According to legend, St. Gertrude, daughter of Pippin of Landen, founded a chapel there in the 8th century. A document by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, dated 966, mentions the church of Iatrebache. The name Ietrebecca – possibly from the Celtic root ett meaning "rapid movement" and the Dutch word beek meaning "stream" – is found for the first time in a document dated 1127. The current spelling appears eleven years later in 1138, around which time a newer and larger church was built.
In 1673, Etterbeek gained its independence from neighbouring Sint-Genesius-Rode, when Charles II of Spain promoted it into a barony. The first baron was Don Diego-Henriquez de Castro, general treasurer of the Netherlands armies. The Castro house was sold in 1767 and can still be seen today as Etterbeek's oldest building. Under the French regime, Etterbeek was made into a commune, within the canton of Sint-Stevens-Woluwe. From then on, and especially after the Belgian Revolution of 1830 and the development of Brussels as a capital city, the population of Etterbeek grew quickly. In 1876, there were more than 10,000 inhabitants, in 1900 more than 20,000, and in 1910 more than 33,000. In the 1900s, under the reign of Leopold II, construction boomed and changed the town's character with the addition of the broad avenues and residential areas that we know today.
The Cauchie house was built in 1905 by the Art Nouveau architect, painter, and designer Paul Cauchie. Its facade is remarkable for its allegoricalsgraffiti.
Of a completely different character, the Barony house dates from 1680 and is the oldest building in the municipality.
The Fondation René Carcan, a foundation and museum in René Carcan's old studio, was located in Etterbeek.
Chaussée de Wavre/Waversesteenweg has, since 27 September 2014, featured a series of large scale Le Chat drawings by the Belgian cartoonistPhilippe Geluck, who was born and raised in this neighbourhood. The 24 drawings extend over a total length of.
Etterbeek has a few green areas, including the Jean-Felix Hap garden. The better known Cinquantenaire park lies on the territory of both the City of Brussels and Etterbeek and Leopold Park borders the municipality's territory.
Transportation
Etterbeek is served by Etterbeek railway station but, like the neighbouring campus of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, it is also located in Ixelles. Etterbeek currently has one rail station and three metro stations.
In the summer of 1996, the municipal swimming pool burnt down. It has now been rebuilt and is again open to the public.
Proposed redevelopment "''Les Jardins de la Chasse''"
A project is currently proposed to redevelop an area of Etterbeek near Avenue des Casernes/Kazernelaan. This project would result in the town hall and police station being relocated to new buildings in a central administrative centre on this site. The new site is being called the Jardins de la Chasse in French or Tuinen van de Jacht in Dutch. Demolition of the former CPAS building on the site started in 2014, and building of houses on the site started in 2016, with construction of the new town hall awaiting administrative approval. Municipal offices are forecast to move to the new location in summer 2018. The site of the current town hall may in the future be used for further residential development.
Events
Etterbeek hosts an annual medieval market. Previously held at the end of May on Avenue du 2ème Régiment de Lanciers/2de Lansiers Regimentlaan to the south of the municipality, in recent years it has taken place at the Cinquantenaire.
