The Robert Schuman Roundabout (; ), sometimes called Robert Schuman Square, is a

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

in the European Quarter 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 ...

, Belgium. It lies at the end of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and serves as a focus for major

institutions of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and Euratom governed under the Treaties of the European Union and European Union law. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty o ...

(EU). It is named after

Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born France, French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democrat, Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. ...

, one of the

founding fathers of the European Union Founding may refer to: * The formation of a corporation, government, or other organization * The laying of a building's foundation * The casting of materials in a mold See also * Foundation (disambiguation) * Incorporation (disambiguation) ...

, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, and gives its name to the surrounding district (also known as the European Quarter) and Brussels-Schuman railway station.

Location and buildings

The Robert Schuman Roundabout is in the centre of Brussels' European Quarter. The major buildings next to it are the

Berlaymont building The Berlaymont building () is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located on the Robert Schuman Roundabout at 200, ...

(headquarters 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 ...

), the Justus Lipsius building (used to hold low-level meetings of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

and provide office space to the Council's Secretariat) and numerous other EU offices. File:Belgique - Bruxelles - Schuman - Berlaymont - 01.jpg, The

, primary headquarters of the

File:Belgique - Bruxelles - The Capital - 02.jpg, The Capital (Atelier d'architecture de Genval, 2001–2009) File:Immeuble Rond-point Robert Schuman 8 par Antoine Varlet.jpg, Building ( Varlet, 1928)

Accessibility and future

The roundabout is above the eastern end of the metro segment of

Schuman station Brussels-Schuman railway station (; ) is a railway station in the City of Brussels, Belgium, serving the European Quarter. The station received its name from the aboveground Robert Schuman Roundabout, itself named after Robert Schuman, one of ...

. In 2016 the station was renovated to connect it by rail with

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 ...

via the

Schuman-Josaphat tunnel The Schuman-Josaphat tunnel (; ) is a double track rail tunnel in Brussels, Belgium, which entered into service on 4 April 2016. It links Belgian railway line 161, line 161 (Brussels-Central railway station, Brussels-Namur) just after Meiser r ...

. There are already a web of rail and road tunnels running under and around the roundabout. The area is to see some major rebuilding as EU offices are converted into shops and other civilian uses and the roundabout will be converted into one of three pedestrian squares, the theme of the new Schuman Square will concentrate on "policy and politics" (see Brussels and the EU#Future for details).

Roads meeting at the roundabout

* The Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat runs west–north–west towards the centre of Brussels, one-way. It also continues east–south–east for a short distance towards the western end of the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark. The bulk of the traffic on this main carriageway avoids the roundabout by taking the tunnel underneath, the road becoming the Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan and heading out of Brussels east/east–south–east towards

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre Woluwe-Saint-Pierre ( French, ) or Sint-Pieters-Woluwe ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by Etterbeek, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Lambe ...

and eventually

Tervuren Tervuren (; ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren proper, Vossem and Moorsel. On 1 January 2006, Tervuren had a total population o ...

. * The / leads north–east towards

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

and the /. The Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat tunnel also follows this route, leading out towards

Diamant premetro station Diamant is a '' premetro'' (underground tram) station located in the municipality of Schaerbeek in Brussels, Belgium. The station opened on 2 May 1972. It is one of four stations of the so-called Greater Ring ''premetro'' axis built in the 1970s ...

and the E40. * The / leads north towards the /. * The / runs south–east through the middle of

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 ...

, towards the ''La Chasse'' junction and

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 ...

. * The / is one of the smaller roads leaving the roundabout, heading towards the /.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuman Roundabout Squares in Brussels City of Brussels European quarter of Brussels