SCHAERBEEK

Flemish Schaarbeek municipality, Brabant province, central Belgium. A village until 1795, it is now an industrial suburb northeast of Brussels and one of the 19 communes that make up Greater Brussels. A rail junction with switch and freight yards, it has an electric power station and manufactures clothing, chemicals, and machinery. The conspicuous domed Church of Sainte-Marie (184553) is built in the Romanesque-Byzantine style, and the town hall (188587) is of an old Flemish design. Pop. (1992 est.) mun., 102,417.