Brussels is a city and an agglomeration of Belgium which extends beyond the administrative limits of the Brussels-Capital Region to encompass parts of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, and at the center of which is the municipality of Brussels proper, whose name used by the Belgian constitution is city of Brussels.
The initiative of the Brussels Metropolitan or Brussels metropolitan area, launched in 2008, aims to better coordinate the city and its hinterland to promote Greater Brussels as an attractive economic metropolis at the heart of Europe, to give it more global weight and stimulate growth and job creation there. This cooperation platform involves the participation of four employers' organizations - FEB, BECI, Voka and UWE.
The morphological agglomeration - taking into account the continuity of the built environment - extends over the three Belgian Regions: the whole of the Brussels-Capital Region, and parts of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region.
The urban residential area of Brussels according to Statbel includes the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region (Anderlecht, Auderghem, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Bruxelles, Etterbeek, Evere, Forest, Ganshoren, Ixelles, Jette, Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint- Jean, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek, Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre), the six municipalities with facilities (Crainhem, Drogenbos, Linkebeek, Rhode-Saint -Genèse, Wemmel and Wezembeek-Oppem) and eleven other municipalities on the outskirts of Brussels, nine municipalities in Flemish Brabant (Zaventem, Beersel, Dilbeek, Grimbergen, Hal, Machelen, Leeuw-Saint-Pierre, Tervueren and Vilvorde), and two from Walloon Brabant (Waterloo and Braine-l'Alleud). Which makes a total of 36 municipalities.
The morphological agglomeration also covers parts of the municipalities of Braine-le-Château, Lasne, Asse, Meise and Steenockerzeel. Since less than half of the population of these municipalities live in the central residential area, they are generally not considered to be agglomeration municipalities.
Of course, this list of municipalities may vary depending on the definition chosen, varying the number of municipalities in 2001 between 31 and 41.
Brussels, whose turbulent history is part of that of Western Europe, celebrated its official millennium in 1979. However, there are vestiges and toponyms relating to the civilization of megaliths, dolmens and standing stones (Plattesteen, place du Tomberg). Remains of Roman villas are unearthed in the municipalities of Brussels adjoining the city center (Anderlecht, Jette and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode), as well as a Roman road. Other Roman remains were discovered near the city center during the summer of 2015, on the site called Tour et Taxis, along an old bed of the Senne river, in the form of quays revealing port activity ( ceramics, tiles).
The first mention of the city appears in the 7th century: a chronicle reveals that in 695, Vindicien d'Arras, bishop of Cambrai, died of fever in Brosella. By deduction, there must have been a sufficiently developed and secure human establishment there to accommodate an ecclesiastical dignitary. This thesis is not contradictory with that of the existence of a place of exchange, as could be a bridge over the Senne, and also with the existence of the Saint-Géry island on which could be found a protected place, like a fortified enclosure. In 979, Charles de Basse-Lotharingie came to install the seat of his duchy on this island of the Senne. This served as a reference for the date of birth of Brussels, although the construction of the castrum and the presence of Charles of France in Brussels is questioned by many academic historians.
