Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis 5.7

Saint-Gilles or Sint-Gillis is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is bordered by the City of Brussels, Anderlecht, Forest and Ixelles.Saint-Gilles has a multicultural identity stemming from its diverse population. For example, the central square (French: Place Van Meenen, Dutch: Van Meenenplein) hosts the annual festival of Brussels' Portuguese community. The housing stock varies from semi-derelict tenements near the Brussels-South railway station in the north, to elegant patrician houses on the southern borders with Uccle and Ixelles, to tourist hotels at the inner end of the Chaussée de Charleroi/Charleroisesteenweg. Saint-Gilles is also known as one of the centers of artistic and student life in Brussels.HistoryBeginnings as ObbrusselThe first houses of the hamlet of Obbrussel were built between the 7th and the 11th century close to Altitude 100, one of the points of highest elevation in Brussels, now part of Forest. In 1216, following strong demographic growth in the area, the Forest Abbey allowed Obbrussel to become an independent parish. This independence, however, was to last only eighty years, after which the administration of the village was given to Brussels. By the 16th century, Obbrussel had grown to 41 houses.