Brussels is renaming one of its squares to honor the Bronte sisters. The two sisters, Charlotte and Emily, spent a lot of time there visiting friends. The sisters lived in Haworth, West Yorkshire before moving to Brussels. They moved in order to improve their French, so they could teach it. Two of Charlotte’s novels Villette and The Professor are set in Brussels.
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The square will now be called the Place des soeurs Bronte/Zusters Bronteplein. The name change is apart of the feministation of street names in Koekelburg. The Bronte sisters are the first ones to be honored, and according to Helen MacEwan, author of Bronte in Brussels, this is just the first step for the feministation movement. Now the Bronte sisters are not only pioneers of the 19th Century but the 21st Century as well.
There is also a school in Brussels that the sisters used to attend, however now it’s an arts center that has a plaque in their honor. The square is the kind of tribute the Bronte Brussels group were looking for. The square will be in Rue des Braves/Dapperentstratt and it will be home to a library. What a great way to honor the sisters; their novels made a big impact on the literary world and having a square dedicated to them is a great honor. Their legacy will continue to live on in the square and throughout all of Koekelburg. Soon, they will be joined by other women as the feministation continues.
