Timeline of Brussels


The following is a timeline of the history of Brussels, Belgium.
WWW bruxelles.be/chronologie-...

Prehistory

Roman Period

Middle Ages

  • 4th–6th centuries CE
  • * Frankish tribes occupy territories between the Meuse and Scheldt rivers.
  • * A Frankish tomb is built on the Zeecrabbeweg.
  • 500–700: A Merovingian cemetery containing over three hundred graves is located on the Champ Saint-Anne/Sint-Annaveld.
  • 580 – Saint Gaugericus builds on an island in the river Senne, laying the origin of the settlement which is to become Brussels.
  • – Saint Alena dies in Forest.
  • 843 – 10 August: The region becomes part of Lotharingia after the signing of the Treaty of Verdun.
  • 870 – First mention of the is made in the Treaty of Meerssen.
  • 959 – The city becomes part of Lower Lotharingia.
  • 977–979 – A castrum is constructed on Saint-Géry/Sint-Goriks Island.
  • 979 – Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, transfers the relics of Saint Gudula to the chapel built by Saint Gaugericus, marking the city's official founding.
  • 1001 – Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine, becomes Count of Brussels.
  • 1012 – Saint Guy dies in Anderlecht on his return home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
  • 1015–1020 – Oldest written record of the city is made by.
  • 1041–1047 – The Palace of Coudenberg begins construction.
  • 1047 – The relics of Saint Gudula are transferred from the Church of St. Gaugericus to the [Cathedral of St. Michael (archangel)|Michael and St. Gudula|Church of St. Michael] by Lambert II, Count of Leuven.
  • 1063–1100 – The city's first fortifications are built.
  • 1076–1078 – Lady Renilde, widow of Folcard, Lord of Anderlecht, establishes a chapter in Anderlecht and brings over the relics of Saint Guy.
  • 1095
  • * Dieleghem Abbey is first attested.
  • * The is first recorded, possibly founded by Steppo de Brosele.
  • 1105 – Forest Abbey is founded.
  • 1125 – The is first attested.
  • 1129 – The Lindekemale Mill is first attested.
  • 1135 – The city's seal is first attested, depicting the Archangel Michael robed, with outstretched wings, a halo, and the Latin inscription Sigillum Sancti Michaëlis.
  • 1142 or 1147 – The takes place.
  • 1150 – St. Peter's Hospital is established as a leper colony, run by a community of lay brothers and sisters, outside the city's walls.
  • 1152 – is first attested.
  • 1174 – The Grand-Place/Grote Markt is first attested as the or.
  • 1183 – The Duchy of Brabant is formed after the merger of the Counties of Brussels and Leuven and the Landgraviate of Brabant.
  • 1187–1260 – Gerard of Brussels, a geometer and philosopher, authors Liber de motu.
  • 1190 – Richard I of England passes through the city.
  • 1195 – St. John's Clinic is established.
  • 1196 – La Cambre Abbey is founded by Benedictine noble.
  • 1209 – The is first attested.
  • 1213
  • * The Grand Royal and Noble Oath of the Crossbowmen of Our Lady of Sablon is established.
  • * 9 August: The Meyboom is planted for the first time.
  • 1225 – The current Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula begins construction.
  • 1228 – Duke Henry the Courageous designates the Het Heideken area as common land.
  • 1229
  • * The city establishes an account to collect revenues, including taxes, fines, and royalties, ensuring financial independence.
  • * 10 June: Duke Henry the Courageous issues a for the city.
  • 1238 – The Recollects establish a convent in the city.
  • 1250
  • * The Great Beguinage of Brussels is formalised by Duke John the Victorious.
  • * 11 June: Saint Alice dies in isolation from leprosy at La Cambre Abbey.
  • 1252 – The Beguinage of Anderlecht is founded.
  • 1253 – Karreveld Castle is first mentioned in a deed of donation by John the Victorious to his wife, Margaret.
  • 1258 – The is first attested.
  • 1262 – The is established by Adelaide of Burgundy, Duchess of Brabant.
  • 1265 – 19 February: Saint Boniface dies at La Cambre Abbey.
  • 1267 – Duke John the Victorious relocates the capital of the Duchy of Brabant from Leuven to the city.
  • 1270 – First mention of the ducal is made.
  • – Beghards first appear in the city.
  • 1282 – First mention of the Drapery Court and the is made.
  • 1289 – The cloth guild is officially recognised by Duke John the Victorious.
  • 1290
  • * Duke John the Victorious bans artisans from forming associations without prior approval from the aldermen and the amman.
  • * 18 June: The hermit is buried alive for theft and witchcraft, with a later built on her burial site.
  • 1292 – Duke John the Victorious grants the city the right to collect taxes on crane use at the quay and on city gates rentes.
  • 1295
  • * Duke John the Peaceful authorises aldermen to collect duty on beer as a town revenue.
  • * Meulebeek is part of the.
  • 1296 – 14 February: Obbrussel becomes part of the Coop.
  • 1301 – Schaerbeek becomes part of the Coop.
  • 1303 – 6 May: Following a rebellion sparked by patriciate efforts to join the Drapery Court, Duke John the Peaceful grants them the right through a formal privilege, marking the beginning of the.
  • 1304 – The Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon is founded.
  • 1305 – Walter the Wild is killed by his cousin Joris van der Noot for their shared love for Goedele van der Zennen, and later lends his name to the.
  • 1306
  • * 1 February: A quarrel between a commoner and a patrician sparks a riot and defies ducal authority.
  • * Early February: Craftsmen draft a new constitution, but Duke John the Peaceful refuses to recognise it.
  • * Mid-February: Duke John the Peaceful sides with the patricians, declaring virtual war on the craftsmen.
  • * 19 March: The Guilds of and are first attested.
  • * 1 May: The craftsmen are defeated in battle.
  • * 12 June: The Seven Noble Houses of Brussels are first attested when Duke John the Peaceful authorises the magistrates to suppress unrest, disarming craftsmen, prohibiting guild meetings, and restoring the city government with seven aldermen chosen by the Noble Houses.
  • 1308 – The Meyboom is first attested.
  • 1312 – Etterbeek becomes part of the Coop.
  • 1315–1317 – The Great Famine ravages the region.
  • 1316 – A plague epidemic strikes the city's population.
  • 1318 – John of Ruusbroec becomes a parish priest at the Church of St. Michael and St. Gudula together with his uncle Jan Hinckaert.
  • 1320 – A horse market is first held on the Grand Sablon/Grote Zavel, continuing until 1754.
  • 1321 – Dry Borren is first attested as a hermitage.
  • 1328
  • * The is first attested.
  • * The Walsche Plaetse is first attested suggesting an early presence of Romance-speakers in the city.
  • 1331 – Laeken becomes part of the Coop.
  • 1334 – The city sets up a financial structure with two treasurers overseeing accounts.
  • 1335 – 23 August: The Christian mystic Heilwige Bloemardinne, considered the city's first feminist, dies.
  • 1341 – An ordinance forbids defecation and urination in the streets under penalty of a fine, but it is widely ignored.
  • 1342 – The city bans the construction of thatched roofs to prevent fires.
  • 1344 – Willem van Duvenvoorde receives permission from the Diocese of Cambrai to add the to the Inn of the Lek.
  • 1348 – The Ommegang begins as a Marian procession.
  • 1349
  • * The Black Death arrives in the city.
  • * September: A pogrom against the Jewish population takes place.
  • 1353
  • * The city council decides to build a cloth hall to complement the Bread Hall and the Meat Hall.
  • * A court of peacemakers for the settlement of disputes is established.
  • 1356
  • * The Joyous Entry of Joanna and Wenceslaus into the city takes place.
  • * 17 August: : Louis II, Count of Flanders defeats Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, who then besieges the city.
  • * 24 October: The city is liberated by group of Brabantian patriots led by Everard 't Serclaes, Lord of Kruikenburg.
  • * The expansion of the city's fortifications begins.
  • 1360 – 22 July: occurs, inspired by revolt in Leuven, as craftsmen take up arms and burn the, but the rebels are soon defeated by patricians, and stringent penal laws are enacted.
  • 1365 – The is recognised.
  • 1367 – Rouge Cloître Abbey is founded.
  • 1368
  • * Jan Collaey donates land near the to the Alexians, on what is now the.
  • * Moderate patricians begin implementing measures to grant the bourgeois greater participatory rights in the city government, as discontent and revolution continue to threaten.
  • 1370 – 22 May: The Sacrament of Miracle occurs, killing 6–20, followed by the expulsion of the city's remaining Jewish population.
  • 1375 – 19 June: A ducal act requires all married or widowed men aged 28 or older to register in the city's books and designate affiliation with a specific Noble House.
  • 1380 – Geert Pipenpoy becomes the city's first mayor.
  • 1381 – The Grand Royal Oath of St. George of the Crossbowmen of Brussels and the Royal Grand Oath of the Archers of St. Sebastian are established by the Duchess of Brabant.
  • 1382 – After unrest in Leuven, hundreds of merchants and thousands of skilled craftsmen migrate to the city in one of its earliest large-scale migrations.
  • 1383 – The original Halle Gate is built.
  • 1388
  • * 26 March: A military expedition heads to Gaasbeek Castle after Everard t'Serclaes, on his way from Ternat to the city, is mutilated by order of Sweder of Abcoude.
  • * 31 March: Everard t'Serclaes dies at the guildhall on the Grand-Place.
  • 1394 – Anderlecht and Forest become part of the Coop.
  • 1400 – Population:.
  • 1401 – The Town Hall begins construction on the Grand-Place.
  • 1402 – The Sacrament of Miracle is recognised by the church.
  • 1404 – 1 July: The is established by Anthony, Duke of Brabant.
  • 1405 – A fire ravages the city.
  • 1406
  • * 14 April: A fire destroys part of the Church of Our Lady of the Chapel and the surrounding neighbourhood.
  • * 18 December: The Joyous Entry of Anthony the Great Bastard into the city takes place.
  • 1407 – A fire brigade, made up of craft guild members and locals, is in existence, though water is often in shortage despite a water service.
  • 1411 – 12 June: The Homines Intelligentiae are first mentioned in an ecclesiastical ruling by Pierre d'Ailly, and are prosecuted, resulting in the imprisonment and exile of their leader William of Hildernissen.
  • 1420
  • * 5 February: chamber of rhetoric is recognised by John IV, Duke of Brabant.
  • * 30 September: Duke John IV flees the city after the States of Brabant appointed Philip of Saint Pol as.
  • 1421
  • * 21 January: Duke John IV retakes the city with an army composed largely of German knights.
  • * 27 January: The guilds occupy the Grand-Place and crowds demonstrate before the Coudenberg Palace in support of Philip of Saint Pol.
  • * 29 January: The former Amman Jan Clutinc is decapitated, ducal household members arrested, and pro-John aldermen imprisoned or flee.
  • * 11 February: The guilds, organised into the Nine Nations, join the Seven Noble Houses in city governance as part of democratic reforms.
  • * 11 October: Duke John IV returns to the city.
  • 1422 – The settle in the city.
  • 1424 – The city's aldermen issue the earliest known municipal regulation in the Low Countries on medicine and midwifery.
  • 1429 – Wein van Cotthem becomes chaplain of Dry Borren.
  • 1430 – 4 August: The city becomes part of the Burgundian State when it is inherited by Duke Philip the Good following the death of Duke Philip of Saint-Pol.
  • 1436 – Rogier van der Weyden is appointed city artist.
  • 1444 – 4 March: Count Charles the Bold lays the foundation stone of the right wing of the Town Hall.
  • 1448 – The ' is decreed to be staged every year on the day of the procession on the Niedermerct.
  • 1452 – Manneken Pis is first mentioned as Julisenken Borre.
  • 1455
  • * The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament of the Miracle is built.
  • * The Town Hall is completed.
  • 1456 – 7 September: The led by prior Hendrik van Loen is established.
  • 1457 – The Dominicans are authorised to establish a presence in the city and relocate to.
  • 1460–1486 – Adolph and Philip of Cleves settle in the Hôtel de Meldert and transform it and adjacent properties into an extensive ensemble, comprising the current Hôtel Ravenstein.
  • 1461 – The legislative powers of the aldermen are reduced under the Sentence of Saint-Omer.
  • 1463 – The is founded by William of Hulstbosch.
  • 1464 – Population:.
  • 1467 – 24 October: The Joyous Entry of Duke Charles the Bold into the city takes place.
  • 1473 – Disliking the city, Charles the Bold moves the Chamber of Accounts of Brabant to Mechelen, making it the financial and judicial capital.
  • 1476–1476 – The city's first printing press is established by the Brethren of the Common Life.
  • 1477
  • * The Habsburgs come to power in the Burgundian Netherlands, with the city as their capital.
  • * March: A under Willem van Marbais, Jan Bogaert and Willem van Ruysbroeck takes place.
  • * The Harquebusiers of St. Christopher are established.
  • * 11 February: Duchess Mary of Burgundy grants the Great Privilege, which restores the liberties of the States General abrogated by her father and grandfather.
  • * 4 June: The Joyous Entry of Duchess Mary of Burgundy into the city takes place.
  • 1479 – 13 October: chamber of rhetoric is first attested.
  • 1480 – The ' is established.
  • 1486
  • * chamber of rhetoric is first attested following the Joyous Entry of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
  • * 6 May: chamber of rhetoric is first attested.
  • 1487 – The in is founded by Nicolas de Vucht.
  • 1488
  • * 18 September: Philip of Cleves enters the city through the Flanders Gate at the head of a French-Flemish army.
  • * 20 September: The city proclaims the Peace of Bruges, officially joining the Flemish Revolt.
  • * November: The city attempts to capture Beersel Castle but fails.
  • 1489
  • * 23 January: An ordinance declares the city's support for Philip of Cleves and threatens sanctions against supporters of Maximilian I.
  • * April: The city besieges and captures Beersel Castle; William of Ramilly and several soldiers are lynched at the Grand-Place.
  • * 14 August: The is signed, punishing the city and Leuven for their roles in the Flemish Revolt.
  • 1499 – 25 February: The is established by members of De Lelie and De Violette.

16th century

17th century

  • 1604 – 16 July: St. John Berchmans College is established.
  • 1607 – The Discalced Carmelite Convent is established by Ana de Jesús.
  • 1612 – Upon his death, Priest Nicaise Mozet establishes the Fondatie op het Kerkhof a small hermitage for women.
  • 1616 – 1 September: The is established.
  • 1618 – 28 September: The opens.
  • 1619
  • * Jérôme Duquesnoy is commissioned to recast Manneken Pis in bronze for 50 florins.
  • * 12 July: A riot breaks out after the city imposes a tax on wine and beer.
  • * 16 December: Daniel Raessens is tasked with providing the pedestal for Manneken Pis for 180 florins.
  • – The Mesthoop is created near the Rue d'Ophem/Oppemstraat as a collection point for human and animal waste for rural disposal, while industrial waste is dumped into the Senne.
  • 1622 – The funeral of Archduke Albert VII takes place.
  • 1623
  • * The is established.
  • * The Brotherhood of St. Hubertus is established.
  • 1624 – The Brotherhood of St. Joseph is established.
  • 1625
  • * The opens to force beggars, slackers, and vagrants to produce textile goods, with Daniel Sirejacobs serving as its first director.
  • * 24 November: The first postulants enter the.
  • 1631
  • * The Brotherhoods of St. Eligius and St. Guido are established for the coachmen of the Court under the protection of the Infanta Isabella.
  • * Most opponents of Cardinal Richelieu take refuge in the city, including the Dukes of Vendôme and Bouillon, as well as Marie de' Medici.
  • 1634 – In a sparsely populated area at the end of the, a house is constructed to isolate and care for plague sufferers.
  • 1638 – 12 May: The Royal Brotherhood of the Holy Name of Mary is established.
  • 1646
  • * The is founded.
  • * 6 October: Purple rain falls on the city; the downpour elicits scientific examination and explanation.
  • 1648 – The is established.
  • 1654 – The Barony of Jette is formed.
  • 1656 – During the Counter-Reformation, Protestants hold secret services until chapels open in the Dutch embassy and the English mission, allowing public worship.
  • 1657 – De Wijngaard theatre company is established, possibly out of 't Mariacranske.
  • 1659 – The Barony of Jette is elevated to a county.
  • 1668
  • * 7 June: The city enacts an ordinance to combat the Black Death and appoints a Plague Master to oversee the care of the sick.
  • * 27 July: To prevent the spread of the Black Death, the city restricts movement to evenings, bans gatherings, and prohibits the sale of certain foods, while confiscating and destroying grain, flour, and meat.
  • 1669 – 13 October: The is consecrated.
  • 1670 – 7 January: A posthumous mass is held in honour of the victims of the Black Death.
  • 1672 – The is built.
  • 1675 – The Royal Military and Mathematics Academy of Brussels is established.
  • 1677 – Evere is incorporated into the Principality of Hornes after its lord, Eugene Maximilian of Hornes, is elevated to the rank of prince by King Charles II of Spain.
  • 1682 – 24 January: The Opéra du Quai au Foin opens as the first public theatre in the city.
  • 1684
  • * French troops burn down Ixelles, Koekelberg, Molenbeek, Berchem, and Uccle.
  • * 17 January – 400 French cavalrymen set fire to several dozen small houses in Ixelles.
  • 1686 – 3 September: The Palace of Thurn and Taxis on the Sablon hosts a grand banquet to celebrate the Holy League's victory in the Siege of Buda. Fireworks light up the Sablon, attracting a crowd.
  • 1690 – 11–12 October: A fire breaks out in guildhall on the Grand-Place.
  • 1691 – The settle in.
  • 1695
  • * 13–15 August: The city is bombarded by the French, destroying a third of its buildings, including the Grand-Place.
  • * 19 August: Manneken Pis is returned, with Latin verses, after citizens removed the statue to protect it during the bombardment.
  • 1696 – 7 November: The Tour du Miroir collapses.
  • 1697–1698: Reconstruction of the Grand-Place is largely completed.
  • 1698 – 1 May: Manneken Pis receives his first costume from Governor Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria.
  • 1699 – 17 December: The Den Luyster en de glorie van het hertogdom van Brabant, a compendium of rights and privileges granted to the Nine Nations, is banned, sparking armed resistance met by Spanish and Bavarian battalions.
  • 1700
  • * April: The Luyster van Brabant conflict ends.
  • * 20 August: Governor Maximilian II Emmanuel issues the Additional Decree, tightening royal control and curbing local powers.
  • * 17 October: The first Theatre of La Monnaie, then spelled La Monnoye, opens.

18th century

Evolution of the Brussels map

In English

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;Published in the 20th century
;Published in the 21st century
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In other languages

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