Avenue Louise

The Avenue Louise (French: [av.ny lwiz]) or Louizalaan (Dutch) is a major thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium. It is located in the southern part of the City of Brussels, on the border with the municipality of Ixelles, where it runs south–east from the Place Louise/Louizaplein to the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, covering a distance of 2.7 km (1.7 mi). It is named in honour of King Leopold II's eldest daughter, Princess Louise (1858–1924).

The Avenue Louise/Louizalaan in winter
Avenue Louise is located in Brussels
Avenue Louise
Location within Brussels
Avenue Louise is located in Belgium
Avenue Louise
Avenue Louise (Belgium)
LocationCity of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region,
Belgium
Coordinates50°49′37″N 04°21′52″E
Construction
Commissioned1847

The Avenue Louise is one of the most prestigious and expensive avenues in Brussels, lined with high-end fashion stores and boutiques. It also houses many embassies and offices. The avenue is served by the metro station Louise/Louiza at one end (on lines 2 and 6), as well as the tram lines 8 and 93, which run its entire length.[1][2]

History

Construction

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/Ter Kamerenbos. It was also to be the first Haussmann-esque artery of the city. Its name was chosen in honour of King Leopold II's eldest daughter, Princess Louise, as is the Place Louise/Louizaplein, a major square located in its upper part. The Place Stéphanie/Stefanieplein, another square on the avenue, is named in honour of her younger sister, Princess Stéphanie.

The Avenue Louise from the Place Stéphanie/Stefanieplein, c. 1920

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.

World War II
Bust of Jean de Sélys Longchamps in front of the Gestapo's former headquarters, at number 453

During World War II, following the German invasion of Belgium, Brussels was occupied by the German military. The Nazi security organisation, the Sicherheitspolizei-Sicherheitsdienst (Sipo-SD), of which the Gestapo was a part, set up their Brussels headquarters on the Avenue Louise.[3] They occupied numbers 347, 418, 453 and 510;[3] initially their headquarters were at number 453, in the Résidence Belvédère.[4]

On 20 January 1943, Baron Jean de Sélys Longchamps, a Brussels-born fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, mounted a solo attack on the headquarters at number 453.[5] Benefiting from the wide avenues, and the large height of the apartment block relative to the neighbouring buildings, he flew his Hawker Typhoon at a low altitude straight towards the building, firing the plane's 20 mm cannons, before returning to England.[5] Following this attack, the SD moved their headquarters to number 347.[3] The cellars at this address were used to detain and interrogate captured members of the Belgian resistance.[6] The torture which took place there brought the Avenue Louise's name considerable infamy at the time.[7] A monument to Baron de Selys Longchamps now stands in front of number 453.[8]

Contemporary

The avenue was redeveloped after 1950 in preparation for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58), tunnelling the main intersections and offering direct access to the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). The northern part is sunken and has three level crossings. The three tunnels are, from north to south: the Stéphanie Tunnel, the Bailli Tunnel and the short Vleurgat Tunnel.

Much of the post-war configuration still exists today. It implies that no metro line runs through the avenue, despite its high built density and its multiple functions of shops/offices/housing, the latter being in a way replaced by these tunnels. However, tram lines 8 and 93 operate on their own site from the Place Stéphanie to the Woluwe depot.

Although regarded as a prestigious street, at night it has a reputation for unauthorised prostitution.[9][10][11]

Landmarks

The Avenue Louise is home to many upmarket shops, restaurants and offices. From north to south, notable landmarks include:

The "Louise bottleneck"
The "Louise bottleneck"

The 250-metre-long (820 ft) part of the Avenue Louise between the Place Louise/Louizaplein and the Place Stéphanie/Stefanieplein is called le goulet Louise in French ("the Louise bottleneck"). With two tramway lines and thousands of cars sharing this narrow segment of the avenue, large traffic jams occur during rush hours. The problem was already obvious in the early 1980s, so a tram tunnel under the bottleneck was built along with the metro station on the Place Louise. However, construction was abandoned toward its end due to protests of local businesses fearing losses if patrons were to be diverted through a tunnel.[12]

The nearly-completed, vast tramway tunnel under the Louise bottleneck remains unused as of 2009. Various solutions to the traffic problem have been considered. One proposes pedestrianising the whole segment, with trams running on the surface and only delivery vehicles authorised at certain hours. Another, much more costly idea, involves finishing the tunnel and diverting all trams underground.

Tramway lines 8 and 93 run the entire length of the avenue, all on segregated track except in the short "goulet Louise" section.

Embassies

The Avenue Louise houses many embassies, including those of:

Representative Offices

See also

References

Notes
  1. "Line 8 to ROODEBEEK - STIB Mobile". m.stib.be. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. "Line 93 to STADE - STIB Mobile". m.stib.be. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  3. "Avenue Louise 347 Louizalaan" (in French). Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  4. "Résidence Belvédère Avenue Louise 453" (in French). Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  5. "Baron Jean De Selys Longchamps". Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  6. "Les Territoires de la Mémoire: Triangle rouge: visite" (in French). Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  7. "Westminster College Welcomes Veterans Day "Speaker of Freedom"". Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2009. She was moved to several prisons including '347 Avenue Louise,' Gestapo torture headquarters, where she was interrogated and tortured with beatings and experiments.
  8. "Former Gestapo Headquarters - 453 Avenue Louise". Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  9. Helm, Sarah (26 November 1996). "Gays under pressure in Belgium's moral backlash Anger over child". The Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  10. "Brussels bans prostitution again in bid to curb Covid-19 infection rate". www.thebulletin.be. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  11. "Council of State overturns Brussels prostitution ban". The Brussels Times. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  12. La saga du goulet Louise Archived 12 November 2006 at archive.today - EuroBRU.com - Retrieved 12 July 2007.

Bibliography
  • Duquenne, Xavier (2007). L'avenue Louise à Bruxelles (in French). Brussels: Self-published. ISBN 2-87126-039-7.
  • Francis, Jean (1975). La Chanson des rues d'Ixelles (in French). Brussels: Louis Musin Éditeur. p. 118.
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