Editing Anderlecht (section)

==History==

===Origins and medieval times===
The first traces of human activity on the right bank of the [[Zenne|Senne]] date from the [[Stone Age]] and [[Bronze Age]]. The remnants of a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[villa]] and of a [[Franks|Frankish]] [[necropolis]] were also found on the territory of Anderlecht.{{sfn|Thomas|Vanden Branden|De Waha|1999|p=3}} The first mention of the name ''Anderlecht'', however, dates only from 1047 under the forms ''Anrelech'', then ''Andrelet'' (1111), ''Andreler'' (1148), and ''Anderlech'' (1186). At that time, this community was already home to a [[chapter (religion)|chapter]] of [[canon (priest)|canons]]{{sfn|Thomas|Vanden Branden|De Waha|1999|p=4}} and to two feudal [[Manorialism|manors]], those of the powerful [[lord]]s of Aa and of Anderlecht.{{sfn|Thomas|Vanden Branden|De Waha|1999|p=6–7}}

[[File:Saint Guido Church (14).jpg|left|thumb|[[Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Guido]]]]

In 1356, the [[Count of Flanders]], [[Louis II, Count of Flanders|Louis II]], fought against [[Brussels]] on the territory of Anderlecht, in the so-called Battle of Scheut, supposedly over a monetary matter.<ref>Jean Baptiste Nicolas Coomans, ''Jeanne Goetghebuer : chronique brabançonne du XIVe siècle'' (in French), Brussels, Coomans, 1854, p.57</ref> Although he defeated his sister-in-law, the [[Duke of Brabant|Duchess of Brabant]], [[Joanna, Duchess of Brabant|Joanna]], and briefly took her title, she regained it the following year with the help of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]], [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]]. In 1393, Joanna's [[charter]] made Anderlecht a part of Brussels. It is also around this time that the [[Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Guido|church]] of [[Guy of Anderlecht|Saint Guy]] was rebuilt in [[Brabantine Gothic]] style above an earlier [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[crypt]].

===15th–18th centuries===
The village of Anderlecht became a beacon of culture in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1521, the Dutch [[Humanism|humanist]] writer and [[Theology|theologian]] [[Erasmus|Erasmus of Rotterdam]] stayed in the [[Erasmus House|canons' house]] for a few months. [[Charles, Duke of Aumale]] and [[Grand Veneur of France]] also had a residence there.

The 17th and 18th centuries were marked by the wars between the [[Low Countries]] and France. During the [[Nine Years' War]], it is from the high ground of [[Scheut]], in the northern part of Anderlecht, that the [[Bombardment of Brussels (1695)|bombardment of Brussels]] of 1695 took place. Together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels.{{sfn|Culot|Hennaut|Demanet|Mierop|1992}} On 13 November 1792, right after the [[Battle of Jemappes]], [[Charles François Dumouriez|General Dumouriez]] and the [[French Revolution]]ary army routed the [[Austria]]ns there once again.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1bEUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false|Tissot, Pierre-François (1821). ''Précis ou histoire a brégée des guerres de la Révolution française'' (in French), p. 13]</ref><ref>Antoine de Jomini, ''Histoire critique et militaire des guerres de la Révolution: Campagne de 1792'' (in French), t. 2, Paris, 1820, p. 238–239.</ref> Among the consequences were the disbanding of the canons and Anderlecht being proclaimed an independent municipality by the French.

[[File:KartuisScheut.png|thumb|The Carthusian Monastery depicted in ''Chorographia Sacra Brabantiae'' (1727). On the horizon are Anderlecht and [[Scheut]].]]

By the end of the 18th century, Anderlecht including its dependencies, which extended to [[Fortifications of Brussels|Brussels' city walls]], counted around 2,000 inhabitants. In Scheut, on the site of the Carthusian Monastery, stood a chapel called Our Lady of Scheut, whose pleasant location, in the middle of a grove, made this place very popular at the time.<ref name="Fransen">Bart Fransen, ''Restanten van een meesterwerk : de bouwsculptuur van de kapel van Scheut'', in: ''Millennium, Tijdschrift voor middeleeuwse studies'' (in Dutch), 2009, no. 1–2, p. 112–128</ref>

===19th century and later===
The 19th century saw a remarkable population growth, mainly because of the proximity to a rapidly expanding Brussels. The {{lang|fr|Chaussée de Ninove|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Ninoofsesteenweg|italic=no}} was laid out in 1828, through the former property of the Carthusians. The population multiplied by ten between 1830 and 1890 and doubled again between 1890 and 1910. Along the {{lang|fr|Chaussée de Mons|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Bergensesteenweg|italic=no}} and the [[Brussels–Charleroi Canal]], a series of industrial and [[working-class]] districts connected the centre of Anderlecht to Cureghem.

Remarkable new urban developments and [[Garden city movement|garden cities]] such as [[Het Rad|La Roue/Het Rad]], Moortebeek and {{lang|fr|Bon Air|italic=no}}/{{lang|nl|Goede Lucht|italic=no}} were built at the beginning of the 20th century to house the influx of newcomers. Following [[World War II]], some remaining green parts of the municipality also made way for large-scale [[urban renewal]] following the modernist [[Athens Charter]] and [[Park system]], such as the housing projects Scherdemael, Peterbos and Marius Renard in the upper town, and Aurore near the canal.
	
In recent years, Anderlecht has gained international attention thanks to its very successful [[R.S.C. Anderlecht|football club]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=RSC Anderlecht |url=https://www.uefa.com/errors/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=[[UEFA]] |language=en}}</ref>