Forest, Belgium

Forest Forest  (French) Vorst  (Dutch)
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Forest Location in Belgium
Forest municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region
Coordinates: 50°49′N 04°19′E / 50.817°N 4.317°E / 50.817; 4.317Coordinates: 50°49′N 04°19′E / 50.817°N 4.317°E / 50.817; 4.317
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community French Community
Region	Brussels
Arrondissement	Brussels
Government
• Mayor	Marc-Jean Ghyssels (PS)
Area
• Total	6.25 km2 (2.41 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
• Total	55,613
• Density	8,900/km2 (23,000/sq mi)
Postal codes	1190
Area codes	02
Website	www.forest.irisnet.be

Forest (French name, pronounced: [fɔʁɛː]; Dutch: Vorst [vɔrst]) is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is bordered by Anderlecht, Ixelles, Uccle, Saint-Gilles and Drogenbos.

The town is commonly known for its concert hall (French: Forest National, Dutch: Vorst Nationaal). It also houses an important jail, an Audi factory and a railway depot that is home to the Belgian fleet of Eurostar train sets.

The first houses built in this forested area along the Geleysbeek, a tributary of the Zenne, date from the 7th century. The village's first church was dedicated to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite. The legend of Saint Alena, a young convert to Chalcedonian Christianity murdered by her father's troops for hearing mass at the church of Dionysius, also takes place in the 7th century. The chapel and cult of Saint Alena, however, date only from the 12th century. The saint's cenotaph, one of the rare examples of 12th-century sculpture in Belgium, can still be admired in the chapel today. The contiguous church of Saint Denis (Dionysius) was rebuilt in the Romanesque style at around the same time.