IXELLES

(French), Flemish Elsene commune, Brussels rgion, central Belgium. A southeastern suburb of Brussels, it is one of the 19 communes that make up Greater Brussels. Factories in Ixelles process metals and make chemicals and textiles. The former Cistercian Abbey of La Cambre (founded 1201) now houses the National Geographic Institute and the Institute of Architecture and Decorative Art. Some of the newer buildings of the Free University of Brussels are in the southeastern part of the town near the lakes of Bas-Ixelles. Pop. (1991) 72,610; (1992 est.) 72,447.