Leopold II Tunnel

The Boulevard Léopold II (French) or Leopold II-laan (Dutch) is a major thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium, running through the municipalities of Koekelberg and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. It is named in honour of King Leopold II, the second King of the Belgians.

Simonis and Elisabeth are two interconnected stations on the Brussels Metro serving line 2 and line 6 on two different levels. Additionally Simonis is a railway station operated by NMBS/SNCB and a tram stop. The station complex is situated at the end of Boulevard Léopold II and is close to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Simonis was named after Place Eugène Simonis/Eugène Simonisplein, which in turn is named after the Belgian sculptor Eugène Simonis; while the nearby Elisabeth Park, named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, gives Elisabeth its name. Simonis metro station opened on 6 October 1982 and is a through station in north–south direction situated in a cutting next to a railway line. It is served as a through station on line 6 and is a terminus of line 2. Elisabeth metro station is orthogonal to and one level below Simonis and is a terminal station located at the end of Boulevard Léopold II in east–west direction. It opened on 2 October 1988 and is the terminus for lines 2 and 6. Between its opening in 1988 and 2013, Elisabeth was also known as Simonis. Until 2009, Simonis was a simple interchange station between metro lines 1A and 2. When the Brussels metro loop opened in 2009, the north-western part of metro line 1A was connected to the other end of metro line 2, making line 2 an imperfect circle line (since a true circular train service is not possible, as the tracks at Simonis/Elisabeth are not connected). This resulted in the current situation, whereby the station complex is served twice by lines 2 and 6.To differentiate between the two station parts, the north–south through platforms were given the name Simonis (Leopold II), while the east–west terminating platforms were known as Simonis (Elisabeth). However, this did not improve the clarity of passenger information and thus, on 3 November 2013, Simonis (Leopold II) was reverted to simply Simonis, while Simonis (Elisabeth) became Elisabeth. The adjacent bus, tram and railway stops have not been renamed, and are all still known as Simonis. To the west of the stations, trams 9 and 19 call at underground platforms opened on 23 June 1986 (line 19) and 1 September 2018 (line 9), respectively. To the east of and parallel to Simonis metro station, the National Railway Company of Belgium operates a local commuter station Simonis since December 2009. It is served by the Brussels Regional Express Network service S10 between Dendermonde, Brussels, Denderleeuw and Aalst.

Jette (French: [ˈʒɛt], Dutch: [ˈjɛtə] (listen)) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Asse and Wemmel. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch).

Koekelberg (French: [kukəlbɛʁ(g)], Dutch: [ˈkukəlˌbɛr(ə)x] (listen)) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). On 1 January 2006, the municipality had a total population of 18,157. The total area is 1.17 km², which gives a population density of 15,486/km2 (40,110/sq mi). The municipality—the smallest in the Brussels region by population—is dominated by the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (or Koekelberg Basilica), one of the largest Roman Catholic churches in the world.

Étangs Noirs (French) or Zwarte Vijvers (Dutch) is a Brussels metro station. It is located at the border between Brussels' Koekelberg and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean municipalities, in the western part of Brussels (Belgium). It opened on 8 May 1981 as part of the Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijne–Beekkant extension of former line 1. Following the reorganisation of the Brussels metro on 4 April 2009, it is served by lines 1 and 5, which cross Brussels from east to west. Its name translates into English as the "Black Ponds".

The Katholieke Universiteit Brussel (English: Catholic University of Brussels) was a Flemish university located in Brussels, founded in 1969 as University Faculties St Aloysius (UFSAL), in many ways the equivalent of a liberal arts college. It split up from the primarily French-speaking Saint-Louis University, Brussels to become an independent Dutch-speaking institution. It became recognised as a university by the Flemish Community of Belgium in the early 1990s. It only ever awarded basic undergraduate degrees, which in the older Belgian system of a four-year licenciate meant students had to go on to other universities to complete their courses of study. In the late 1990s, as a result of politically fuelled doubts about the university's survival, student levels fell drastically, with a knock-on effect on government funding. In 2007 the university merged with a number of other tertiary institutions in Brussels (see Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (HUB, European University College Brussels)), and then had a separate existence only as a legal fiction for accreditation and funding purposes. In 2013, the academic degrees of the KUB were integrated in the Catholic University of Leuven.

Belgica is a Brussels metro station on line 6. It is located in the municipality of Jette, in the northwest of Brussels (Belgium). It opened on 6 October 1982 and is named in honour of RV Belgica; the ship which carried the first Belgian polar expedition to the Antarctic in 1897.

Ribaucourt is a Brussels metro station on the northern segment of lines 2 and 6. It opened on 2 October 1988 and is located on Boulevard Léopold II/Leopold II-laan in the municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, in the western part of Brussels (Belgium). It takes its name from the Belgian noble family De Ribaucourt and De Ribaucourt park and castle.

The Church of St. John the Baptist (French: Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Dutch: Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk) is a Roman Catholic parish church located in the centre of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of Molenbeek. Designed by the architect Joseph Diongre and built between 1930 and 1932 in Art Deco style, it is one of three major churches in Brussels made of reinforced concrete (the other two are the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg and the Church of St. Augustine in Forest). Belonging to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, the church and the Catholic parish it belongs to gave their name to the municipality. The building received protected status on 29 February 1984.The church is located on the northern side of the Parvis Saint Jean-Baptiste/Sint-Jan-Baptistvoorplein, not far from the Place Communale/Gemeenteplaats (the municipal square of Molenbeek). This site is served by Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderen metro station on line 5 of the Brussels Metro.

The Municipal Hall (French: Hôtel communal, Dutch: Gemeentehuis) of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean is the municipal hall building and the seat of that municipality of Brussels, Belgium. Designed by the architect Jean-Baptiste Janssens and completed in 1886, it is located at 20, rue du Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderenstraat. This site is served by Comte de Flandre/Graaf van Vlaanderen metro station on line 5 of the Brussels Metro.

La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour (French: La Fonderie, Musée bruxellois des industries et du travail, Dutch: La Fonderie, Brussels museum van de industrie en de arbeid) is a museum of industrial history in Brussels, Belgium. It collects objects, documents and oral history on the city’s industrial past and visualises the working history of Brussels. The museum is located at 27, rue Ransfort/Ransfortstraat in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, on the site of the former foundry of La Compagnie des Bronzes de Bruxelles (1854–1979), close to the Brussels–Charleroi Canal. It is managed as a nonprofit organisation focusing on analysing and exhibiting the economic and social history of the Brussels region. It publishes a magazine, organises guided tours and provides educational activities. La Fonderie also houses a documentation centre open to the public.

Osseghem (French) or Ossegem (Dutch) is a Brussels metro station on lines 2 and 6. It opened on 6 October 1982 and is named after the Osseghem neighbourhood in the municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (Belgium). The name is of Germanic origin and is composed of Odso + -inga + gem, meaning "residence of the people of Odso".