Imagine stepping back in time to 1040 in Brussels. This wasn’t just any year. It was a time of significant change and fortification for the city.
The story of 1040 in Brussels is deeply intertwined with its early development. We are talking about the capital of the Kingdom of Belgium. In 1905, Brussels had a population of 612,041, including its suburbs. The city grew on the banks of the Senne River.
Tradition credits Saint Gery, Bishop of Cambrai, with Brussels’ earliest settlement around the end of the sixth century. He purportedly constructed a village and a small chapel on an island in the Senne. But Brussels first appeared in history toward the end of the ninth century as Brosella. This means dwelling on the marsh.
Around 1040, Brussels was part of the dower of Gerberga. She was Emperor Otto the Great’s sister. She got it when she married Giselbert of Lorraine. Duke Charles of Lorraine, a descendant of Charlemagne, made Brussels his primary residence. He brought the bones of Saint Gudule there from Mortzelle Abbey in 979. Saint Gudule has been the town’s patron saint ever since.
When Charles’ son Otto died without heirs in 1004, the castles of Brussels, Vilvord, and Louvain fell to Lambert Balderic. He was Charles’ brother-in-law. These estates formed the Duchy of Brabant’s core.
What physical evidence remains from Brussels in 1040? A few things remain. There is the nave and aisles of the old parish church of Saint Nicholas. Then there is the chapel of the Holy Cross in the church of Notre-Dame de La Chapelle. Most importantly, there is the subterranean church of Saint Guy at Anderlecht. It remains today as the builder planned it. Lambert Balderic also surrounded the city with fortifications in 1040. Some fragments of these still exist.
Brussels steadily gained importance. It sat on the main inland commercial highway. This route connected the Low Countries and Cologne. Brussels became a significant center.
By 1895, Brussels had earned the title of “seaport”. The Charleroi Canal connected it to the Sambre. The Willebroek Canal connected it to the Scheldt. The Willebroek Canal was enlarged after 1901.
From the twelfth century, Brussels became the residence of the Dukes of Lower Lorraine and Brabant. It grew into a populous center of life and commerce. Like other medieval cities, it faced pestilence, fire, and pillage. Brussels followed the path of medieval Brabant. It fell to the Dukes of Burgundy. Then, it went to the Austrian Hapsburgs after Charles the Bold died in 1477.
In the fifteenth century, the Dukes of Burgundy held court in Brussels. They spoke French. They surrounded themselves with French knights and civil servants. Gradually, French became the language of the local nobility and upper classes. However, Flemish remained the speech of the common people. It remains the speech of most citizens still.
Charles V made Brussels the capital of the Low Countries. Under Philip II, it opposed Spanish rule. In 1577, the “Brussels Union” was signed. This was a peace agreement between the Spanish authority and the rebellious Belgians. But in 1585, the Spanish general Alessandro Farnese captured the city.
Ambrose Marechal Villeroi almost entirely consumed Brussels by fire in 1695. This happened during a siege. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Brussels was under Austrian rule with brief exceptions. From 1794 to 1814, Napoleon incorporated Brussels into France. In 1830, the Belgian Revolution occurred in Brussels. It was against Dutch misrule. Brussels became the capital of the new Kingdom of Belgium that same year.
The story of 1040 in Brussels is a reminder. It reminds us that even in its earliest days, Brussels was a place of strategic importance. It was a place of commerce, and a place where the foundations of a future capital were being laid. As you stand here, remember the long and rich history that stretches back over a thousand years.