(

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, ; former Dutch spelling) or (modern

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, ) is a

Brussels Metro The Brussels Metro ( ; ) is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of four conventional metro lines and three '' premetro'' lines. The metro-grade lines are M1, M2, M5, and M6 wi ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on lines 1 and 5. It is located under the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat in 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 ...

, Belgium. The station takes its name from the nearby

Maalbeek The ( French, ; former Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch, ) is a stream that flows through several municipalities in Brussels, Belgium, including Etterbeek, Ixelles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek. It is a tributary of the Senne, which ...

stream. The station opened on 17 December 1969 as a '' premetro'' (underground tram) station on the tram line between De Brouckère and Schuman. This station was upgraded to full metro status on 20 September 1976, serving former east–west line 1 (further split in 1982 into former lines 1A and 1B). Then, following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro on 4 April 2009, it now lies on the joint section of east–west lines 1 and 5.

History

/ station was inaugurated on 17 December 1969 as a '' premetro'' station (i.e. a station served by underground tramways), as part of the first underground

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

route in Belgium, which initially stretched from De Brouckère to Schuman. On 20 September 1976, this ''premetro'' line was converted into a heavy metro line, which was later split into two distinct lines on 6 October 1982: former lines 1A and 1B, both serving /. On 4 April 2009, metro operation was restructured and the station is now served by metro lines 1 and 5.

2016 Brussels bombings

On 22 March 2016 at 09:11

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

, an explosion took place at / station. The bomb exploded from the second carriage of a four carriage train as it started leaving the station and heading in the direction of Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet. The

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack and branding Belgium a participant in the ongoing

military intervention against ISIL A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. The suicide attack took place about an hour after the bombings took place in

Brussels Airport Brussels Airport is the main international airport of Belgium. It is located in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, northeast of Brussels. Also informally known as Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport, Brussels ...

. The Flemish radio and television organisation VRT officially reported 20 people were killed at the metro station, with 106 injured. The station was closed for over a month following the attacks. On 25 April 2016, it reopened again. File:Maelbeek metro entrance after March 2016 Brussels attacks 2016-03-24 --3.JPG, / metro entrance after the

2016 Brussels bombings On 22 March 2016, two coordinated terrorist attacks in and close to Brussels, Belgium, were carried out by the Islamic State (IS). Two suicide bombers detonated bombs at Brussels Airport in Zaventem just outside Brussels, and one detonated a b ...

File:Maelbeek metro entrance after March 2016 Brussels attacks 2016-03-24 --6.JPG, Flowers and inscriptions at the metro entrance File:MetroMaalbeekherdenking.jpg, Temporary memorial wall in the station after the attacks

Interior and art

The walls of the station's platforms are decorated with white

Azulejo (, ; from the Arabic ) is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted Tin-glazing, tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of church (building), churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, r ...

tiles manufactured in Portugal. The visual artist Benoît van Innis was commissioned to paint eight portraits on the walls.

Location

The station is located under the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, a street best known for the many official buildings of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU), including the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

and 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 ...

, as well as of the

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( ; ; ) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the polit ...

. One of the station's exits leads to the Rue de la Loi, with a side entrance leading to the /. The other exit leads to the /. It is located under the bridge carrying the Rue de la Loi. Nearby (also on the Chaussée d'Etterbeek) is an entrance leading to the SNCB/NMBS (

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...

) southbound platforms of Schuman railway station. This entrance is located under the railway bridge with stairs up to the platforms.

Area

Nearby landmarks include: *

Chapel of the Resurrection The Chapel of the Resurrection is the centerpiece structure on the campus of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Primarily used to facilitate many Lutheran campus worship services, the Chapel of the Resurrection also serves as a site ...

* European Quarter *

References

External links

*
STIB/MIVB official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maelbeek Maalbeek metro station Brussels Metro stations City of Brussels European quarter of Brussels Railway stations in Belgium opened in 1969