The Maelbeek (French, pronounced [malbek] ; former Dutch spelling) or Maalbeek (Dutch, pronounced [ˈmaːlbeːk]) is a stream that runs through several municipalities in Brussels, Belgium, including Etterbeek, Ixelles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek. It is a tributary of the Senne, which it joins up in Schaerbeek, from its source located to the south near La Cambre Abbey. Maelbeek/Maalbeek metro station is located in the central area of this Maalbeek valley.
 The source of the Maelbeek at La Cambre Abbey in Brussels | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Senne |
• coordinates | 50°50′17″N 4°22′47″E / 50.838°N 4.3796°E |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Senne→ Dyle→ Rupel→ Scheldt→ North Sea |
The name Maalbeek, meaning "mill brook", comes from the Dutch words beek (meaning "brook") and maal (meaning "to mill"). Molenbeek has a similar derivation. The stream was vaulted in 1872, at which time there were 58 ponds along it. Nowadays, only six are left: the ponds of La Cambre Abbey; of Ixelles (two); of Leopold Park; of Marie-Louise Square; and of Josaphat Park.
There is another stream in the vicinity named Maalbeek,[1] also a tributary to the Senne, in Grimbergen, and two other streams named Molenbeek, found in Beersel and in Laeken. The Woluwe river also has a tributary named the Kleine (little) Maalbeek, in Kraainem.
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