(petite ceinture, kleine ceintuur)
The connecting series of boulevards and avenues that encircle the lower town and older sections of the upper town, the inner ring road runs from porte de Hal on the south to place Rogier on the north. They form a pentagon and follow approximately the traces of the second town wall.
From east to west, the thoroughfares include boulevard de Waterloo/avenue de la Toison d'Or; boulevard de Régent/avenue Marnix/avenue des Arts; boulevard Bischoffsheim/avenue Galilée; boulevard du Jardin Botanique/avenue Victoria Regina; avenue de Boulevard; boulevard d'Anvers/boulevard Baudouin; boulevard du 9e de Ligne; boulevard Barthélémy; boulevard de l'Abattoir/boulevard Poincaré; boulevard du Midi/avenue de la porte de Hal.
The boulevards, which comprise an inner beltway, were laid out by architect Léon Suys. Construction was completed by 1871. The avenues were built later. The Brussels metro now parallels these thoroughfares.
Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Paul F. State.