Kraainem () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( ; ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also ...

, in the

Flemish region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. The municipality only comprises the town of Kraainem proper. On January 1, 2006, Kraainem had a total population of 13,150. 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 . A suburb of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, it directly borders the Stockel and Kapelleveld neighbourhoods ( Woluwe-Saint-Pierre municipality) within the city, and was a component of the short-lived Arrondissement of Brussels-Periphery. Kraainem is a municipality with language facilities within Flanders, where the sole official language is Dutch. In 1954, however, special linguistic ''facilities'' were given to local French-speakers, when those were still a minority. They can request official documents from the local administration in French. Today, a majority of the inhabitants are French-speaking.

Urbanisation

The forest of Stokkel belonged to the d'Huart family until the 1920s. When grandfather d'Huart died in 1927, his family decided to found "la Société Immobilière de Stockel" and built a lane through the forest. This lane is the current Albert d'Huartlaan that used to be covered with gravel until 1960. The homes surrounding the "Hurlevent" were built and afterwards those of the society of Utrecht. The real construction started in 1930 and accelerated after the

second world war World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Approximately 2800 people lived in Kraainem in 1940, 3254 in 1945 and 5190 in 1954, which was the year in which

urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...

really experienced its surge. In 1949 the social housing of Eigen Haard were built followed by the Josephine Charlotte neighbourhood in 1954. Over 11,000 persons lived in the Kraainem region in 1967. In 1993, of a total population of 12,780 residents, 2,623 were immigrants. Despite being located in Flanders, Kraainem became increasingly francophone during the 20th century, reducing the Dutch-speakers to a minority. Communal politics is centred upon the language issue. Given the commune's proximity and good transport links to the airport, to NATO and to the European Quarter, an increasing number of non-Belgians have settled in the municipality and this trend looks set to continue as the few remaining greenfield sites are developed. The commune has two state schools, one Dutch and one

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

, and in 1968 the new St-Dominicus

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

was inaugurated. The southern end of the Albert d'Huartlaan boulevard feeds onto the Quatre Bras road intersection, where the

Brussels Ring The Brussels Ring ( or ; ), numbered R0, is a ring road surrounding the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as other smaller towns south of Brussels. It is about long, with two or three lanes in each direction. While most of it is classified a ...

(R0) and

Avenue de Tervueren The (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a major road, thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium. It was originally commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium, Leopold II as part of his building campaign, and was finished in 18 ...

(N3) meet (alongside a stop on the Brussels tram route 44). Other parts of the municipality are served by Brussels tram route 39, while three stations on

Brussels Metro line 1 Line 1 is a rapid transit line on the Brussels Metro in Belgium operated by STIB/MIVB. It has existed in its current form since 4 April 2009, when former line 1B, which ran between Stockel/Stokkel and Erasme/Erasmus, was shortened to Gare ...

(including the one named Kraainem) are situated just over the boundary into the Brussels city-region.

Tourism

Its rich industrial and cultural legacy, in addition to its favorable location next to

and the Zaventem Airport, have enabled Kraainem to develop its position as a touristic destination in recent years. The 8th century St. Pancras Church, the 20th century Bouvier-Washer Cité and its Salesian monastery are popular attractions for tourists. A lack of local lodging infrastructure has slowed touristic development until the early 2000s, when guest houses and AirBnB resolved this shortcoming.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Official website
(in Dutch and French) {{Authority control Municipalities of Flemish Brabant