( French, ) or ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the

Brussels-Capital Region Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...

, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

. It is also bordered by the municipalities of

Auderghem Auderghem ( French, ; former Dutch spelling) or Oudergem ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-eastern part of the region, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to the ...

Etterbeek Etterbeek (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the Cit ...

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

, Saint-Gilles and

Watermael-Boitsfort Watermael-Boitsfort (French language, French, ) or Watermaal-Bosvoorde (Dutch language, Dutch, ; ), often simply called Boitsfort in French or Bosvoorde in Dutch, is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipal ...

. , the municipality had a population of 88,521 inhabitants. The total area is , which gives a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of . In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

(French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the region, and is particularly noted for its communities of European and Congolese immigrants.

Geography

Ixelles is located in the south-east of Brussels and is divided into two parts by the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan, which is part of the

. The municipality's smaller western part includes the Rue du Bailli/Baljuwstraat and extends roughly from the Avenue Louise to the /, whilst its larger eastern part includes campuses of Brussels' two leading universities—the French-speaking

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

(ULB) and the Dutch-speaking

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

(VUB)—along with the Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein. The Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos is located just south of Ixelles. The construction of the Avenue Louise was commissioned in 1847 as a monumental avenue bordered by chestnut trees that would allow easy access from Brussels' city centre to the popular recreational area of the Bois de la Cambre. It was also to be the first ''Haussmann-esque'' artery of the city. Originally, fierce resistance to the project was put up by the town of Ixelles—then, as now, a separate municipality (local authority) from the City of Brussels—through whose territory the avenue was to run. After years of fruitless negotiations, Brussels finally annexed the narrow band of land needed for the avenue, in addition to the Bois de la Cambre itself, in 1864. That decision accounts for the unusual shape of today's City of Brussels and for the separation of Ixelles into two separate areas.

History

Medieval origins

The placename was first mentioned in 1210 as ''Elsela'', from the

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...

, meaning

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

woods. The origins of the village date from the foundation of

La Cambre Abbey La Cambre Abbey (, ) or Ter Kameren Abbey () is a former Cistercian abbey in the City of Brussels, Belgium. It is located in the Maelbeek valley between the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos and the Ixelles Ponds. The abbey church is a Cathol ...

. Hendrik I, Duke of Brabant, donated the Pennebeke domain to the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

nun Gisela in 1201. She in turn founded the Abbey, and in 1210, acquired property on which the duke ordered the construction of a mill. The marshlands around the Abbey were later drained and sanitised, which resulted in four springs which served as a source of fish for the Abbey's inhabitants and the neighbouring hamlets. The Abbey was located near the springs of the Maelbeek stream in the

Sonian Forest The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood (, ; , ) is a forest at the south-eastern edge of Brussels, Belgium. It is connected to the Bois de la Cambre, Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, an urban public park which enters the city up to from the Pentag ...

, the remnant of which closest to Brussels became known as the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos in the 19th century. The Abbey was recognised by Jan III van Bethune, the

Bishop of Cambrai This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras. On the death ...

in 1202, soon after its foundation. The saints Boniface of Brussels and Alice of Schaerbeek were two of its most famous residents in the 13th century. Abb

Around 1300, during the reign of John II, Duke of Brabant, a hostel was built near the Abbey to provide meals to the wood bearers working in the forest. Soon, a hamlet and a couple of chapels were built, including the Church of the Holy Cross, also inaugurated by the Bishop of Cambrai and dedicated to Mary and the Holy Cross in 1459. Initially, these hamlets and provisions were constructed for the labourers who helped drain and sanitise the marshlands. At that time, part of Ixelles was a dependence of Brussels; the other part was the property of the local lord.

Before the Revolution

In 1478, the wars between King

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

and

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

, brought devastation to the Abbey and the surrounding areas. In 1585, during the period of the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

, the Spanish burned down most of the buildings to prevent them from being used as a refuge by

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

s. The Abbey was restored in time for the

Joyous Entry A Joyous Entry (; ) is a ceremonial event marking the entry into a city by a monarch, prince, duke, or governor in parts of modern-day Belgium. Originating in the Middle Ages, it generally coincided with the affirmation or extension of the city' ...

of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella in 1599. Further manors and castles (Ermitage, Ten Bosch and Ixelles, for example) were built in Ixelles in the 16th century, gradually transforming the hamlet into a full-fledged village. Thanks to the Maelbeek springs and the purity of its waters, a brewing industry became active in the area. It started inside the Abbey, but by the 16th century, had expanded beyond its walls. Due to the liberalisation of beer manufacturing by the

Council of Brabant The Council of Brabant was the highest law court in the historic Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, a ...

in 1602, the industry grew, which resulted in a lively scene by the banks of the spring. By the 17th and 18th centuries, around 20 breweries-cabarets had settled in Ixelles, among which Saint-Hubert, De Sterre and L'Italie.

Independent municipality

In 1795, like many other towns surrounding Brussels, Ixelles was proclaimed a separate municipality by the French regime after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. The municipalities of Neder-Elsene ("Lower Ixelles", where the Abbey is located), Opper-Elsene ("Upper Ixelles", a Brussels suburb), Boondaal, Tenbos, and Solbos, all became part of Ixelles. Moreover, the Abbey was stripped of its religious functions, becoming among others a cotton-manufacturing plant, a farm, a military school, and a hospital. Many of the medieval gates of Brussels that lined what is now the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road) were taken down and more streets were built to accommodate the migration towards the suburbs. Ixelles' population grew nearly one-hundredfold, from 677 in 1813 to more than 58,000 in 1900. With this intense growth also came the

Francisation Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), also known as Frenchification, is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by more a ...

of the municipality. At the end of the 19th century, some of the ponds were drained, leaving only the so-called "

Ixelles Ponds The Ixelles Ponds () or Elsene Ponds () are two freshwater ponds in the Brussels municipality of Ixelles, Belgium. The ponds we can see today are those spared by a 19th-century campaign of drying the wetlands of the Maelbeek valley between La ...

", and a new Church of the Holy Cross was built in 1860. The first

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

appeared in 1884 and the first cinema in 1919. By then, Ixelles and the Avenue Louise had become one of the most fashionable areas of Brussels. Artists and celebrities moved in, leading to architectural novelties such as

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Matongé

Ixelles is known throughout Belgium for its large community of people of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

n origin. This population is mainly concentrated near the

Namur Gate The Namur Gate (, ; , ) was one of the medieval city gates of the second walls of Brussels, Belgium. Built in the 14th century, it was one of the major entry points on the city's south-eastern side to Ixelles. The gatehouse was demolished in 1 ...

and the /, and the neighbourhood is nicknamed ''Matongé'' or ''Matongué'' after the marketplace and commercial district with the same name in

Kalamu Kalamu is a commune in the Funa District of Kinshasa, located in the western region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covering an area of 6.64 square kilometers, Kalamu lies in the central part of the city-province of Kinshasa. It is bord ...

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

(Democratic Republic of the Congo). The core of ''Matongé'' was formed in late 1950s by the foundation of ''Maisaf'' (an abbreviation of ''Maison Africaine'', meaning "African House"), which served as a centre and residence for university students from the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

. After Congolese independence in 1960, the district faced an influx of immigrants from the new state who shaped the neighbourhood in a style to resemble the original ''Matongé''. During the 1960s and into the '70s, the area was a well known meeting place for students and diplomats from

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

. At the time they were known locally as ''Belgicains''. Communities from other African countries (mainly from Rwanda, Burundi, Mali, Cameroon, and Senegal) are also present in the district. Two famous shopping arcades, the Ixelles Gallery and the Namur Gate Gallery, are located in the heart of ''Matongé''. In the galleries and the adjoining streets, a large number of specialised food shops and suppliers can be found. The area is renowned for its clothes, shoes and material shops, hairdressers and wigmakers, booksellers, jewellers and craft shops, making the area unmissable for many local and even international visitors. Over 45 different nationalities amongst the residents and shopkeepers can be counted, including most African countries. Statistically, many of the shopkeepers are not necessarily local residents. Amongst the visitors and window shoppers to ''Matongé'' are many who appreciate African fashion and lifestyle. The district also attained notoriety from the early 2000s with

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

perpetrated by African gangs, partly composed of exiled

child soldiers Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

like ''Black Démolition''. It was the scene of

race riots This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms. Africa Americas United States Nativist period: 1700s� ...

in January 2001. ''Matongé'', with its more recent immigrant communities from Latin America, Pakistan, and India along with African ones, is seen as a symbol of

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

in Belgium. The local authorities, community groups and residents with a certain degree of success have more recently re-established the area as a safe place to visit. As the area and property ages there is increased pressure and interest from property developers to expand the European Quarter on one side and the fashionable Avenue Louise on the other, effectively ''Matongé'' is sandwiched between the two. Every year since 2001 at the end of June, a multicultural festival, ''Matongé en Couleurs'', has been organised in the area. The date coincides with the celebration of Congolese independence. The film '' Juju Factory'', released in 2006, was partly filmed in the area. The local television channel BX1 (formerly Télé Bruxelles) broadcasts a weekly magazine programme, ''Téle Matongé XL''. The pedestrian street / has many snack-bars where African food is sold. Most of these have been decorated by the famous Afro-European artist John Bush. ''Le Soleil d'Afrique'' has almost become his museum, with not only his original paintings on display, but also other painted surfaces and furniture.

Main sights

* The buildings of

, close to the territory of Ixelles, house a renowned school for the visual arts, the National Geographic Institute, and various parish functions. * The

and Tenbosch Park are noted parks in the middle of the municipality. * The

Flagey Building The Flagey Building (; ), also known as the Radio House (; ), is a building located in Ixelles, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, housing the Flagey cultural centre. It is located on the south-western corner of the Place Eugène Flagey/Eug ...

, also known as the ''Radio House'', a

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

building on the

Place Eugène Flagey The (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch), usually shortened to the Place Flagey, or Flagey by locals, is a Town square, square in the Ixelles municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It bears the name of a former mayor of Ixelles, ...

, used to house the Belgian National Institute of Radio Broadcasting (INR/NIR). * The Résidence de la Cambre, the first high-rise building in Brussels, on the /, is another notable

building. * Ixelles was a centre of

architecture in the first decades of the 20th century. Several Art Nouveau houses built by

Victor Horta Victor Pierre Horta (; Victor, Baron Horta after 1932; 6 January 1861 – 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. He was a fervent admirer of the French architectural theoris ...

are listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, and some of them can be visited. * The three Brussels universities—the

(ULB),

(VUB) and Saint-Louis University—have campuses in Ixelles. As a result, the south-eastern part of the municipality is home to a large number of students. * Ixelles Cemetery is one of the most important cemeteries in the country as it contains the graves of a number of famous Belgian personalities. It was there, in 1891, that the French General

Georges Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

, leader of the right-wing ''Boulangerists'', committed suicide, on the tomb of his mistress, who had died a couple of months earlier. * Ixelles also houses several interesting churches and museums, including the

Museum of Ixelles The Museum of Ixelles (; ), also called the (Municipal) Museum of Fine Arts of Ixelles (; ), is a municipal art museum in Brussels, Belgium, focusing on Belgian art from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum is located at 71, / in Ixelles. ...

, as well as the Constantin Meunier Museum, established in the residence where the artist lived part of his life. File:Abb.de la Cambre, palais abbatial.JPG, View from the ''

cour d'honneur A court of honor ( ; ) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes with a fourth side, co ...

'' (main courtyard) of

, located in the

close to Ixelles File:Ancien atelier et habitation de Clas Grüner Sterner Door 1.jpg, An

doorway in Ixelles, dating from 1902 File:Ixelles Ponds.JPG, View of the

towards the Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein File:DSC 4320© Lara Herbinia.jpg, The main building on the ''Solbosch'' campus of the

(ULB), located in the

close to Ixelles File:Ancien Institut national de Radiodiffusion - vue d'ensemble.JPG,

(or ''Radio House'') on the Place Eugène Flagey

Events

Several fairs are organised in Ixelles, including the Spring Fair on the Place Eugène Flagey, which takes place between the fourth and sixth Sunday after Easter, as well as the Boondael Fair at the end of July. Brussels Universities Cyclocross is a

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

race that is regularly held in the adjacent campuses of the

(ULB) and the

(VUB), located in eastern Ixelles.

Demographics

Migrant communities in Ixelles with over 1,000 people as of 1 January 2020:

Politics

The current city council was elected in the October 2018 elections. The current mayor of Ixelles is , a member of

Ecolo Ecolo (), officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales (, ) is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The party is active in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. Ecolo's F ...

, who is in coalition on the municipal council with PS - sp.a.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Ixelles is twinned with: *

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

, France (since 1958) *

, municipality in

, Democratic Republic of the Congo (since 2003) * Zababdeh, Palestine (since 2003) * Kibbutz Megiddo, Israel (since 2012, suspended in July 2024) *

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg may refer to: Places * Lichtenberg, Austria * Lichtenberg, Bas-Rhin, France * Lichtenberg, Bavaria, Germany * Lichtenberg, Berlin, Germany * Lichtenberg, Mittelsachsen, Saxony, Germany * Lichtenberg (Lausitz), Saxony, Germany * Lichte ...

, Germany

Notable people

Born in Ixelles: Auguste Perret

Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter and photographer. Varda's work employed location shooting in an era when the limitations of sound technology made it easier ...

(1928-2019), film director * Albert Crahay (1903–1991), soldier and commander of the Belgian battalion at the Battle of the Imjin River during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Anna Boch Anna-Rosalie Boch (10 February 1848 – 25 February 1936), known as Anna, was a Belgium, Belgian Painting, painter, art collector, and the only female member of the artistic group, Les XX. Born in La Louvière, Saint-Vaast, Hainaut Province, Hai ...

(1848–1936),

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter and art collector * Annemie Neyts (born 1944), politician and MEP *

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

(1929–1993), British actress, model, and humanitarian * Auguste Alfred Lucien Lameere (1864–1942),

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

(1874–1954), architect * Boris Szulzinger (born 1945), film director and producer * Camille Lemonnier (1844–1913), writer and poet *

Emile Vandervelde Emile Vandervelde (25 January 1866 – 27 December 1938) was a Belgium, Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss" (''le patron''), Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism. C ...

(1866–1938), statesman,

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

leader,

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

* Frank Ntilikina (born 1998), professional basketball player * Grand Jojo (1936–2021), singer-songwriter * Michel Regnier, also known as Greg (1931–1999),

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

author *

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ickx twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in and , and won eig ...

(born 1945), racing driver *

Jaco Van Dormael Jaco Van Dormael (born 9 February 1957) is a Belgium, Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His films especially focus on a respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disability, disabilities. Van Dorm ...

(born 1957), screenwriter and film director *

Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder (; 21 July 1885 – 24 May 1948) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter and actor who worked principally in France, but also in the US, Britain and Germany. He was a director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 193 ...

(1885–1948), screenwriter and film director * Jean-François van Boxmeer (born 1961), businessman, chairman and CEO of

Heineken International Heineken Naamloze vennootschap, N.V. (), branded as The Heineken Company is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational brewery, brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. Heineken owns over 165 breweries in m ...

* Jules de Burlet (1844–1897), politician,

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, and Belgian ambassador to Portugal *

Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine and naturalised French novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenc ...

(1914–1984), novelist * Kris Bosmans (born 1980),

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

* Leo Joseph Suenens (1904–1996),

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels *

Marc Dutroux Marc Paul Alain Dutroux (; born 6 November 1956) is a Belgian convicted serial killer, serial rape, serial rapist, and child sexual abuse, child molester. Initially convicted for the child abduction, abduction and rape of five young girls in 19 ...

(born 1956), convicted child molester and

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

Marc Moulin Marc Moulin (16 August 1942 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian musician and journalist (print, radio, TV). In the early-mid seventies, he was the leader of the jazz-rock fusion, jazz-rock group Placebo (not to be confused with Placebo (band), ...

(1942–2008), jazz and fusion musician, author *

Michel de Ghelderode Michel de Ghelderode (born Adémar Adolphe Louis Martens; 3 April 1898 – 1 April 1962) was an avant-garde Demographics of Belgium, Belgian dramatist, from Flanders, who spoke and wrote in French. His works often dealt with the extremes of huma ...

(1898–1962),

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

dramatist * Natacha Régnier (born 1974), actress *

Paul Hymans Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933. Life Hymans was ...

(1865–1941), politician and first President of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

* Paul Saintenoy (1862–1952), architect, teacher, architectural historian, and writer * Pierre Kolp (born 1969), composer * Pierre Rapsat (1948–2002), singer-songwriter *

Sophie Wilmès Sophie Wilmès (; born 15 January 1975) is a Belgium, Belgian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Belgium, prime minister of Belgium from 2019 to 2020. She later served as List of Foreign Ministers of Belgium, minister of foreign affa ...

(born 1975), politician,

, and Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

(born 1958), German Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, German Minister of Defence, and President of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

* Yannick Carrasco (born 1993),

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player Lived in Ixelles: *

(1848–1936), artist and art collector, owner of the Villa Anna * Antoine Wiertz (1806–1865), painter and sculptor * August de Boeck (1865–1937), composer, organist, and music pedagogue *

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

(1840–1917), sculptor * Charles de Coster (1827–1879), novelist * Constantin Meunier (1831–1905), painter and sculptor *

Damso William Kalubi Mwamba (born 10 May 1992 in Kinshasa), better known by his stage name Damso (), is a Belgian- Congolese rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is popular in France, where all of his albums have been certified at least platinum. Early ...

(born 1992), Belgian-Congolese rapper, singer, and songwriter *

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape ...

(1865–1915), British nurse and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

martyr, ran a nursing school there from 1907. * Elisée Reclus (1830–1905), geographer and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

* Ernest Solvay (1838–1922), chemist, industrialist, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

(1858–1924), Italian composer; lived and died at 1, /; a tablet with an inscription is visible on the building wall. *

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (; 31 May 1821 – 28 February 1909) was a Dutch-Belgian artist chiefly in the Romanticism, Romantic style who is best known for her still life animal paintings; especially cats. Biography She was born in Amsterdam int ...

(1821–1909), painter * Jean-Baptiste Moens (1833–1908),

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

and

stamp dealer A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or revenue stamps for use on court documents. Stamp dealers who sell to Stamp collect ...

(born 1945), racing driver * Johan Michiel Dautzenberg (1834–1878), writer *

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

(1818–1883), German philosopher, social theorist,

political economist Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...

, and

socialist revolutionary Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolut ...

Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (; 24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...

(1808–1836),

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

* Naim Khader (1939–1981), representative of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

* Neel Doff (1858–1942), writer * Octave Maus (1856–1919), art critic, writer, and lawyer *

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, ; ; 1809 – 19 January 1865) was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to ca ...

(1809–1865), anarchist thinker *

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

(1870–1924), Russian revolutionary and first head of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Footnotes

References

External links

*
Official website

Museum of Ixelles
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region Populated places in Belgium