by Pierre Van Nieuwenhuysen, 586 pages, with illustrations and plans.

The “Historische Toponymie van Laken” is a complete presentation of all the toponyms of Laken until circa 1850.  A similar study about a Brussels municipality has not been made since 1931.  In a glossary of more than 1500 items the reader will be able to find all the graphies of each toponym of Laken on the basis of old attestations, and as such, follow the age-long evolution.  Each graphy is followed by an explanation of the toponym.  Moreover, all the locatable toponyms are situated on maps.  At the end of the work a summary of the collected toponyms can be found by means of a systematic presentation of their qualifying elements.  Subsequently, the meaning of the old toponyms of Laken with respect to historical geography and cultural history is explained.
Thanks to the “Historische Toponymie van Laken” the reader can discover a fascinating past of a Brussels municipality which has been rather neglected by the historian and this from an original point of view (Table of contents…)