Brussels is attempting to bring back the spirit of the famous Brontë sisters to the city, as the municipality of Koekelberg announced that it is taking concrete steps to name a public square after the English authors next year.
Koekelberg wants to put the Brontë sisters on the Belgian map, as two of them – Charlotte and Emily – came to Brussels in 1842 to study French. This was the only time they went abroad, according to author of 'The Brontës in Brussels' Helen MacEwan.
The square would be the first in Brussels to be named after the Bröntes. While the various steps for the creation and naming of the square have taken some time – having first been announced in 2020 – the plan is to inaugurate it in 2025, the municipality announced at a public meeting last week.
The Brontë sisters
The plan is to transform part of Rue des Braves into a square and call it the Place des Soeurs Brontë/Gezusters Brontëplein. In addition to discussions surrounding the square's vegetation and street furniture, there was also a proposal to display several quotes from the sisters' famous novels (such as Charlotte's 'Jane Eyre' and Emily's 'Wuthering Heights').
While the funding has not yet been confirmed, sculptor Tom Frantzen (who previously created the iconic statues of Pieter Bruegel and Jacques Brel in Brussels) might also provide a sculpture of Charlotte and Emily.
Feminising Brussels' streets
The Brontë sisters' recognition in the Belgian capital is thanks to the current "feminisation" of Brussels street names, which aims to increase the number that are named after women.
Three other (sections of) streets in Koekelberg – which up until now only had two streets/public spaces named after women – have recently been re-baptised as well. One was named after Gemba, one of seven Congolese women who died in 1897 in Tervuren when Congolese villages were created complete with "human exhibits" as part of Expo 1897.
The second space was named after Tunisian-French lawyer Gisèle Halimi, whose defence of two Brussels rape victims at the "Aix trial" led to harsher sentences for rapists under French law. Lastly, a street was named after Renée Douffet, who was part of the Jewish resistance in Koekelberg. She saved a Jewish friend from deportation by providing her with false papers.
The hope is for the Brontë square to be inaugurated in 2025. The municipality will ensure that the neighbourhood library's collection includes several Brontë-themed books.
