For schools

A thousand years of city, in one lesson

A six-step path to read the history of Brussels on the map's timeline. Designed for a 50-minute lesson, from age 10, on an interactive whiteboard, computers or tablets. Free, with no account and no advertising.

First name:Date:

  1. 979

    An island in the river

    What to look at. The map is almost empty: a river, the Senne, and a first settlement on an island.

    Question for the class. Why settle beside a river? What does it bring, and what dangers?

    Open the map in 979

  2. 1379

    A city within its walls

    What to look at. Two city walls: the first, 4 km long with seven gates, then the second, 8 km long, which draws the Pentagon. Move the timeline from 1230 to 1379.

    Question for the class. What is a wall around a city for? What does a second wall, twice as long, tell us?

    Open the map in 1379

  3. 1695

    The centre destroyed, then rebuilt

    What to look at. Open the 1695 chapter in the chronology: the bombardment hits the heart of the city, around the Grand-Place.

    Question for the class. How do you rebuild a city? Who decides what is rebuilt, and how?

    Open the map in 1695

  4. 1830

    The walls come down, the train arrives

    What to look at. Drag the timeline from 1830 to 1880. What happens to the ramparts? What new line appears in 1835? And the Senne, after 1871?

    Question for the class. Why demolish the ramparts? Why hide a river under boulevards?

    Open the map in 1830

  5. 1958

    The city spills over

    What to look at. Switch to the 'Age of buildings' colours and go from 1900 to 1958. In which directions does the city grow? Compare the population of 1905 with that of 1958, shown under the year.

    Question for the class. Where do the new residents come from? What does a city need when it grows this fast?

    Open the map in 1958

  6. 2026

    And our school?

    What to look at. Search for the school's address on the map. When does the building date from? Does the date come from the heritage inventory or from an estimate? Then open the street's page.

    Question for the class. How can you find out the age of a building? What clues would you look for on the façade, in the archives, from the neighbours?

    Open the map in 2026

To go further

For the teacher

The building dates are an approximate reconstruction, explained on the Method page: that too is a good topic for a discussion about sources. The site asks for no account, shows no advertising and sets no trackers; the game keeps the score on the pupil's device only. →

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Approximate reconstruction · https://atlas-bruxelles.pages.dev/en/carte/