A magnificent Royal Destination - Town Hall of Brussels, capital of Belgium

Brussels Town Hall - own picture



On Sunday 15 July 2018, the players and coach of the National Football team of
Belgium 'the Red Devils' will be celebrated in 'hellhole' Brussels, the capital of
Belgium.

First of all, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians will receive their
National football team at home: the Royal Palace at Laeken.

From Laeken, the Red Devils will be driving by open bus to the center of
Brussels.

Later the major of Brussels will receive the National Football Team and there
will be a huge celebration in the Grand Place. There the Red Devils will be
on the balcony of the Town Hall.

Let's take a closer look of the royal history of this magnificent Town Hall of
Brussels.

The Left wing and oldest part of the Brussels Town Hall



Some Royal History

In 1420 the eldest part of the Brussels Town Hall, which is the left wing,
facing the front, was built under the direction of Jacob van Tienen.

However soon this place became too small and already in 1444 the first
stone of the new wing was laid by Charles the Bold, then count of
Charolais, later duke of Burgundy.

The facade of the Brussels Town Hall is decorated with many statues,
they represented the saints, nobles and allegorical figures.

On top of the Tower of the Town Hall there is a statue of archangel
Michael.

The Tower of Brussels Town Hall
with archangel Michael on top

This tower was built in typical Brabantine Gothic by Jan van Ruysbroeck,
the court architect of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy (father of 
Charles the Bold).

By 1454 the Tower, which replaced an older Belfry was completed.

During the 19th century there were huge renovations and the works
started in 1840 (after the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands).

At the start of World War I, the Town Hall of Brussels served as an
hospital. On 20 August 1914, the German flag was risen on the
Brussels Town Hall.

On 9 March 1936 the Brussels Town Hall was known as an historical
monument and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A visit

In 2017, I had the change to visit this wonderful building inside with
a tour. It really was amazing to visit a place with such a great history.




Brussels Town Hall - own picture


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Who is who? de Liedekerke family!

House of Wittelsbach - Between crazyness and excellence

Noble Families Ullens de Schooten