The Quays Quarter (French: Quartier des Quais; Dutch: Kaaienwijk), also known as the Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne Quarter (French: Quartier Sainte-Catherine; Dutch: Sint-Katelijnewijk), is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium.[1] It is served by the metro stations Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne (on lines 1 and 5) and Yser/IJzer (on lines 2 and 6).
The Quays Quarter is that of the old Port of Brussels, which for a long time played the role of "belly" of the city. Boats coming from the river Scheldt entered through the former Shore Gate (French: Porte du Rivage, Dutch: Oeverpoort), on the site of the present-day Place de l'Yser/Ijzerplein, to join one of the canals, whose docks were each reserved for one type of goods.[2]
Filled in the late 19th century with the opening of Brussels' new port, these basins were replaced by wide boulevards, whose names on both sides still recall their former function: the Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai ("Brick Wharf"),[3] the Quai au Bois à Brûler/Brandhoutkaai ("Firewood Wharf"),[4] the Quai aux Pierres de Taille/Arduinkaai ("Quarry Stone Wharf"),[5] the Quai au Foin/Hooikaai ("Hay Wharf"),[6] etc., or references to the neighbourhood's commercial activities: the Rue du Magasin/Pakhuisstraat ("Warehouse Street"),[7] the Rue des Commerçants/Koopliedenstraat ("Traders Street"),[8] the Rue du Marché aux Porcs/Varkensmarktstraat ("Pig Market Street")[9] and the Quai du Commerce/Handelskaai ("Trade Wharf").[10]
Along the quaysides, numerous bourgeois houses, once belonging to wealthy merchants, have preserved the entrances to the warehouses. On the Boulevard d'Ypres/Ieperlaan, one can still cross food wholesalers, now supplied by trucks that have replaced the boats.[11] The district also includes the Great Beguinage of Brussels, with the Church of St. John the Baptist[12] and the remarkable Grand Hospice Pachéco.[13]
Huberty, Colette; Valente Soares, Paulo (1994). Le quartier Sainte-Catherine et les anciens quais. Bruxelles, ville d'Art et d'Histoire (in French). Vol.11. Brussels: Éditions de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale.
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