Oudergem

Geschiedenis

Auderghem or Oudergem is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.Located to the southeast of the capital, along the Woluwe valley and at the entrance to the Sonian Forest (Forêt de Soignes, Zoniënwoud), the municipality has an environmental advantage. Despite large roads slicing through and the increasing traffic, it has been able to preserve a relatively important part of its natural and historic legacy: the creeks, the Abbey of Rouge-Cloître or Rood Klooster (Red Cloister) and its art center, the Priory of Val Duchesse or Hertoginnedal (Duchess Dale), the Château of Trois Fontaines or Drie Fonteinen (Three Fountains), and the remarkable Chapel of Saint Anne.Auderghem is adjacent to the municipalities of Etterbeek, Ixelles - Elsene, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, and Watermael-Boitsfort - Watermaal-Bosvoorde.The municipality is governed by its 16th mayor, Didier Gosuin (FDF).HistoryThree forest villages, were one for centuries. In 1794, the soldiers of the French Revolution decided to separate these into three distinct municipalities. In 1811, Napoleon decided to reunite the three villages, by imperial decree, into a single administrative entity. But Auderghem was withdrawn from this union by royal act, leaving Watermael-Boitsfort on its own. Thus, Auderghem became an independent municipality in 1863, with only 1,600 inhabitants.