The War of the Brabantian Succession (15 June 1356 – 4 June 1357)

When he died in 1355, Jan III Duke of Brabant and of Limburg left behind three daughters and no son. This created a succession problem for the Duchy. His second son-in-law, Louis II, Count of Flanders, alias Louis of Male, attacked the Duchy in an attempt to seize power, aided by Jan’s third son-in-law Reginald III, Duke of Guelders.

In fact, Duke Jan III had intended for his oldest daughter Joanna to succeed him, according to “ius Brabantinum” law.

In order to exert her power, Joanna and her husband performed the “Joyous Entry of 1356” in Leuven on 3 January 1356. This is known in Dutch as the “Blijde Inkomst” and the street in which they entered Leuven is still known today as the “Blijde Inkomststraat“.

The Joyous Entry of 1356 is of vital significance.

It was not just a spectacle, witnessed by citizens, nobles and officials from all Brabantian cities. It was the Magna Carta of Brabant, where she granted a charter of liberties granted to the burghers in return for their loyalty to her as their Duchess.

Nevertheless, a few months later, Flanders attacked Brabant. The Flemish occupied Brussels (18 August 1356), Mechelen (20 August 1356), Leuven and Vilvoorde (22 August 1356), Antwerpen and Grimbergen (23 August 1356), Tienen and Nijvel (24 August 1356).

It was only when Joanna’s husband, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg, approached his half-brother, Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor for help that the war ended. The Flemish were driven out of Brabant and Joanna was finally recognised as the Duchess of Brabant by her neighbours.

400 years of Brussels’ Outer City Wall (1357-1783)

It was likely the result of this war that Brussels started building its second (outer) city walls.

Records show that the constructions started in 1357, a year after Leuven. By 1379, the names for the new city gates started appearing in documents with different variations.

First it was the city gates that were built, and the walls linking the gates were then erected. In total, there were seven city gates:

Leuvensepoort
(Nieuwe) Koudenbergpoort (later Naamsepoort)
Obbrusselpoort (later Hallepoort)
Anderlechtsepoort
Vlaamsepoort
Lakensepoort
Keulsepoort (later Schaarbeeksepoort)

But with the decision by Habsburg Emperor Jozef II to demolish all city defense throughout his realm, Brussels’ city wall was gradually torn down since 1783.

In the place of the city gates, twin pavilions were placed at fourteen entry points. The walls gave way to broad green boulevards designed by Jean-Baptiste Vifquain, from 1818 to 1840. But because of Brussels was already being Brussels, due to the taxation differences between Brussels inhabitants and those of the satellite towns, a patent wall had to be built 2.5m high with a 3m-wide ditch (basically a small city wall) to demarcate the city boundaries.

During this time, a ring road following the pentagonal shape of the old city was built over the moat. Today, the circle metro line follows the trajectory and so does the modern inner ring road.

Not one but three Lakensepoorts

According to historian Bram Vannieuwenhuyze, the Lakensepoort shows that the outer city wall of Brussels was not built as a one-off event, but rather in succession. The right bank of the River Zenne saw the erection of the wall and gates in the period of 1357-1362. The construction on the left bank of the Zenne only began in the 1370s.

First of all, there was not one but three Lakensepoorts.

The first Lakensepoort, better known as ‘Lakenpoort‘, was part of the first and inner city wall was first recorded in 1252. This city gate was built across the River Zenne, controlling the trade and was named after the neighbouring village of Laken. Today, this gate would have been located at the intersection between the Zwarte Lievevrouwstraat (Rue de la Vierge Noire) and the Lakensestraat (Rue de Laeken). The old gate was used to store gunpowder and was known as the ‘swerte poorte’ (The Black Gate) in the 16th century, undoubtedly because of its dark appearance. One of the watch towers to the west of this first Lakenpoort still stands, and has inherited the colour property, being currently known as the ‘Zwarte Toren’ (Black Tower).

The second Lakensepoort would have today been located on the Lakensestraat a little south of the intersection with the Vaartstraat (Rue du Canal). It was first recorded in 1373 as “Klein Lakenpoortje” (Small Laken Gate) but clearly located outside of the first city wall. It was soon called the ‘Middelste Lakenpoort‘ (Middle Laken Gate) once its role was taken over by the outer and last Lakensepoort. On 26 May 1520, the city stewards leased the building for five florins per year to the famous architect Lodewijk van Bodegem. He was allowed to restore it and give it a purpose of his own choosing, without however compromising its (military?) usefulness, apparently because the city council still had a defensive function in mind for it in case of emergency. The gate was still indicated on a map from 1572 but disappeared soon after.

The third and final Lakensepoort appeared in 1368 as the “Nuwe Lakenporten” (New Laken Gates), and formed part of the 14th century outer city gates. But it must have been built shortly before that. Unlike most of Brussels’ outer city gates, the Lakensepoort was not located on an exit road but at the place where the Zenne flowed out of the city, much like the first (inner) Lakensepoort. A three-arched water sluice called “Spui” (related to the English word ‘spew’) allowed the water to flow or be kept within the city. The actual city gate was built against the sluice on the left bank. Unlike the inner and middle Lakensepoort, this majestic gate was located a hundred metres east of the Lakensestraat (Rue de Laeken)/Antwerpse Steenweg (Chaussée d’Anvers) traffic axis. Incoming and outgoing traffic therefore had to follow a U-shaped detour along the inside and outside of the city walls.

The Confusion with the Antwerpsepoort

During the French Occupation of 1794-1815, Brussels prepared for the arrival of their new Councillor Napoléon Bonaparte by creating a new city gate named after him in 1803. Known as the ‘Porte Napoléon‘ (Napolean Gate), the new city gate occupied the space where the third Lakensepoort should have been in the 16th century, i.e. at the intersection between the Lakenstraat and the Antwerpse Steenweg. In fact, to show how porous Brussels’ outer city wall was, there was here since 1664/1667 a flight of steps that led in and out of the city called the ‘Blauwe Trap‘ (Blue Steps) since going through the actual Lakensepoort as quite a detour. In 1807, the design of the city gate was approved by the French government in Paris after his visit in 1803-1804, but the French Occupation ended in 1815. The Low Countries were by then united under the Dutch crown, and the gate was promptly redesigned and renamed to ‘Willemspoort’ (Porte Guillaume) – Williams Gate, to welcome the new ruler, King Willem I. However, this being Belgium, a temporary triumphant arch was built to welcome the king while the actual gate was only worked on in 1820-24. During the Belgian Revolution in 1830, the decorations on the Willemspoort were defaced. Once King Leopold I was installed as the new Belgian monarch a year later, the gate was renamed Leopoldpoort. Then again, it was renamed ‘Antwerpsepoort’ (Place d’Anvers) after the city of Antwerp.

The Village of Laken and the Saint-Anne Spring

Just like the Anderlechtsepoort and the Obbrusselpoort, the Lakensepoort led to the village just outside the city wall, in this case, the village of Laken. Laken was an old village, first mentioned in 1080 as “Lacha“. The name is derived from Old Frankish meaning “bodies of water”, like a lake or a pond. Laken and Schaarbeek, both located north of Brussels, were divided by the River Zenne, with Laken to the west and Schaarbeek to the east.

There really was nothing much happening in Laken, except that there was a miraculous spring that sprang up at the foot of an old oak tree that had the apparition of Saint Anne (mother of Virgin Mary). This holy spring water, according to believers, was quite specific in its remedies, curing cramps, fever and eye pain.

In 1360, this spring acquired the name of “sente marien“, but was also called “Welleborre“, “Vijf Wondenbak” and “Vijf Wondenput“. The last two names referred to the five wounds that Jesus Christ supposedly suffered from his crucifixion. Somehow in folks’ tongue, the name evolved to become “Five Hounds“. This gave rise to another story about the spring:

In his book “Volksverhalen uit Noord-West Brussel” (Folklores from Northwest Brussels), Pierre Van Nieuwenhuysen wrote of a legend where a blind young beggar was begging everyday between Laken and Grimbergen. When thieves tried to steal his money, five dogs jumped out of nowhere to attack them. Thereafter, a freshwater spring sprang on the spot with water that was beneficial for eye diseases.

By the 14th century, the Sint-Annabron (Saint Anne Spring) was so popular, that a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne was built higher up the grounds.

A huge fan of the Sint-Annabron was Archduchess Isabella of Spain, ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands. As she came here weekly to pray at the chapel and drink from the spring, all the way from her palace on the Koudenberg in Brussels, she had a road paved in 1615 that linked the centre of Laken to the spring. Up until today, this road is still there, called the “Sint-Annadreef” (Saint Anne’s Drive).

In 1625, Archduchess Isabella was supposedly cured of her fever after drinking from the spring. She then had a stone monument built around the spring by her priest Andres de Soto. This stone structure still exists today and contain the following text in Latin:

“FONTEM HUNO DIVAE MADRI AANAE SACRUM
IAMDUDUM FEBRICITANTIBUS SALUTAREM
NE ULTRA INGLORIUS PER TERRAM SERPERET
SERma ISABELLA CLARA EUGENIA
HISPANIARUM INFANS
EX DESIDERIO R.P.ANDREAE A SOTO
ALVEORORNAMTISQUE DONAVIT
ANNO MDCXXV”

“In order that this source, dedicated to the Holy Mother Anne,
since long beneficial to feverish people,
may no longer flow ingloriously on earth.
Infanta Isabelle-Claire-Eugénie of Spain,
at the wish of Father André a Soto,
donated this decorated reservoir
in the year 1625.”

No one really believes in the healing powers of the Sint-Annabron anymore, in Laken or elsewhere. The chapel however is now used by Russian Orthodox for their services.

On the 18th century painting of the Sint-Annabron by Andreas Martin, you can make out the form of the Lakensepoort in the bottom left corner of the city.

The Lakensepoort was an imposing water gate with three arches that stretched across the River Zenne. The gate rose two storeys higher above the water and was flanked on its sides by two round towers. The west tower was where people and goods had to pass through. Up until the construction of the Brussels-Willebroek Canal in 1561 (the one that you can see on the map), the Lakensepoort was the only water gate where ships could enter Brussels on the River Zenne. The ships then travelled up the river, once passed the first/inner Lakensepoort, they unloaded their cargo at Den Werf (The Yard) which was Brussels’ first city port.

Above the Lakensepoort were cannons, as the gate was also a defence construction. Its attic was used to store grain, salt and gunpowder. In the 17th century, the gatehouse housed the glass factory of Giovanni Savonetti and his son Francesco for a few years. During the epidemic of 1651, sick people were housed here too. In 1658, cloth manufacturers Damiens and Jacobs set up their looms there and in 1667 the building became a gunpowder magazine again. From 1645 onwards, the south-eastern tower became a church prison and henceforth called the ‘Bisschopstoren‘ (Bishop’s Tower). Some cells were so narrow that prisoners were forced to stand upright! On several occasions, the Lakensepoort was the entrance through which new rulers entered Brussels: in 1686, Governor Francisco Antonio de Agurto was handed the keys to the city there and in 1746, the victorious French marshal Maurice de Saxe (1696-1750) after the ‘Beleg van Brussel‘ (Siege of Brussels).

In the 18th century, there was a military prison on the floor of the actual gate. Courtiers could also be imprisoned there, in particular, from 1762 onwards, members of the court’s theatre company who had been punished by the ‘Tribunal Aulique’ for a disciplinary offence. To ensure that this would not be at the expense of urban entertainment, convicted actors, dancers and musicians enjoyed a liberal regime in which they were allowed to dine with visitors and had leave to play in the evening. Imprisoned soldiers did not have these privileges. When defecting French general Charles François Dumouriez retreated from Brussels on 24 March 1793, his deserted soldiers set fire to straw and thus set the roof of Lakensepoort ablaze.

The roofless Lakensepoort remained so until the visit of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803-1804, which was also why the new Porte Napoléon was built. By 1808, the 14th century Lakensepoort was completely demolished.

River No More

With the Brussels-Willebroek Canal built in 1561, the Lakensepoort quickly lost its importance as a control centre of trade by water coming into Brussels. When the imposing structure was finally demolished in 1808, the gate had already fell into oblivion. This coincided with the francisation of Brussels, where the upper classes spoke French and tried to emulate Paris in every way possible. The result is the laying of central avenues and buildings like what Haussmann had done in Paris. Under Brussels mayor Jules Anspach, and with the designs of architect Léon Pierre Suys, the whole northwestern axis of Brussels changed dramatically with the vaulting of the River Zenne.

The vaulting of the River Zenne took place in two phases: 1867–1871, 1931–1955.

Originally called “Boulevard de la Senne“, the wide road above the river is called today after Emile Jacqmain (1860-1933), an alderman of Brussels who was deported by the Germans during the First World War.

It was only in the 1970s and 1980s that the Emile Jacqmainlaan was “extended” extra-muros to what is today the ‘Koning Albert II laan’ (Boulevard du Roi Albert II). The area is now called the “Manhattan Quarter” of Brussels, although it had for centuries been the city’s infamous red-light district.

There is nothing that marks the site of the once mighty Lakensepoort of Brussels, nor of the River Zenne that gave birth to the city that still flows under the broad boulevards. The only thing that marks the spot in the busy roundabout is a sculpture called ‘Arch’ by Taiwanese artist Ju Ming.

Sources:

Vannieuwenhuyze, B. (2011) “Brussel, de Ontwikkeling van een middeleeuwse stedelijke ruimte.” Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadspoorten_van_Brussel
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakensepoort
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porte_de_Laeken
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middelste_Lakenpoort
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakenpoort
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porte_Noire_(Bruxelles)
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerpsepoort
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laken_(Belgi%C3%AB)
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overwelving_van_de_Zenne
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Jacqmainlaan

1. Vitzthumb, Paul. (1786) “View of the Laeken Gate in Brussels, 1786” KBR (image)
2. Vitzthumb, Paul. (1793) “De Lakensepoort in 1793 met afgebrand dak door Vitzthumb” KBR (image)
3. Unknown. “Cadastral map of Brussels, 1837.” (image)
4. Martin, Andreas. (1717-1763) “Saint Anne’s lane in Laeken” Brussels City Museum (image)