The Leopold Quarter is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today, the term is sometimes confused with the European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union (EU) and organisations dealing with them, although the two terms are not in fact the same, with the Leopold Quarter being a smaller more specific district of the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Ixelles and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
Aerial view of the European Quarter (including parts of the Leopold Quarter)
The Square Frère Orban/Frère-Orbansquare with St. Joseph's Church, in the Leopold Quarter
The area is dominated today by medium-rise office blocks dating from the last fifty years.
The Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein, with what remains of the old Luxembourg Station building centre, and the European Parliament behind. The Place du Luxembourg retains some of the more traditional architectural elements of the Leopold Quarter, while the parliamentary complex dominates the now largely institutional area.
Brussels and the European Union
Brussels (Belgium) is considered the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting a number of principal EU institutions within its European Quarter. The EU has no official capital but Brussels hosts the official seats of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and European Council, as well as a seat of the European Parliament. In 2013, this presence generated about €250 million and 121,000 jobs. The main rationale for Brussels being chosen as "capital of the European Union" was its halfway location between France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the three countries whose rivalry played a role in starting the two World Wars and whose reconciliation paved the way for European integration.
Aerial view of Brussels' European Quarter, hosting most of the EU's institutions
The Charlemagne building (before renovation), headquarters of the Council of the European Union between 1971 and 1995
The Breydel building served as the European Commission's headquarters while the Berlaymont was renovated
Brussels attracts the most journalists in the world (Commission's press room pictured)