Page 89 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

GREA TER BRUSSELS  87

6 Musée Bruxellois 20th-century Brussels. He
de la Gueuze commissioned the striking
Basilique Nationale du Sacré-
Rue Gheude 56, Anderlecht, 1070 BRU.
Road Map A4. Tel (02) 5214928. Coeur, an Art Deco landmark, in
@ 27, 46, 49, 50, 78. q Clemenceau, 1904, although it would not be
Gare du Midi. v 3, 4, 31, 32, 81, 82, com pleted until 1970. Originally
83. Open 10am–5pm Mon, Tue & designed by Pierre Langerock
Thu–Sat. & includes tasting. - = (1859–1923), the final construc-
∑ cantillon.be tion of sand stone and terra cotta
is the less costly version by
The valley of the River Senne Flemish architect, Albert van
possesses airborne yeasts called Huffel. The predominant fea ture
Brettanomyces that cause beer The serene Erasmus House, briefly home to of the church, which rises 90 m
to ferment sponta n eously. This the famous philosopher (295 ft) above the ground, is a
rare phenomen on produces vast green cop per dome that
the famous local sour beer 8 Begijnhof van can be spotted from many
known as lambic, which is aged places in the city. Very much
and blended to create gueuze Anderlecht a 20th-century church, it is
(see p278). The beer can only be Rue du Chapelain 8, Anderlecht, 1070 dedicated to those who died
brewed in winter. At Cantillon – BRU. Road Map A4. Tel (02) 5211383. for Belgium, parti cularly the
the small family-run brewery @ 46, 49. q St-Guidon. v 31, 81. thousands of soldiers killed on
museum – the copper cooling Open 10am–noon & 2–5pm Tue–Sun. their own terrain during the
vat in the vented roof-top is on & includes Erasmus House. = two World Wars.
display along with the musty ∑ erasmushouse.museum
cellar full of barrels where beer 0 René Magritte
froths and matures in time- Close to the Erasmus House
honoured fashion. is the charming Begijhof van Museum
Anderlecht. Built in the 14th Rue Esseghem 135, Jette, 1090 BRU.
century, this was home to just
7 Erasmus House eight béguines. The buildings Road Map A3. Tel (02) 4282626.
@ 49, 53, 89. q Belgica, Bockstael,
are now a museum and one of
Rue du Chapitre 31, Anderlecht, 1070 Pannenhuis. v 19, 51, 62, 93.
BRU. Road Map A4. Tel (02) 521 1383. the best ways to glimpse what Open 10am–6pm Wed–Sun. & =
@ 46, 49. q St-Guidon. v 31, 81. these admirable institutions ∑ magrittemuseum.be
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. offered, both to the béguines
& includes the Begijnhof van and the public whom they The great Surrealist painter René
Anderlecht. 7 = served. The béguinage lies in Magritte (see p27) lived here
∑ erasmushouse.museum the sha dow of the 15th-century with his wife from 1930 to 1954,
Gothic Collegiale Kerk van during which time he became
The great Dutch scholar and St-Pieter-en-St-Guido. The a widely recognized artist. Their
humanist Desiderius Erasmus lat ter is a local saint, who was apartment and his studio in the
(c.1469–1536) had a major role buried here in the 11th century. garden, where he pro duced
in the spread of Renaissance almost half his total output,
ideas in northern Europe. He R Collegiale Kerk van St-Pieter- have been arranged in an
travelled widely, was a friend en-St-Guido under stated and modest
to other humanists such as Place de la Vaillance, Anderlecht, manner to look as they did in
Thomas More in England, and 1070 BRU. Tel (02) 5230220. the artist’s time. The museum
became advisor to Emperor Open 2–5pm Mon–Fri, Sat on request. includes original works, repro-
Charles V. He also unwittingly 5 Closed during services. ductions and material about
_ Procession of St Guidon (Sep).
promoted the ferment of Magritte and the Surrealists.
Protestant reforms through
his challenging approach to 9 Basilique Nationale
know ledge, and so spent his
final years as a refugee from the du Sacré-Coeur
Catholic church in Germany and Parvis de la Basilique 1, Koekelberg,
Switzerland. After helping found 1083 BRU. Road Map A3.
the College of Three Languages Tel (02) 4211667. @ 49, 87.
at Leuven (see pp164–5), q Simonis. v 19. Open 9am–6pm
Erasmus lived in this pretty daily (Dome: Easter–Oct: 9am–4:30pm;
red-brick house for five months Nov–Easter: 10am– 3:30pm). & for
in 1521. Today, it is a museum dome. 8 by request.
with exhibits related to his life
and times, including books King Léopold II was keen to
censored in black ink by the build a church which could hold Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Coeur, a
infamous Spanish Inquisition. the growing population of early prominent Brussels landmark
For hotels and restaurants see p266 and pp282–3

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