Abbaye de la Cambre/Abdij ter Kameren

   Located be­tween the Bois de la Cambre and the lakes forming the Étangs d'Ixelles, the abbey was founded as a convent for Cistercian nuns in 1201 on the land granted the order by Duke Henry I. The abbey rose to become a wealthy religious establishment by the late 13th century, but it suffered deprivations in the wars of religion when the Gothic abbey church was destroyed and the nuns were forced to leave (1581-1599). Driven out again in the 17th century (1635), the occupants were expelled permanently in 1796 when religious houses were suppressed under the French regime. The buildings subsequently served as a military academy, a cotton mill, and a poorhouse. Today they house the Institut géographique national and the École nationale supérieure d'architecture et des Arts visuels.

   A portion of the gardens of the abbey were lost to facilitate con­struction of the avenue Émile De Mot in 1907.