric of the street, invites us to remember the human cost of war and to appreciate the peace that allows places like Rue Guillaume Demuylder to flourish.