Tervuren (32.92 sq. km, 19,526 pop. [1991]) is a residential suburb of Brussels in Flemish Brabant. Long a pilgrimage destination as the site of Saint Huburtus's death (727), Tervuren was chosen for a hunting pavilion by the dukes of Brabant and from the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century various sovereigns built residences here. The avenue de Tervuren linking the town to the Cinquantenaire was built under the impetus of King Leopold II in 1896.
The Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale (Royal Museum for Central Africa), established under his patronage, originated in 1898 as the Musée du Congo, a permanent museum to house collections assembled for the Palace of the Colonies exhibit at the World's Fair of 1897. The current structure was built between 1904 and 1909, and it opened on 30 April 1910. Then known as the Museum of the Belgian Congo it became the Royal Museum for Central Africa in 1960. The collections were largely assembled during the Congo Free State (1885-1908) and Belgian Congo (1908-1960) periods, and the institution has grown to become an important research and repository center.
Foreigners make up about 20 percent of the current population of Tervuren.
Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Paul F. State.