A SQUARE in Brussels – the city where two of the Bronte sisters studied French – is to be named in honour of the literary siblings.

The square, in the north-west district of Koekelberg, is currently being redeveloped.

Councillors have agreed to name it Place des Sœurs Bronte, in French, or – in Dutch – Zusters Brontë plein.

The move is part of an ‘emancipation’ plan in an area of the city where streets named in honour of a person at present mainly commemorate men.

Charlotte and Emily Bronte arrived in Brussels in February 1842, when they were both in their twenties.

It was their first and only trip abroad.

The sisters hoped that improving their languages would help them open a boarding school at their Haworth Parsonage home. But the plan never came to pass, as they turned to writing novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

Since 1979, they have had a plaque in their honour on Bozar – the central Brussels arts centre – commemorating their stay in 1842-43. The building is on the site of the long-gone Pensionnat Heger school where the sisters perfected their French.

But the renaming of the square – which also includes Anne, although she didn’t visit the city – will be the first recognition of its kind in the Belgian capital.

While staying in Brussels, Charlotte and Emily used to visit Koekelberg to see their Yorkshire friends Mary and Martha Taylor – who studied at the former Château de Koekelberg school, a pricier establishment which was beyond the means of the Bronte sisters. The square is close to the site.

Helen MacEwan, founder of the Brussels Bronte Group and author of The Brontes in Brussels, said the renaming of the square in honour of the sisters was “great news”.

She added: “Since the creation of our group we have dreamed of a street, statue or museum in Brussels in honour of the Brontes – some of these schemes have even been discussed with the authorities, but until now none of them have materialised.

“The square is going to be a very important point in Koekelberg, so even though we haven’t got a street bang in the centre of Brussels – which is where they actually lived – I think we can all be absolutely delighted.

“The new square will form part of the proposed ‘feminisation’ of street names in Koekelberg. The Bronte square will be the first step. The sisters are thus set to be pioneers in the 21st century as they were in the nineteenth.”

The move is also welcomed by the Bronte Society.

Rebecca Yorke, for the society, said: “The Bronte sisters are loved and admired the world over and it’s absolutely appropriate that a public space is being named in their honour.

“Recognising Charlotte, Emily and Anne’s achievements in this way will help ensure that women and girls everywhere continue to be inspired by their lives and legacy.

“In addition, the society’s mission is to ‘bring the Brontes to the world and the world to Yorkshire’, and having a little piece of Haworth in the heart of Brussels will help us to do just that.”