The Boulevard Anspach is continued to the north by both the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain/Émile Jacqmainlaan and the Boulevard Adolphe Max/Adolphe Maxlaan, forming a "Y" crossroad at the Place de Brouckère. To the south, it crosses the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein about halfway through, and continues towards the Place Fontainas where it becomes the Boulevard Maurice Lemonnier/Maurice Lemonnierlaan.
Many places of interest lie along the Boulevard Anspach, for instance the former Brussels Stock Exchange, the Ancienne Belgique concert hall, the Pathé Palace cinema (officially named the Cinéma Palace since 2018),[1] as well as numerous shops and restaurants. De Brouckère metro station on lines 1 and 5 of the Brussels Metro is accessible from the Boulevard Anspach, as well as Bourse/Beurspremetro (underground tram) station.
The Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan in 1880, etching by Armand Heins from L'Illustration nationale
The Boulevard Anspach was built between 1868 and 1871, as part of the North–South Axis, which was created after the covering of the river Senne,[2][3] although the river no longer flows underneath it. Prior to 1879, it was named the Boulevard Central/Centraallaan ("Central Boulevard"),[4][5] when it was renamed in honour of Jules Anspach (1829–1879), the former mayor of the City of Brussels who instigated these works.[2]
In June 2012, "protest picnics" were held on the Boulevard Anspach to express dissatisfaction with the City of Brussels' mobility policy. Following these events, the city's then-mayor, Freddy Thielemans, decided to make the boulevard car-free every Sunday afternoon for the entire summer.[6] His successor, Yvan Mayeur, wished to expand the Boulevard Anspach into a permanent pedestrian zone with a new street cover, equipped with fountains, works of art, benches and trees. On 29 June 2015, the boulevard finally became completely car-free between the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein as part of a broader pedestrianisation of Brussels' city centre (Le Piétonnier).[7][8][9]
No. 3: Café Sésino (1875), an eclectic building by Désiré De Keyser [fr]. It won the fifth prize in the architectural competition of 1876, and was demolished in 1967.
No. 56–58: Modernist building (1939) by Adrien Blomme [fr], originally built for Wielemans-Ceuppens breweries. It once housed the famous café Aux Armes des Brasseurs.[10]
Demey, Thierry (1990). Bruxelles, chronique d'une capitale en chantier (in French). Vol. I: Du voûtement de la Senne à la jonction Nord-Midi. Brussels: Paul Legrain/CFC. OCLC44643865.
Demey, Thierry (2013). Bruxelles, des remparts aux boulevards (in French). Brussels: Badeaux. ISBN978-2-930609-02-7.
Eggericx, Laure (1997). Les Boulevards du Centre. Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire (in French). Vol. 20. Brussels: Centre d'information, de Documentation et d'Etude du Patrimoine.
Media related to Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan, Brussels at Wikimedia Commons
