Saint-Gilles, Belgium

Saint-Gilles Sint-Gillis  (Dutch)
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Saint-Gilles Location in Belgium
Saint-Gilles municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region
Coordinates: 50°49′N 04°21′E / 50.817°N 4.350°E / 50.817; 4.350Coordinates: 50°49′N 04°21′E / 50.817°N 4.350°E / 50.817; 4.350
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community French Community
Region	Brussels
Arrondissement	Brussels
Government
• Mayor	Charles Picqué (PS)
Area
• Total	2.52 km2 (0.97 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2016)
• Total	50,659
• Density	20,000/km2 (52,000/sq mi)
Postal codes	1060
Area codes	02
Website	www.stgillis.irisnet.be

Saint-Gilles (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒil]) or Sint-Gillis (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪntˈxɪlɪs]) is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.

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.

The first houses of the hamlet of Obbrussel (meaning Upper-Brussels) 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.

In 1670, following orders from the Spanish government, the Count of Monterey built a fort in Obbrussel as part of the fortifications of Brussels to protect the city of Brussels against possible attacks. Erected in 1675, this fort was dismantled in the following century to give way to several important toll roads and urban development. The name of the Barrière de Saint-Gilles/Bareel van Sint-Gillis neighbourhood still commemorates those tolls to this day.