GREATER BRUSSELS 83

The serene Erasmus House, briefly

home to the famous philosopher

Musée Bruxellois

de la Gueuze 6

Rue Gheude 56, Anderlecht, 1070
BRU. Road Map A4. Tel (02)

5214928. @ 20, 27, 46, 50.
         Q Clemenceau, Gare du Midi. v 3,
         18, 52, 56, 82, 90. # 8:30am–5pm
         Mon–Fri, 10am–5pm Sat. & includes
         tasting. - = http://www.cantillon.be

The valley of the River Senne
possesses airborne yeasts
called Brettanomyces that
cause beer to ferment sponta n-
eously. This rare phenomen on
produces the famous local
sour beer known as lambic,
which is aged and blended
to create gueuze (see p282).
The beer can only be brewed
in winter. At Cantillon – the
small family-run brewery
museum – the copper cooling
vat in the vented roof-top
is on display along with the
musty cellar full of barrels
where beer froths and matures
in time-honoured fashion.

Erasmus House 7

Rue du Chapitre 31, Anderlecht,
1070 BRU. Road Map A4.
Tel (02) 521 1383. @ 46, 49.
Q St-Guidon. v 56. # 10am–
5pm Tue–Sun. & includes the
Begijnhof van Anderlecht. 7 =
http://www.erasmushouse.museum

The great Dutch scholar and
humanist Desiderius Erasmus
(c.1469–1536) had a major role
in the spread of Renaissance
ideas in northern Europe. He
travelled widely, was a friend
to other humanists such as
Thomas More in England, and
became advisor to Emperor
Charles V. He also unwittingly
promoted the ferment of
Protestant reforms through his
challenging approach to know-
ledge, and so spent his final
years as a refugee from the
Catholic church in Germany
and Switzerland. After helping
found the College of Three
Languages at Leuven
(see pp160–61), Erasmus lived
in this pretty red-brick house
for five months in 1521.
Today, it is a museum with
exhibits related to his life and
times, including books
censored in black ink by the
infamous Spanish Inquisition.

Begijnhof van

Anderlecht 8

Rue du Chapelain 8, Anderlecht,

1070 BRU. Road Map A4. Tel (02)

5211383. @ 46, 49. Q St-Guidon.
         v 56. # 10am–noon and 2–5pm
         Tue–Sun. & includes Erasmus House.
         = http://www.erasmushouse.museum

Close to the Erasmus House

is the charming Begijhof van

Anderlecht. Built in the 14th

century, this was home to just

eight béguines. The buildings

are now a museum and one of

the best ways to glimpse what

these admirable institutions

offered, both to the béguines

and the public whom they

served. The béguinage lies in

the sha dow of the 15th-century

Gothic Collegiale Kerk van St-

Pieter-en-St-Guido. The lat ter

is a local saint, who was bur-

ied here in the 11th century.

R Collegiale Kerk van

St-Pieter-en-St-Guido

Place de la Vaillance, Anderlecht,

1070 BRU. Tel (02) 5230220.

# 2–5pm Mon–Fri, Sat on request.

¢ during services. 5

_ Procession of St Guidon (Sep).

Basilique Nationale

du Sacré-Coeur 9

Parvis de la Basilique 1, Koekelberg,

1083 BRU. Road Map A3. Tel (02)

4258822. @ 49, 87. q Simonis. v


4258823. 
         

         9am–6pm daily (Dome: Easter–

         
         

         Oct: 9am–5:15pm; Nov–Easter: 10am–
         4:15pm). & for dome. 8 by request.

         
         

King Léopold II was keen to

build a church which could

hold the growing population

Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Coeur,

a prominent Brussels landmark

of early 20th-century Brussels.

He commissioned the striking

Basilique Nationale du Sacré-

Coeur, an Art Deco landmark,

in 1904, although it would not

be com pleted until 1970.

Originally designed by Pierre

Langerock (1859–1923), the

final construc tion of sand-

stone and terra cotta is the less

costly version by Flemish

architect, Albert van Huffel.

The predominant fea ture of

the church, which rises 90 m

(295 ft) above the ground, is

a vast green cop per dome

that can be spotted from

many places in the city. Very

much a 20th-century church,

it is dedicated to those who

died for Belgium, parti cularly

the thousands of soldiers

killed on their own terrain

during the two World Wars.

René Magritte

Museum 0

Rue Esseghem 135, Jette, 1090 BRU.

Road Map A3. Tel (02) 4282626.

@ 49, 53, 89. Q Belgica, Bockstael,

Pannenhuis. v 51, 94. # 10am–

6pm Wed–Sun. & = http://www.

magrittemuseum.be

The great Surrealist painter

René Magritte (see p23)

lived here with his wife from

1930 to 1954, during which

time he became a widely

recognized artist. Their

apartment and his studio in

the garden, where he pro-

duced almost half his total

output, have been arranged

in an under stated and modest

manner to look as they did in

the artist’s time. The museum

includes original works, repro-

ductions and material about

Magritte and the Surrealists.