Chronology

ca. 2250-1900 bce Neolithic remains found at Schaerbeek, Boitsfort, and Uccle.

ca. 1000-800 bce Celtic tribes settle in Belgium.

58-51 bce The Belgae, a Gallic tribe, are defeated by Julius Caesar.

ca. ce 175 Roman villa in existence at Laeken.

4th-6th centuries ce Frankish tribes occupy territories between the Meuse and Scheldt Rivers.

ca. 695 Tradition holds Saint Géry builds a chapel on an island in the Senne River.

843 Charlemagne's empire divided (Treaty of Verdun); Brussels becomes part of Lotharingia.

959 Brussels becomes part of Lower Lotharingia.

977-979 Castrum constructed at Bruocsella; official foundation of Brussels.

ca. 984 Transfer of relics of Saint Gudule to the Saint Géry chapel.

1001 Otto, son of Charles of Lotharingia, becomes count of Uccle or Brussels.

1015 Henry I, count of Leuven, inherits Brussels.

1041-1047 Construction of the castle on the Coudenberg heights.

1047 Transfer of the relics of Saint Gudule to the church of Saint Michael.

ca. 1063-1100 Construction of first city wall.

1125 First mention of the office of amman.

1129 Saint-Nicholas hospital founded.

1154 First definitive mention of aldermen in Brussels.

1190 Henry I becomes duke of Brabant. Richard I of England passes through Brussels.

1225 Construction begins on the Cathédrale des Saints-Michel-et-Gudule.

1229 First town charter granted; first mention of jurors. 1243 First law written in the name of two aldermen. 1282 First mention of the cloth guild.

1292 Duke John I grants the town the right to revenues collected at gates.

1295 Duke John II authorizes aldermen to collect duty on beer as a town revenue.

Municipal government centered on the Grand' Place.

Revolt by craftsmen and tradesmen. Death of Everard t'Serclaes. 1303-1306 First democratic government.

1306 First mention of the lignages.

1349 The Black Death arrives in Brussels. Pogrom against the Jews.

1356 Joyeuse Entrée conceded by Duchess Joan.

1357-1379 Construction of the second town wall.

1401 Construction begins on the Hôtel de Ville.

1421 Popular uprising; craft guilds obtain right to participate in city government.

1436 Rogier van der Weyden appointed city artist.

1449 First ordinance enjoining residents to replace thatch with tile.

1455 Hôtel de Ville completed.

1477 Popular insurrection.

1515-1531 Construction of the Maison du Roi (Broodhuys). 1515 January 28: Joyeuse Entrée of Charles V. 1521 Erasmus at Brussels.

1531 Brussels becomes the official capital of the Netherlands. 1555 October 25: Charles V abdicates at the Coudenberg Palace. 1561 Willebroeck Canal opens.

Wars of religion begin.

August 22: Duke of Alba arrives in Brussels.

June 5: Execution of the counts of Egmont and Hornes. 1575 Plague kills thousands.

1585 March 10: Brussels capitulates to the forces of Alessandro Far-nese.

1619 War of the gigot. Manneken-Pis.

1695 August 13-15: Bombardment of Brussels by a French army under the marshal of Villeroy.

1697-1698 Reconstruction of the buildings on the Grand' Place largely completed.

1706 English-Dutch army enters Brussels. Estates-General of Brabant recognizes Charles III of Austria (later Emperor Charles VI) as ruler.

1711 Académie royale des Beaux-Arts founded.

1714 March 6: Treaty of Rastatt. The Spanish Netherlands becomes the Austrian Netherlands.

1717 April: Peter the Great, tsar of Russia, visits Brussels. 1719 September 19: Execution of Frans d'Anneessens. 1731 February 3-4: The Coudenberg Palace burns. 1744 March: Charles of Lorraine enters Brussels.

1772 Bibliothèque royale opens to the public.

Place des Martyrs (Saint-Michel) completed.

Construction begins on the place Royale and the Parc de Bruxelles. 1781 Emperor Joseph II visits Brussels. Decree on religious toleration. 1782-1784 Royal palace at Laeken constructed.

1782-1785 Demolition of the second town wall begins. 1783 Religious houses disbanded.

June: Abolition of the Joyeuse Entrée. October: Brabant Revolution. December: Austrians abandon Brussels.

January: Proclamation of the United States of Belgium by the Estates-General at Brussels. December: Austrian troops return to Brussels.

November 14: General Charles-François Dumouriez enters Brussels.

March 24: Austrians return to Brussels.

June 26: French victory at Fleurus. French regime begins at Brussels.

1801 July 8: Stock Exchange opens.

1803 First consul Napoléon Bonaparte visits Brussels.

1810 Official visit by Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte. Decree to build the perimeter boulevards.

1815 Brussels becomes the joint capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

1817 Théâtre de la Monnaie constructed. 1819 Brussels is illuminated with gas.

August-October: Revolution and Brussels becomes capital of an independent kingdom of Belgium. J. N. Rouppe becomes the first burgomaster of the city as capital.

July 21: Installation of King Leopold I on the place Royale.

1832 Opening of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal. Cholera epidemic kills over 3,000.

Foundation of the Université libre de Bruxelles.

May 5: Inauguration of the Brussels-Mechelen railway line. 1838 First organic communal law.

1841-1855 Nord and Midi stations linked by railway along perimeter boulevards.

1845 First telegraph line links Brussels and Antwerp.

May: Systematic construction of sidewalks begins. June 20: Inauguration of the Galleries Saint-Hubert.

Brussels hosts the first international peace congress.

Brussels acquires the Léopold district.

Chamber of Representatives rejects a proposal for city annexation of surrounding suburbs.

Last public capital execution at the porte de Hal. 1857 Creation of a municipal water service.

1860 Duties and tolls on goods entering the city are abolished.

Brussels annexes the avenue Louise strip together with the Bois de la Cambre. Avenue Louise built.

Newspaper and refreshment kiosks appear along major streets. 1866-1883 Palais de Justice built.

1867-1871 Vaulting of the Senne River and construction of central boulevards.

1869 First trams on rails begin.

1880 International exposition at the Cinquantenaire.

Athenée de Bruxelles built on the rue de Chêne.

Prison in Saint-Gilles constructed.

1886 Brussels linked by telephone to Paris. 1890 Place du Petit Sablon inaugurated.

1896 First cinema operates in Brussels. Autos first appear on city streets.

1896-1899 Victor Horta designs the Maison du Peuple.

1898 Saint-Roch district demolished. Dutch (Flemish) becomes the second official language in Belgium.

1900 April 4: The prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, shot at by Jean-Baptiste Sipido at Gare du Nord. The prince is unhurt.

June 26: Parc Josaphat opens.

September 25: Inauguration of the arcade of the Cinquantenaire. Buses first appear on city streets.

1910 World's Fair.

1911 Work begins on the Gare Centrale (Nord-Midi junction).

1914 August 21: Brussels occupied by German troops.

1918 November 22: King Albert I returns to Brussels.

March 30: Annexation of Laeken, Neder-over-Heembeek, and Haren.

Inauguration of the Port of Brussels.

Brugmann hospital opens. Sabena (Société anonyme belge d'exploitation de la Navigation aerienne) founded at Brussels; it will become the Belgian national airline.

May 4: Palais des Beaux-Arts inaugurated.

Tintin first appears.

1932 Law on the use of languages in public administration and education.

1935 World's Fair at Heysel.

1940 May 17: Brussels occupied by German troops.

1944 September 3: Liberation of Brussels by British troops.

1947 Postwar census gives rise to linguistic tensions. Results not published until 1954.

1950 March: Plebiscite on the return of King Leopold III. 1952 Gare Centrale is completed.

1954 First public swimming pool opens on rue du Chevreuil.

World's Fair at Heysel. European Economic Community and Euratom establish headquarters in Brussels.

Work begins on Cité Administrative.

Twentieth-Century Ballet founded by Maurice Béjart. Plan for urban redevelopment of the Îlot Sacré.

February 15: Sabena airline crash near Brussels kills 72 on board, 1 on the ground.

1961-1962 Flemish demonstrations in Brussels.

November 8: Language border across Belgium fixed.

Law on use of languages in administration. Creation of a bilingual Brussels district.

Galerie Porte Louise opens.

Demolition of Victor Horta's Maison du Peuple. 1 967 May 22: Fire in l'Innovation leaves 253 dead. 1967-1970 Construction of the Berlaymont.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization installs its political headquarters at Evere. May: Student demonstrations at the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Bibliothèque royale de Belgigue and the Palais des Congrès open. Vrije Universiteit Brussel set up.

1970-1971 Belgium divided into three regions, including the agglomeration of Brussels, numbering 19 communes.

1971 July 26: Law fixes the boundaries of the Brussels agglomeration. November 21: Elections for agglomeration council.