Namur Gate

The Namur Gate (French: Porte de Namur, Dutch: Naamsepoort) was one of the gates of the second walls of Brussels. In the 21st century, Namur Gate denotes the Ixelles neighbourhood where the gate formerly stood, rather than the former gate itself. This site is served by Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort metro station on lines 2 and 6 of the Brussels metro.

Namur Gate
Porte de Namur/Naamsepoort
Part of Second City Walls of Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
The Namur Gate at the end of the 18th century
TypeCity gate
Site history
Built14th century
Materialsstone
Demolished1784

History

The city gate was originally known as New Gate of Coudenberg (Dutch: Nieuwe Coudenbergse Poort), to distinguish it from the old gate located in the first walls, and it used to connect Rue Entre deux Portes/Twee Poortenstraat (current Rue de Namur/Naamsestraat) to Chemin d'Ixelles/Elsenseweg (current Chaussée d'Ixelles/Elsensesteenweg).

The Namur Gate on the 18th-century Ferraris map

During the construction of the boulevards of the small ring, two neoclassical former pavilions of octroi were raised there by the architect Auguste Payen (collaborator of Nicolas Roget, architect of the City of Brussels) in 1836. The octroi was abolished in 1860, the buildings were moved to the entrance of the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos three years later. Removing barriers then permitted the Namur Gate area to develop.

In 1866, the pavilions were replaced by the monumental Brouckère fountain, designed by the architect Henri Beyaert and by the two sculptors Pierre Dunion and Edouard Fiers, which was raised in memory of Burgomaster Charles de Brouckère. The monument was dismantled in 1955 to allow the rearrangement of boulevards in preparation for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair (Expo 58).[1]

Nowadays, the Namur Gate area offers a blend of luxury shops, fast food restaurants and entertainment venues.

References
  1. Michel Hainaut & Philippe Bovy, À la découverte de l'histoire d'Ixelles : Porte de Namur. Ixelles, April 2000, 16 p.

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