Medieval origins
The origins of the village of Ixelles date from the foundation of the Abbey of La Cambre by a Benedictine nun in 1196. The abbey was located near the springs of the Maelbeek in the Sonian Forest, the remnant of which closest to Brussels became known as Bois de la Cambre. The abbey was consecrated by the Bishop of Cambrai soon after its foundation. Boniface of Brussels and Alice of Schaarbeek were two of its most famous residents in the 13th century. Around 1300, during the reign of John II, Duke of Brabant, a hostel was built near the abbey to provide meals to the wood bearers working in the forest. Soon, a hamlet and a couple of chapels were built, including the Church of the Holy Cross (French: Sainte Croix, Dutch: Heilige Kruis), also dedicated by the Bishop of Cambrai in 1459. The area included several ponds, still visible today, that provided fish to the abbey and to the neighbouring hamlets. At that time, part of Ixelles was a dependence of Brussels; the other part was the property of the local lord.
Before the Revolution
In 1478, the wars between Louis XI of France and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor brought devastation to the abbey and the surrounding areas. In 1585, the Spanish burnt down most of the buildings to prevent them from being used as a refuge by the Calvinists. The abbey was restored in time for the Joyous Entry of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella in 1599. Further manors and castles (Ermitage, Ten Bosch, Ixelles) were built in Ixelles in the 16th century, gradually transforming the hamlet into a full-fledged village. The purity of the pond water attracted breweries to the area, some of which survived well into the 20th century.
A municipality of its own
Ixelles was proclaimed a municipality of its own by the French regime after the Revolution. The abbey was stripped of its religious functions, becoming among others a cotton-manufacturing plant, a farm, a military school,
