Timeline of Brussels (20th century)

The following is a timeline of the history of Brussels, Belgium, in the 20th century.

• 1901 – The Maison & Atelier Horta is built.

• 1902
  • À la Mort Subite café is built.
  • The Solvay Library is built.
  • The Sino-Belgian Bank is established at the request of King Leopold II.
  • The Sonian Forest Railway begins operation, connecting Petite-Espinette/Kleine Hut to Boitsfort/Bosvoorde railway station.
  • The Brussels Motor Show is first held.
  • 12 April: Riots erupt in the Marolles/Marollen during the Belgian general strike of 1902.
  • 15 November: An attempted assassination of King Leopold II by Gennaro Rubino takes place.
  • 16 November: The Solvay Institute of Sociology is established by industrialist Ernest Solvay.
• 1903
  • Le Falstaff café is built.
  • The École de Commerce Solvay business school is founded with a donation from Ernest Solvay.^[1]
  • December: The socialist De Gazet van Brussel starts publication.
• 1904
  • The Saint-Gilles Municipal Hall is built.^[2]
  • 26 June: Josaphat Park opens.^[3]

• 1905
  • The Cauchie House is built.
  • Buses begin operating in the city.^[4]
  • 21 September: St. Michael's College opens in Etterbeek.
  • 25 September: The Cinquantenaire Arcade is completed.^[4]
• 1906
  • Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show takes place.^[5] 13 January: Besix is founded by the Stulemeijer family.
  • 7 February: The dismembered body of Jeanne Van Calck is found at 22, rue des Hirondelles/Zwaluwenstraat.
  • 24 February: Chilean diplomat Ernesto Balmaceda Bello is shot dead by Carlos Waddington, the brother of his fiancé Adelaida Waddington.
  • 2 May: The Yachting Club de Bruxelles is established.
• 1907 – 1 December: Annette Bellot is abducted while playing near the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, and is found the next day raped and strangled near the Royal Veterinary School of Cureghem.^[6]
• 1908
  • The Chapel of the Resurrection is built.
  • The Society Against Cruelty to Animals is established in Veeweyde/Veeweide.^[7]
  • Verregat Hippodrome is established.
  • 27 May: R.S.C. Anderlecht is founded.
• 1909
  • 6 December: Adolphe Max is appointed mayor by royal decree.
  • 23 December: King Albert I takes the constitutional oath at the Palace of the Nation.

• 1910
  • The Hotel Astoria opens on the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat.
  • The original Mont des Arts/Kunstberg is inaugurated.^[8]
  • Henri Wittamer opens a bakery with his wife on the Square du Grand Sablon/Grote Zavelsquare.^[9]
  • 10 March: Le Mariage de mademoiselle Beulemans is first performed at the Théâtre de l'Olympia.
  • 23 April–1 November: The Brussels International world's fair is held.
  • 14–15 August: A fire destroys part of the Solbosch/Solbos section of the Brussels International Exposition.^[10]
  • 23 September: The Brussels Convention on Assistance and Salvage at Sea is signed.

• 1911
  • The Stoclet Palace is built.
  • The North–South connection begins construction.^[4]
  • 16–17 April: The Schaerbeek Municipal Hall is partially destroyed by a suspected arson fire.^[11]
  • 30 October–3 November: The first Solvay Conference is held.
  • 23 December: The Cercle de la Toison d'Or private club is founded.
• 1912
  • The Young Trade Unionists is established by Joseph Cardijn.^{[12][13][14][15]}
  • 14 October: Polish Dominican priest, count, academic and mystic Joachim Badeni is born in the city.^[16]
• 1913
  • The Belle-Vue Brewery is established.
  • 14–24 April: The Belgian general strike of 1913 takes place.
  • 5 October: The Sports Palace opens on the edge of Josaphat Park.^[3]

• 1914
  • 27 March: Albert Hustin becomes the first person to successfully perform non-direct blood transfusions using sodium citrate as an anticoagulant at the St. John's Clinic.
  • 1 May: Tram line 81 begins service.
  • 11 May–4 June: The Great Zwanz Exhibition is held.
  • 21 August: World War I: The city is captured and occupied by the German Army.^[4]
  • 26 August: The city becomes the seat of the Imperial German General Government of Belgium.
  • The Imperial German Air Service establishes Flugplatz Brüssel military airfield in Haren.
  • 29 November: The pro-German Gazet van Brussel starts publication.

• 1915
  • 7 June: A Zeppelin hangar on Flugplatz Brüssel is partially destroyed during an attack on airship LZ38.
  • October: René Magritte moves from Charleroi to the city to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.^[17]
  • 12 October: Edith Cavell is executed by firing squad at the Tir National/Nationale Schietbaan.
• 1917
  • The Emile Versé Stadium opens.
  • 4 February: The Council of Flanders is established by the "activist" faction of the Flemish Movement, with covert backing from Germany.^[18]
• 1916 – 1 April: Gabrielle Petit is executed by firing squad at the Tir National.
• 1918
  • 10 November: The Brussels Soldiers' Council is established by German troops in German-occupied Belgium.
  • 17 November: Adolphe Max returns triumphantly to loud cheers from the city's residents after his time in Germany.^[19]
  • 22 November: King Albert I returns to the city.

• 1919
  • Population: 685,268 metro.^[20]
  • The Lignes Farman airline begins operating its Paris–Brussels route.^[21]
  • The New University is reintegrated into the Free University.
  • 15 October: Schaerbeek Municipal School No. 15 opens in Uitkerke to provide schooling for children with health problems.^[22]
• 1920
  • The Oscar Bossaert Stadium opens.
  • The Mundaneum opens.
  • 6 July: The University Foundation is established by Herbert Hoover, Emile Francqui and Léon Delacroix.
  • 15–26 August: The fencing events of the 1920 Summer Olympics are held at the Egmont Palace.^[23]
  • 20 August: Belga news agency is established by Pierre-Marie Olivier and Maurice Travailleur in Schaerbeek.
  • 28 August–5 September: Some of the football events of the Summer Olympics are held in the Joseph Marien Stadium.^[24]
  • 25 September–8 October: The International Financial Conference is held in the city.^[25]
• 1921 – 30 March: Haren, Laeken and Neder-Over-Heembeek are annexed by the City of Brussels.^[4]
• 1922
  • The Experimental Garden Jean Massart is established.^[26]
  • The Karak Soap & Perfumery Works is established.^[27][28]
  • 22 September: Jan Baptist De Mey is reported missing and over the following weeks his dismembered remains are accidentally discovered in the Brussels Canal.^[29]
  • 12 November: Tour & Taxis officially opens.^[30]
• 1923
  • The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History opens.
  • Brugmann Hospital opens.
  • Het Heideken social garden city begins development.^[31]
  • 1 January: The Vlaamse Club voor Kunsten, Wetenschappen en Letteren is established.
  • 2 January: Tram line 23 begins service.
  • 23 May: The Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne (Sabena) is established.^[4]
• 1924 – Verregat social garden city begins development.

• 1925 – St Andrew's Church is consecrated.
• 1926
  • The École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre (ENSAV) is established.
  • The Comme chez Soi restaurant is established.
• 1927 – 24–29 October: The fifth Solvay Conference, perhaps the most famous, is held.
• 1928
  • The Charlier Museum opens.
  • The Villa van Buuren is built.^[32]
  • The first Fernand Jacobs Award is presented to Louis Crooy and Victor Groenen in honour of Fernand Jacobs.
• 1929
  • 4 January: Tintin first appears in Le Petit Vingtième newspaper.
  • 19 October: The Centre for Fine Arts opens.
• 1930
  • Population: 200,433 city.^[4]
  • The Hotel Le Plaza opens.
  • The Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon becomes the Belgian lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.^[33]
  • The Natan fashion house is established.^[34]
  • 18 June: The National Institute for Radio Broadcast (NIR) is established.
  • 23 August: The Jubilee Stadium opens.
  • 6 December: Casal Català de Brussel·les is founded by a group of Catalan exiled politicians including Francesc Macià i Llussà and Bonaventura Gassol i Rovira.
• 1931
  • The Brussels Symphony Orchestra is founded.
  • The Granvelle Palace is demolished.^[35]
• 1932 – 7 October: The Luna-Theater opens on the site of a former luna park.^[36]
• 1933
  • The Uccle Crematorium opens, becoming the first crematorium in Belgium.^[37]
  • 6 April: The Synagogue of Anderlecht is consecrated.
  • 8 March: The Vlaamsch Verbond voor Brussel is established.^[38]
• 1934
  • The Villa Empain is built.
  • The Citroën Garage is built.
  • 22 February: The funeral of King Albert I takes place.
  • 23 February: King Leopold III takes the constitutional oath at the Palace of the Nation.

• 1935
  • The Brussels International world's fair is held; the Palais des Expositions is built.
  • The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is consecrated.
  • The Groot Symfonie-Orkest is established.
  • The Société royale de Flore de Bruxelles and Société royale linnéenne de Bruxelles merge and form the Société royale linnéenne et de Flore de Bruxelles.^[39]
• 1937
  • King Leopold III commissions the world's first six-metre-high concrete climbing wall, built in the garden of the Château of Stuyvenberg.^[40]
  • The Résidence de la Cambre, the city's first high-rise, is constructed.^[41]
  • 21 March–1 April: The first Eugène Ysaÿe Competition (present-day Queen Elisabeth Competition) is held.^[42][43]
• 1938
  • The Royal Belgian Film Archive is established.
  • The Forest Municipal Hall is built.^[44]
  • The Flagey Building is built.
  • Scabal is established as a cloth merchant and supplier of fabrics by Otto Hertz.
  • Suikerbakkerij Joris is established.
  • 28 February: Bossemans et Coppenolle is first performed at the Théâtre du Vaudeville.
• 1939
  • The Constantin Meunier Museum opens.
  • 21 June: The Institut Jules Bordet is inaugurated.^[45]
  • September: Construction of the KW Line begins to defend the city from invasions.^[46]
  • 28 November: Joseph Van De Meulebroeck is appointed mayor by royal decree.

• 1940
  • 10 May: The Third Reich launches a surprise attack, air raid sirens ring in the city, and bombs hit Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Etterbeek, Evere, and Schaerbeek.^[47]
  • 11 May: Bombs are dropped in the vicinity of the North and South stations and Schaerbeek.^[47]
  • 12 May: The city is mostly deserted, with only a few trams running, schools closed, and many residents fleeing south and west.^[47]
  • 16 May: British troops move east across the city and return when the bridges over the Willebroek and Brussels-Charleroi canals are blown up.^[47]
  • 17 May: The German occupation begins as the city is declared open, and the Sixth Army, under General Walter von Reichenau, enters, while the Belgian Government flees to Bordeaux.^[4][47][48]
  • 28 May: The Belgian Army surrenders, and King Leopold III is taken prisoner of war at the Palace of Laeken.^[48]
  • 31 May: The German Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France is headquartered in the city.^[48][49]
  • 1 June: Adolf Hitler visits the city.^[47][50]
  • 1 July: The Zéro intelligence network in formed by employees of the Bank of Brussels.^[48]
  • 20 July: The Frontstalag 110 prisoner-of-war camp is established by the Wehrmacht.^[51][52][53]
  • 31 July: The Radio Bruxelles and Zender Brussel radio stations are established by the Military Administration.^[48]
  • 15 August: La Libre Belgique clandestine newspaper begins its publication.^[48]
  • 18–19 August: English bombs hit the Rue Antoine Dansaert/Antoine Dansaertstraat, killing seven.^[47]
  • 11 November: A demonstration at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is broken up.^[47]
  • 17 December: The Belgian National Movement is established.^[48]
• 1941
  • 1 February: Le Drapeau Rouge and De Roode Vaan clandestine newspapers begin their publication by the Communist Party of Belgium.^[48]
  • 13 March: The Frontstalag 110 POW camp is dissolved.^[51][52]
  • 29 May: The 'Hunger march for the release of prisoners of war', 3,000 women rally behind slogans and march through the city.^[48]
  • June: A passenger train derails in Uccle after a failed sabotage attempt by the Belgian National Movement of a tank transport from Charleroi on line 154.^[54]
  • 30 June: Joseph Van De Meulebroeck is arrested and deported; Jules Coelst is designated deputy mayor.
  • 18 August: The Comet Line starts operating.^[55]
  • 10 October: Bombing of the Rex headquarters on the Rue de Laeken/Lakensestraat; Jean-Joseph Oedekerken is killed.^[48]
  • 25 November: The Free University of Brussels closes.^[48][56]
• 1942
  • January: Groupe G is formed by a group of former students of the Free University.
  • 10 March: Violence erupts in the city during a parade of the Walloon Legion before leaving for the Eastern Front, marked by bombings and attacks from communist militants against collaborators and military targets.^[57]
  • 3 September: A razzia occurs in the Marolles, 718 are arrested and transported to Dossin.^[58]
  • 24 September: Greater Brussels is formed by merging 18 municipalities into the City of Brussels; Jan Grauls is appointed mayor.^[48]
• 1943
  • 2 January: Following several attacks on Germans, sanctions are imposed as theatres and concert halls close, sports matches are cancelled and night trams stop running.^[47]
  • 20 January: An attack on the Gestapo headquarters by Baron Jean de Selys Longchamps takes place.
  • 29 January: The sanctions imposed earlier that month are lifted.^[47]
  • 14 April: Paul Colin is assassinated by Arnaud Fraiteur.^[59]
  • 19 April: Youra Livchitz, Robert Maistriau, and Jean Franklemon cycle from the city to Boortmeerbeek to liberate passengers from the XXth convoy to Auschwitz.^[60]
  • 27 April: A failed assassination attempt by Youra Livchitz on Icek Glogowski, occurs at his residence on Rue Vanderkindere/Vanderkinderestraat when Livchitz's pistol jammed. After the attempt, Glogowski was transported daily by the Gestapo.
  • 7 September: The city is bombarded by the Allies, killing 342.
  • 20 October: Eleven members of the Comet Line are executed at the Tir National.^[61]

• 1944
  • 17 February: Youra Livchitz is executed by firing squad at the Tir National.
  • 28 February: Alexandre Galopin is assassinated by Flemish collaborators from DeVlag.
  • 10 April: Bombings occur.^[47]
  • 2–11 May: Bombings occur.^[47]
  • 1 August: Attacks in the city against the Germans and collaborators take place; they retaliate and execute 30 people.^[48]
  • 23 August: 15 people are executed by the Germans.^[48]
  • 3–4 September: The city is liberated by the Welsh Guards; the Palace of Justice is burnt by the Germans to destroy legal records during their retreat.
  • 8 September: The Belgian government in exile returns to the city after four years in London.
  • 20 September: Prince Charles, Count of Flanders takes the constitutional oath at the Palace of the Nation, and becomes regent.^[62]
  • 20 November: The Free University reopens.
  • 15 December: The District of Brussels, formed by Nazi Germany, is no longer in control of the territory.
• 1945
  • 10 June: A mock funeral procession for Adolf Hitler is held in the Marolles, during which funds were raised to support the victims of Auschwitz.^[63][64]
  • 29 June: General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first Honorary Citizen of the City of Brussels.^[65]

• 1946 – 26 September: Tintin comics magazine starts publication by Le Lombard.
• 1947 – 24 November: A fire erupts at the Ministry of Education building, killing 17 and injuring 40.^[66]

• 1948
  • 17 March: The Treaty of Brussels is signed, establishing the Western Union (WU).
  • 20 July: Brussels Airport opens in Zaventem.
  • 1 September: The foundation stone is laid for the Volkswagen Forest/Vorst car manufacturing plant by D'Ieteren.
• 1949
  • The Black Russian is created by Gustave Tops, a bartender at the Hotel Métropole, in honour of Perle Mesta, the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.^[67]
  • 22 May: The Brussels Grand Prix is first held.^[68][69]
• 1950
  • 1 August: King Leopold III asks the Government and Parliament to vote on a law delegating his powers to Prince Baudouin, Duke of Brabant.^[70]
  • 11 August: Prince Baudouin takes the constitutional oath for the first time and becomes the Prince Royal.^[70]
  • 1 October: St. Job's Church is consecrated.^[71]
• 1951
  • 13 March: The Cercle artistique et littéraire de Bruxelles is integrated into the Cercle royal Gaulois to become the Cercle royal Gaulois artistique et littéraire.
  • 17 July: King Baudouin takes the constitutional oath for the second time at the Palace of the Nation, and becomes the King of the Belgians.^[70][72]
• 1952
  • The North–South connection is completed; Brussels-Central railway station and Brussels-South railway station open.
  • Café du Heideken is demolished to widen the Avenue de Jette/Jetselaan for tram line 13.^[73]
• 1953
  • Suzan Daniel establishes the Centre culturel de Belgique/Cultuurcentrum België (CCB) the first LGBTQIA+ rights organisation in the country.^[74]
  • 17 June: Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles is formed, replacing Les Tramways Bruxellois as the city's main public transport operator.
  • 1 August: The Brussels Heliport commences operations under Sabena.
  • 15–19 August: The 7th Summer Deaflympics are held in the city.
• 1955
  • 26 March: A mass demonstration takes place against a Socialist–Liberal education bill, while authorities downplay the event through limited media coverage, 40 injurded.^[75][76]
  • 25 May: The Royal Flemish Theatre suffers extensive damage from a fire.^[77]
  • 10 July: Over a quarter of a million demonstrate in the city against Socialist–Liberal education policy.^[78]
• 1956
  • The Atomium starts construction.
  • 14 February: Lucien Cooremans is appointed mayor by royal decree.
• 1957 – Delhaize inaugurates the first supermarket on the European continent at the Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein.^[79]

• 1958
  • The city becomes one of the seats of the European Community.
  • The Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity is consecrated.
  • 17 April–19 October: Expo 58 world's fair is held.
  • September – The European School, Brussels I (ESB1) opens.
• 1959
  • The State Administrative Centre begins construction.^[4]
  • 2 July: The wedding of Prince Albert and Paola Ruffo di Calabria takes place.

• 1960
  • The city hosts the Congolese Round Table Conference.
  • Ballet of the 20th Century contemporary dance company is established.
  • 3 April: The weekly Sablon Antiques Market is inaugurated by Mayor Lucien Cooremans.^[80][81]
  • 30 July–6 August: The 45th World Esperanto Congress takes place in the city.^[82]
  • 1 November: The city becomes the seat of the Secretariat-General of the Benelux.^[83]
  • 15 December: The wedding of King Baudouin and Fabiola de Mora y Aragón takes place.
• 1961
  • The Serment royal des Saints-Michel-et-Gudule ou des Escrimeurs de Bruxelles is reestablished as La Maison de l'Escrime by Charles Debeur.
  • 15 February: Sabena Flight 548 crashes on approach to Brussels Airport, killing all 72 people on board and one person on the ground.^[4]
  • 27 February: The Royal Association of the Descendants of the Lineages of Brussels is established.
  • 22 October: The first March on Brussels against Francisation is held.^[84]
  • 8 December: The Archdiocese of Mechelen is renamed the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, with the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula becoming its co-cathedral, and Leo Joseph Suenens becoming the first archbishop.
  • 21 December: The Film Museum is founded.
• 1962
  • The Hoger Rijks Instituut voor Toneel en Cultuurspreiding (HRITCS) is established.
  • The Institut national supérieur des arts du spectacle et des techniques de diffusion (INSAS) is established.
  • The Vicariate of Brussels is established.
  • 17 September: The Statistics Belgium building collapses, killing 17 and injuring 19.^[85]
  • 14 October: The second March on Brussels against Francisation is held.^[84]

• 1963 – 2 August: The city becomes part of the bilingual Brussels-Capital administrative area.^[86]
• 1965
  • The Maison du Peuple/Volkshuis is demolished and is replaced with the Sablon Tower.^[4]
  • 24 February: A fire erupts at the Gai Séjour nursing home, killing 15 and injuring 10.^[87]
• 1966
  • The Sports Palace is demolished and replaced by Brusilia.^[3]
  • Schaerbeek Municipal School No. 15 closes due to outdated facilities and a declining need for seaside air among pupils.^[22]
  • 1 November: The Brussels Heliport ceases operations.
• 1967
  • The South Tower is built.
  • 17 February: The Manhattan Plan, is approved by Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants, paving the way for the construction of the Northern Quarter.
  • 1 May: The European Commission starts moving into the Berlaymont.
  • 22 May: The À L'Innovation department store is destroyed by fire.^[4]
  • 16 October: NATO's headquarters are established in the city.
  • 13 December: The Study and Documentation Centre for War and Contemporary Society (Cegesoma) is established.
• 1968
  • 9 January: Tram line 19 begins service.
  • 19 April: Tram line 44 begins service.
  • 16 April: Tram line 39 begins service.
  • May: Student demonstrations take place at the Free University.^[4]
  • 6 July: Tram line 55 begins service.
  • September: Jan-van-Ruusbroeckollege opens in Laeken.^[88]
• 1969
  • The Brussels Hilton opens.
  • The current Mont des Arts/Kunstberg is inaugurated.^[8]
  • 29–30 June: The Tour de France passes through the city.
  • 8 September: The El Al airline offices are bombed.
  • 13 September: The Battle of the Marolles takes place.^[89]
  • 1 October: The Free University splits along linguistic lines into the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
  • 17 December: King Baudouin opens the premetro between Schuman and De Brouckère.^[90]

• 1970
  • The Royale Belge is built.
  • 30 April: The Mudra modern dance school is established by Maurice Béjart.
  • 12 September: Jacques Georgin is attacked by members of the Order of Flemish Militants while pasting election posters in Laeken and later dies of a heart attack.
  • 8 October: Forest National/Vorst Nationaal opens.
  • 11 November: The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is completed.
• 1971
  • The Flower Carpet begins at the Grand-Place.
  • 7 May: The Bulletin initiates a petition calling for a car-free Grand-Place, signed by many locals, including Jacques Brel, followed by a picnic protest, blocking car access to the square. Months later, the mayor yields.^[91]
  • 26 July: The Brussels Agglomeration is created.^[92]
  • 1 September: Mayor Roger Nols of Schaerbeek sets up separate counters in the Town Hall, violating the Language Law on Administrative Affairs requiring bilingual municipal officials.
  • 25 November: The first and only elections of the Brussels Agglomeration Council are held.^[4]
• 1972 – La Villa Lorraine becomes the first restaurant outside France to earn a Michelin star.

• 1974
  • The first Brussels Independent Film Festival is held.
  • January: The first Brussels International Film Festival is held.
• 1975
  • The Université catholique de Louvain's Jardin des plantes médicinales Paul Moens is established.
  • Trademart Brussels is established.
  • March: Bruneau restaurant is opened by the chef Jean-Pierre Bruneau.
  • 1 January: The Fire Brigade merges with four surrounding brigades as part of a restructuring effort following the À L'Innovation department store fire.
  • 14 May: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is released by Chantal Akerman during the 28th Cannes Film Festival.
  • 26 April: The first Congress of Brussels Flemings takes place to prepare for the creation of the Brussels-Capital Region.^[93]
  • 24 July–2 August: Eurofest '75, an International Youth Conference and Evangelistic Campaign, is organised by the Billy Graham Organisation.^[94]
  • 30 July: Bank Brussels Lambert is established.
  • 30 August: Pierre Van Halteren is elected mayor.
• 1976
  • April: Manneken Pis and Mietje Stroel are symbolically engaged in a ceremony at the Town Hall.^[95][96]
  • 23 August: The Saint Luke's University Hospitals of the University of Louvain opens in Louvain-en-Woluwe.
  • 20 September: The Brussels Metro begins operating.
  • 28 September: The Brussels Planetarium opens.
• 1977
  • The first Memorial Van Damme is organised by a group of journalists in honour of Ivo Van Damme in the Heysel Stadium.
  • The VUB Academic Hospital (AZ-VUB) of the VUB opens in Jette.
  • 21 May: A fire erupts at the Hôtel des Ducs de Brabant, killing 19.^[97]
  • 20 September: The Archief en Museum van het Vlaams leven te Brussel is established.
  • October: The Erasmus Hospital of the ULB opens in Neerpede.^[98]
• 1978
  • The Brussels Ring is constructed.
  • The RTBF Symphony Orchestra is formed.^[99]
  • The Oriental Pavilion is transformed into the Great Mosque of Brussels.
  • 9 November: Radio Brol, the city's first pirate radio, is launched by ULB students to support protests like the one against rising registration fees.^[100]
• 1979
  • The Archives of the City of Brussels moves into the former Magasins Waucquez.^[101]
  • The city celebrates the 1,000th anniversary of its founding.^[4]
  • Au Stekerlapatte restaurant is established by the Flemish radio and television presenter Daniël Van Avermaet.
  • 9 January: Radio Activités is launched by Coordination Anti-Nucleaire de Bruxelles in association with Les Amis de la Terre-Bruxelles becomes the first pirate station with regular broadcasts.
  • 28 August: The Brussels bombing occurs, injuring 18.
  • 19 December: Godfried Danneels is appointed Archbishop of Mechelen–Brussels.

• 1980
  • Population of the Brussels-Capital Region: 1,008,715.^[102]
  • The Flemish Community and the French Community of Belgium each designate Brussels as their capital city.
  • 9 February: The bilingual Radio Contact is launched.^[100]
  • 4 December: A French-Algerian man is killed by members of the Front de la Jeunesse, sparking a massive anti-racist demonstration; Justice Minister Philippe Moureaux introduces a law against racism in Parliament, which is adopted a few months later.^[103]
• 1981
  • 21 March: King Baudouin Park is laid out.^[4]
  • 1 April: Studio Brussel is established as a regional radio station of the BRT.
  • 1 July: Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative Naïm Khader is assassinated in the early hours in front of his home in Ixelles.
  • 18 July: Lawyer and diplomat Fernand Spaak is shot dead in his flat with a hunting rifle by his estranged wife, Anna-Maria Farina.
  • 4 December: The Bibliotheca Wittockiana is founded by Michel Wittock.
  • 31 December: A burglary by the Brabant Killers at the Gendarmerie barracks in Etterbeek stealing weapons, ammunition, and a car, some of which were allegedly found later in Madani Bouhouche's garage.

• 1982 – 18 March: The Brussels Urban Transport Museum is established.
• 1983
  • First Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (BIFF) is held.
  • 9 January: Robbery and murder of Greek-born taxi driver Constantin Angelou by the Brabant Killers. The car and body are later found in Mons.^[104][105]
  • 28 January: Raymond Dewee's Peugeot 504, along with his ID and driving licence, are stolen at gunpoint in Watermael-Boitsfort. Two weeks later, the car is used in an armed robbery at a Genval Delhaize, linked to the Brabant Killers.^[106]
  • 25 February: The Brabant Killers carry out an armed robbery at a Delhaize in Fort Jaco, stealing less than 600,000 BEF with no fatalities.^[107]
  • 4 March: Hervé Brouhon is elected mayor.
  • 17 May: La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour, is established.
  • 14 July: Turkish administrative attaché Dursun Aksoy is assassinated near his home on Avenue Franklin Roosevelt/Franklin Rooseveltlaan.
  • 23 October: The Peace March occurs, with over 400,000 participants, protesting the NATO plan to place nuclear weapons at Kleine-Brogel and Florennes under the Double-Track Decision.
• 1984
  • 13 February: The body of Christine Van Hees is discovered in an abandoned mushroom farm in Auderghem.
  • 15 February: The Brussels Regional Investment Company is established.^[108]
  • 7 September: The Bar Association of Brussels is split into French-speaking and Dutch-speaking orders.^[109]
  • 30 September: The Brussels Marathon is first held.^[110]
  • 2–8 October: The Cellules Communistes Combattantes (CCC) carry out three attacks against companies cooperating with NATO, resulting in minimal damage.^[111]
  • 15 October: Attack on the liberal Paul Hymans Institute in Ixelles by the CCC.^[111]
• 1985
  • 15 January: The CCC attacks a NATO/SHAPE support group in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert.^[111]
  • 1 May: The CCC attacks the Federation of Belgian Enterprises offices on the Rue des Sols/Stuiversstraat, killing two firefighters and injuring 13 others.^[111]
  • 6 May: The CCC carries out an attack against a Gendarmerie building, blaming them for the death of the two firefighters on 1 May.^[111]
  • 16 May: Pope John Paul II visits the city.^[112]
  • 29 May: The Heysel Stadium disaster takes place.^[112]
  • 8 October: The CCC attacks the headquarters of electricity producer Intercom.^[112]
  • 4 November: The CCC attacks the bank BBL in Etterbeek.^[112]
  • 21 November: During Ronald Reagan's visit to NATO headquarters in Evere, a bomb explodes in an office building targeting Motorola for its cooperation with the military.^[111]
  • 14 December: The French-language television station Télé Bruxelles is established.
• 1986
  • 29 September: Autoworld opens.
  • 8 December: The Flemish private club De Warande is founded and establishes itself in the Hôtel Empain.

• 1987
  • Jeanneke Pis statue is erected as counterpoint to Manneken Pis.
  • 9 May: The 32nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is held at Brussels Expo.
  • 16 May: Terres Neuves, the world's first climbing gym, opens.^[113][40]
• 1988
  • 28 July: Raoul Schouppe, a grocer and former warrant officer in the Belgian Air Force, is shot and killed by Abdelkader Belliraj.
  • 16 August: Marcel Bille is killed by Abdelkader Belliraj, allegedly for being a client of Moroccan male prostitutes.
  • 2 October: Metro line 2 begins service.
  • November: Kinepolis Brussels opens.

• 1989
  • 9 March: The Jewish Museum of Belgium opens.
  • 29 March: Saudi Arabian Imam Abdullah al-Ahdal and his assistant are fatally shot at the Great Mosque of Brussels by Abdelkader Belliraj.
  • 12 June: Mini-Europe opens.
  • 18 June: The Brussels-Capital Region is formed; the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region is established.^[114]
  • 20 June: Samir Gahez Rasoul, chauffeur to the Saudi ambassador, is killed by Abdelkader Belliraj, allegedly as collateral damage in a shot targeting a Saudi diplomat.
  • 12 July: Charles Picqué becomes the first Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.
  • 14 July: The Flemish, French and Common Community Commissions are established.^[115]
  • 3 October: Joseph Wybran, an immunologist and Jewish community leader, is killed by Abdelkader Belliraj in the Erasmus Hospital car park.
  • 6 October: The Belgian Comic Strip Center opens.
• 1990
  • Population of the Brussels-Capital Region: 964,385.^[102]
  • The first Couleur Café is held.
  • 25 February: Kosovar human rights activist Enver Hadri is assassinated by three Yugoslavs working for the State Security Administration.
  • 22 March: Canadian engineer Gerald Bull is assassinated by Mossad outside his apartment in Uccle.
  • 6 May: The Armenian Apostolic St. Mary Magdalene's Church is consecrated.^[116]
  • 26 October: The first Le Pain Quotidien bakery is established on the Rue Antoine Dansaert/Antoine Dansaertstraat by Alain Coumont.
  • 23 December: The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company is formed by the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, replacing Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles.

• 1991
  • The first comic strip murals is created on the Rue du Marché au Charbon/Kolenmarkt.
  • 5 March: The Brussels-Capital Region adopts its first flag.
  • 10–12 May: Riots erupt in Forest in response to police violence, leading to the arrest of 273 people.
  • 12 December: The Jeugdtheater Brussel is established after uncertainty regarding youth theatre within the Beursschouwburg.
• 1992
  • 27 March: Riots erupt in Cureghem/Kuregem.
  • 5 August: Loubna Benaïssa is killed on her way to the supermarket by Patrick Derochette.
• 1993
  • The Espace Léopold opens.
  • The first Brussels International Festival of Eroticism is held.
  • Tour & Taxis ceases operations as a distribution and customs center.^[117]
  • 20 January: The kidnapping of Ulrika Bidegård takes place.
  • 20 July: Michel Demaret is appointed mayor by the City Council.
  • 7 August: The funeral of King Baudouin takes place.
  • 9 August: King Albert II takes the constitutional oath at the Palace of the Nation.
  • 15 September: The Dutch-language television station TV Brussel is launched from the Royal Flemish Theatre.;^[118] Beliris is established.
  • 7 October: An ordinance is adopted to establish a framework for enhancing vulnerable neighbourhoods, later referred to as "neighbourhood contracts".^[119][120]
  • 4 December: Tram line 82 begins service.
• 1994
  • The City of Brussels is designated capital of Belgium and seat of the Federal Government.^[121]
  • 1 March: An explosion in a Hunderenveld apartment building in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe causes a partial collapse of three floors, killing six tenants.^[122][123]
  • 1 April: The first Kunstenfestivaldesarts (KFDA) is held.
  • 28 April: Freddy Thielemans is elected mayor for the first time.^[124]
  • 16 April: The Fuse nightclub opens.
  • 30 June: The Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (P.A.R.T.S.) contemporary dance school is established as the successor of Mudra.^[125]
  • 14 November: The international terminal of Brussels-South railway station opens.
• 1995
  • The Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts (EhB) is established.
  • 1 January: The Province of Brabant is split into Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant; The Governor of the Administrative Arrondissement Brussels-Capital is established.
  • 5 April: Riots erupt in Molenbeek; several gendarmes and a TV Brussel cameraman are injured.
  • 21 May: François-Xavier de Donnea is appointed mayor by the City Council.
  • 4 June: Father Damien is beatified by Pope John Paul II at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
• 1996
  • The South Tower is renovated.
  • 16 March: The Flemish Council relocates to the Hôtel des Postes et de la Marine.^[126]
  • 18 May: The Belgian Lesbian and Gay Pride, Roze Zaterdag, Samedi Rose pride parade is first held.^[127][128]
  • 14 October: The spaghetti ruling occurs, the Court of Cassation removes the investigating judge Jean-Marc Connerotte from the Dutroux affair after he attends a dinner with the victims.
  • 20 October: The White March takes place as a protest against the mishandling of the Dutroux affair.^[129]
• 1997
  • 16 October: András Pándy is arrested for the murders of his wife, ex-wife, two biological children, and two step-children, all of whom mysteriously disappeared.^[130]
  • 7 November: Riots erupt in Cureghem after the Gendarmerie fatally shoot Saïd Charki, an alleged drug dealer, in his car.^[131]
• 1998
  • The Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) relocates to the Hôtel de Spangen and the former Old England department store.
  • The first Brussels Short Film Festival is held.
  • 5 March: The Cercle de Lorraine business club is founded at the Château Fond'Roy.
  • 22 September: Nigerian asylum seeker Sémira Adamu is suffocated to death by two police officers.^[132]
  • 26 December: A fire breaks out in the Royal Park Theatre.^[133]
  • 17 November: Anti-Kurdish violence erupt, as around 300 Turkish youths target the Kurdish community of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
  • 2 December The Grand-Place is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[4][134]
• 1999
  • Het Zinneke statue is erected by analogy with Manneken and Jeanneke Pis.
  • 5 June: The René Magritte Museum opens.
  • 15 July: Jacques Simonet becomes Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region.
  • 8 September: The Clockarium is established.
  • 4 December: The wedding of Prince Philippe and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz takes place.
• 2000
  • The city is named European Capital of Culture alongside eight other European cities.^[135]
  • The Hôtel Tassel, Hôtel Solvay, Hôtel van Eetvelde and Maison & Atelier Horta are listed as 'Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta' UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[136]
  • 27 May: The first Zinneke Parade is held.^[137]
  • 10 June–2 July: The city co-hosts the UEFA Euro 2000.
  • 28 July: The city is divided into five police zones.^{[138][139][140][141][142]}
  • 22 September: The Brussels Stock Exchange merges with Paris Bourse and the Amsterdam Stock Exchange to form Euronext, and is renamed Euronext Brussels.^[143][144]
  • 28 September: The Brussels Volkstejoêter, a troupe performing in the Brussels dialect, is established.^[145]
  • 18 October: François-Xavier de Donnea becomes Minister-President.

• Timeline of Brussels
• History of Brussels

• Media related to Brussels in the 20th century at Wikimedia Commons