Etterbeek | |||
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Municipality | |||
Etterbeek town hall
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Location in Belgium | |||
Coordinates: 50°50′N 04°23′E / 50.833°N 4.383°ECoordinates: 50°50′N 04°23′E / 50.833°N 4.383°E | |||
Country | Belgium | ||
Community |
Flemish Community French Community |
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Region | Brussels | ||
Arrondissement | Brussels | ||
Government | |||
• Mayor | Vincent De Wolf (MR) | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 3.15 km2 (1.22 sq mi) | ||
Population (1 January 2016) | |||
• Total | 47,180 | ||
• Density | 15,000/km2 (39,000/sq mi) | ||
Postal codes | 1040 | ||
Area codes | 02 | ||
Website | www.etterbeek.be |
Etterbeek (French: [ɛtəʁˈbek]; Dutch: [ˈɛtərˌbeːk]) 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.
The main university campus of Vrije Universiteit Brussel is called Campus Etterbeek, although it is geographically not within Etterbeek but in the adjacent municipality of Ixelles.
According to legend, Gertrude, daughter of Pippin of Landen, founded a chapel here in the 8th century. A document by Otto I, dated 966, mentions the church of Iatrebache. The name Ietrebecca – possibly from the Celtic root ett meaning "rapid movement" and the Dutch word beek meaning "stream" – is found for the first time in a document dated 1127. The current spelling appears eleven years later in 1138, around which time a newer and larger church was built.
In the Middle Ages, Etterbeek was a rural hamlet mostly independent of Brussels, aside from taxation rights on beer given to Brussels around 1300 by John II, Duke of Brabant. The following two centuries counted several grievous moments: in 1489, Albert, Duke of Saxe ravaged Etterbeek in his pursuit of the rebels who fought against Maximilian of Austria; in 1580, the village is destroyed once more, this time by the iconoclasts during the Protestant Reformation wars. Peace came back under the reigns of Archdukes Albert and Isabella.