Brussels Grand Place guild buildings. Ariadne's Thread: Guide ~ Belgium ~ Brussels ~ Grand Place

What is the Grand Place in Brussels famous for, where is it located and how to get there. The Town Hall, the Royal House and other famous houses on the Grand Place.

The Grand Place, located in the center, deserves the title of the most beautiful and elegant square in Europe. This is true not only because the entire column is entirely devoted to its attractions, but Napoleon also spoke when he first found himself in the center of the Grand Place.

Even today, travelers who have seen a lot agree that the buildings surrounding the square on all sides in an even square look as if they were carved from stone by the most skilled craftsmen. UNESCO, in turn, included the Grand Place ensemble and openwork facades in the list of world cultural heritage.

Sightseeing tours of Brussels

No sightseeing tour of Brussels is complete without visiting the central square, Grand Place. If you order one of them, we recommend that you hint to the guide that you would not mind seeing the collection of Manneken Pis costumes, which is located in the City Museum.

More democratic group excursions-, as an option - do not imply personal preferences, but they still give a general idea of the Grand Place and its attractions.

Famous houses and landmarks

The legend telling about the emergence of the Grand Place is as follows: “One day, King Louis XIV, tired of stories about the beauty and splendor of Brussels, decided to personally visit this city. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that Brussels is indeed much more beautiful than itself! In a fit of anger, the king ordered the destruction of the city, throwing burning land mines at it. But the Belgians are a stubborn people: rich merchants and artisans spared no expense and built a new, even more beautiful central square».

Thus, the Grand Place is the only medieval square in Europe whose architectural design was carefully thought out.

The two elements that form the Brussels Grand Place are the Gothic town hall and the Royal House, rebuilt between 1873 and 1896. Without exception, all the houses that belonged to various guilds appeared after 1695. No matter how narrow they were, their architect did not abandon the lush Baroque decor. On the eastern side of the Grand Place is the so-called House of the Dukes of Brabant. Behind its façade are six guild houses. On the left is the same Royal House, built in the spirit of historicism and designed in the style of purely French late Gothic.

Now let's look at each of the attractions of Brussels, located within the perimeter of the Grand Place, or the “Grand Market”, as it is also called.

1. Guild houses on the Grand Place

The houses in which artisans and merchants who belonged to various professional guilds worked still stand here in an exact row: the Painter's House, the Tailor's House, the Butcher's House and the Boatman's House. The guides recommend paying attention to them first (it is advisable to be able to distinguish one from the other), even before you are dazzled by the King’s House (aka “Royal House”) and the City Hall.

2. Town Hall on the Grand Place

The residents of Bruges were the first to build a large town hall in Flanders. The building in the style of French cathedral Gothic expectedly aroused the envy of Brussels, which was on an economic boom. Thus, in 1402, “competitive” construction began on the Grand Place, which, according to the architects’ plans, was supposed to surpass its Bruges counterpart in size and splendor. Initially, the same “crazy” project was brought to life as in Bruges, but on a higher floor. However, in 1426, when the government consisting of aristocrats was expelled from Brussels, it was decided to complete the construction of both the tower and the right wing of the town hall.

So symbolically, the townspeople demonstrated that from now on they are “taking into their hands” both power and fate hometown. Only three decades later, the magnificent city hall on the future Grand Place was ready.

It is believed that from the building that today bears the name Hotel de Ville, further development of the area began. The structure is a cathedral with a spire going somewhere into the sky: its total height is 96 meters. The spire is topped with a five-meter copper weather vane depicting the Archangel Michael. The facade was decorated relatively recently - in the last century - in the Baroque style, which was then at the peak of popularity, and with an abundance of statues on the facade.

As intended, the town hall in the capital of Belgium surpassed a similar building in Bruges in all respects: it is richer decorated and noticeably taller.

3. Royal House on Grand Place

The Royal House is a huge palace that houses The Brussels City Museum. There is an exhibition telling about the history of Brussels, starting from the first days of its foundation. You may be interested in the collection of works of medieval artisans, historical documents and archaeological exhibits.

A building with intricate architecture, as if woven from stone like lace, arose on the Grand Place on the site of the “Bread House” located here, in which bread was baked and sold. At the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries. The royal house was completely reconstructed. By the way, contrary to the name, none of the kings ever lived there.

Working hours The Brussels City Museum: daily from 10-00 to 17-00, except Monday and holidays. Admission fee and inclusions single ticket to visit three exhibitions at once - the historical and archaeological exhibition, the Lace Museum and the Manneken Pis Wardrobe. Ticket prices: for adults - €8, for students and pensioners - €6, children under 18 years old - free.

Flower festival at the Grand Place

Grand Place in a blooming “carpet” of begonias

Once every two years, a fragrant carpet of colorful begonias blooms on the Grand Place. This is a global festival, everyone prepares for it in advance. Tourists book hotels for mid-August (dates fluctuate from year to year, but you can focus on the 15th) in order to “stake out” a room at an adequate price, and the Belgians near Ghent carefully grow “flower material” that will fill the entire central square, leaving not too spacious pedestrian paths around the perimeter.

The width of the flower carpet on the Grand Place reaches 75-80 m in length and 25 in width. This floral splendor lasts for 3 days. And in order to take the most beautiful photographs, you need to climb observation deck town halls.

Where to Stay in the Grand Place

Grand Place is the most desirable place in Brussels to live and explore interesting places. Don't be afraid that there are only expensive five-star hotels in the area. Hotels at affordable prices - of course, by European standards - are also available:

1.

Address: Grand Place 15, Brussels, Belgium

The address of the mini-hotel speaks for itself: Grand Place 15. On the dates of the flower festival, rooms are sold out a year and a half in advance. The rest of the time, it’s quite possible to book a place if you dream of staying in the “thick of things” and in a historical building. Tip: to get that same view of the Grand Place, you need to book a room on the side of the square, since the rooms also face the “back side”.

2. Warwick Brussels - Grand Place

Address: Rue Duquesnoy 5, Brussels, Belgium

Five-star hotel in a historic building with classic-style rooms. Guests note the convenient location (3 minutes from the Grand Place and other attractions, as well as railway station), professionalism of the staff and delicious varied breakfasts. The cost is even cheaper than Résidence Le Quinze Grand Place Brussels overlooking the square.

3. B&B Vaudeville

Address: Galerie de la Reine 15, Brussels, Belgium

Hotels in the Grand Place: B&B Vaudeville

Bed/breakfast hotel at Galerie de la Reine 15 (it's a 5-minute walk to the Grand Place, closer to the sculpture). Stylish modern hotel, where each room is individually designed. The rooms are spacious, with huge beds (they obviously didn’t skimp on mattresses and linens) and baths.

Where to eat on Grand Place - cafes and restaurants

Admire architectural ensemble The square is most conveniently located from a cafe nearby. The prices there are not cheap, but acceptable for a one-time promotion. To be more precise - pan-European. But what’s more important is the view from the window that opens from every restaurant. I know three cafes where you can drink coffee and have a snack:

La Chaloupe d'Or- a good restaurant at Grand Place 24-25. A mix of Belgian, French and pan-European cuisine with a beautiful view of the Grand Place. You can have a full lunch (a large selection of first and second courses, appetizers) and drink a glass of wine.
Beer Tasting Experience- for €16 they give you an express tour of local brewing: they tell you how it wins hearts, how and with what to use it correctly. To avoid getting bored during the process, they serve 5 types of foamy drink - from classics to the most original flavors (all included in the price). Located on the first floor of the town hall.
El Greco- It’s difficult for fans of healthy eating and Mediterranean cuisine in Belgium, where there are fried potatoes, steaks and liters of beer all around. At Grand Place 36 you will find a pleasant restaurant serving Greek cuisine.

Everard ‘t Serclaes - a place where wishes come true

There's one more thing iconic place in the square, which is easy to miss if you don’t know about its existence. This is a sculpture of the brave knight Everard ‘t Serclaes, who liberated Brussels from the invaders. The bronze monument, resting in one of the arched walls of the Grand Place, at the crossroads of the square and the Rue Charles Bulle, on the road to Mannequin Piece, today fulfills wishes.

Whether the knight likes it or not, tourists flock to him to properly rub their hands and chest and someday return to the capital of Belgium.

A plus was the Everard ‘t Serclaes body parts polished to a golden shine.

How to get to Grand Place

Not far from the Grand Place there is the metro station Central Station / Brouckère: 1-5. If you are going to go by bus, then you need number 48 or 95. By train you can get directly to Central Station - the railway station is 10 minutes away.

Prices and description
- addresses, programs, dates
- how to get there

To visit Brussels and not see the Grand Place (Market Square, or Grote Markt in Flemish) is to miss one of the most important places in the city. It is not for nothing that this area is included in the UNESCO World List as an object of world cultural and historical significance, and Victor Hugo expressed the opinion that this is one of most beautiful places in Europe.

The most interesting buildings of the square are considered to be the town hall and the Royal, or Bread House. These are the oldest buildings that survived the shelling of the square in August 1695 by French troops.

A little history:

Back in the early 12th century, there were swamps in this place, which were then drained. There was once an extended section of a shepherd's road along which livestock was driven. In subsequent years the square was the place knightly tournaments for the Burgundian nobility.

2.
Royal House on the Grand Place

In the 13th century, the building of the Bread House appeared, which served as a warehouse for food. In Dutch it is still called that, and in French it is the Royal House. At the end of the 19th century, the house was renovated in the spirit of the luxurious Baroque of the 16th century. The building is now occupied by the City Museum. In one of its halls, 350 ancient costumes are collected, and 517 outfits for the “pissing boy” are stored here.

The town hall was erected during the heyday of Gothic (91-meter tower 1402-1455, side parts until 1480). On the spire of the town hall tower there is a 5-meter weather vane made of copper, depicting how the Archangel Michael tramples on the dark forces.

The statues on the facade were destroyed, and in the 20th century they were restored from surviving images. The interior decoration of the town hall is interesting with its picturesque canvases and locally made wall hangings. The courtyard is decorated with fountains depicting the Meuse and Scheldt - the most important rivers.

After the Belgian-French War in the late 17th century, merchants from wealthy guilds quickly rebuilt houses around the square.

33 new buildings in the then fashionable pseudo-Gothic and Baroque style, in combination with the Gothic style of the town hall, largely shaped the modern appearance of the square.

3.
View of the square

In even-numbered years, starting from 1986, on August 15-18, a flower carpet of different varieties of begonias is created on the Market Square. The result is a drawing measuring 24m x 77m, the area of which is about 1.8 thousand square meters. Crowds of beauty lovers flock to Brussels these days.

Every morning there is a flower market on the Grand Place, and on Sundays there is also a bird market.

In a side street next to the square behind a secure fence there is a small figurine of the “Manneken Pis”, the unofficial symbol of Brussels and the most famous Belgian monument. The first version of the statue appeared in the 14th century, but, unfortunately, it has not survived.

Drawings on the asphalt after the terrorist attack in March 2016:

On March 22, a series of terrorist attacks occurred in Brussels in the metro and airport with human casualties. After the attacks, city residents left numerous drawings around the Grand Place to commemorate the event, with messages of peace, love and solidarity:

August 2nd, 2016

Immediately after, which I called the most uninteresting attraction in Brussels, I decided to move on in my stories to the Grand Place - a place that has become my favorite in the capital of Belgium, yes, what about Belgium, perhaps this is one of the most beautiful squares in all of Europe. I have often noted in the reports of other tourists a condescending and sometimes critical attitude towards Brussels, but in my opinion, even the Grand Place alone justifies a visit to this city.

We owe the emergence of the Grand Place in its modern form to the Sun King. One of the episodes of the Nine Years' War was the siege of Brussels. When the city was bombed by the French in 1695, hundreds of buildings were destroyed, including the Grand Place, which was almost completely destroyed; only the Town Hall building survived. But just a few years later the area was restored. More precisely, it was built according to a new unified plan; all guild buildings were erected in the then popular Flemish Baroque style.

I am a well-known cartophile, without a map at the beginning of the story I feel like the Leaning Tower of Pisa without a foundation. Therefore, I will post a diagram of the location of buildings on the square and will further use the numbering from this map of the Grand Place.

I'll start with the most impressive building on the Grand Place - Town Halls. The Gothic Town Hall was built in the 15th century. This is the only building on the Grand Place that has survived from those times. I was very happy when I found out that the Town Hall building was real (well, almost), and not an imitation of Gothic built in the 19th century, like, say, in Vienna.

This photo shows that the building is asymmetrical. According to legend, the architect, who discovered the asymmetry after construction was completed, jumped from the tower onto the pavement in despair. Not really. Initially, only the left part (10 windows) was built, then a shorter (7 windows) right wing of the building was added to it.

The rich sculptural decoration of the Town Hall façade dates back to the 19th century. Here you can find images of many saints, dukes of Brabant, horsemen, gargoyles, heroes of various legends. On the spire of the tower stands a statue of the patron saint of Brussels, the Archangel Michael, who defeats the hundredth dragon.

According to legend, Saint Michael the Archangel saved the son of Lambert II, Count of Leuven, from death. True, I don’t know which Henry and Rainier, according to Vicki, Lambert had two sons. In my brief retelling, the story goes like this. The count's heir fell in love with a girl. The girl was undoubtedly worthy, but she was not suitable for the count’s son as a wife due to her lower origin. Moreover, she did not like the young man himself. Then a brilliant idea came to his mind - to kidnap the girl. But his plan failed and the heir was sent to prison and was soon going to be executed. Then a change occurred in the woman’s heart, the girl changed her mind about the admirer who had suffered because of her and went to visit him in prison. After the meeting, she began to pray to God to save the count’s son and, as it turned out, quite successfully. God was touched by the prayers and sent Archangel Michael to arrange the young man's escape from prison. Then the young lovers, I hope, got married, as it should be in the legends. And in gratitude for the miraculous salvation, the count declared Archangel Michael the patron saint of the city.

I can’t tell you what events are displayed on this console. But if you’re in the square, try to find the legend of Judge Herkenbald on one of the consoles above the Lion’s Porch. The judge killed his own nephew for raping a certain girl. Both the murder scene and the scene of loss of honor are colorfully, if one can say so about the sculpture, depicted in stone.

I borrowed the picture. By the way, a very interesting magazine about Brussels, I recommend it. And the console itself is located near this lion in the picture below, under which sit two girls smoking a joint for two (yes, yes, on main square, this is Amsterdam Brussels).

You can only get to the Town Hall with a guided tour; they don’t take place very often; I think you’ll find the schedule on the Internet. I personally decided to skip this event. That's it, one more photo of the Lion's Porch of the Town Hall and I'll leave it at that.

Moving on to the next building on the Grand Place House of the Dukes of Brabant(13-17). No dukes lived here, but the facade is decorated with their busts, as many as 19 of them, hence the name. In fact, this is not one house, but seven, united under one roof. Above each door there is a symbol of the guild to which the house belonged. The names of the houses come from these images. I’m not a fan of taking pictures of details, so when you’re on the square you can find the images yourself (from the right edge): Glory (13), Heritage (14), Luck (15), Mill (16), Pot (17), Hill ( 18) and Exchange (19).

Every even year in August, the Grand Place is covered with a carpet of flowers. Look in my friend's journal:
http://platpaul.livejournal.com/310394.html
We missed this spectacle because... were 2015, i.e. odd But we still found a few flowers in the square. Are they selling the remains of last year's carpet?

We move on to the next side of the square, perhaps the most picturesque. Let's start from the right edge. The widest building belonged to the Baker's Guild. It's called King of Spain(1), on the facade between the second and third floors there is a bust of Charles II, King of Spain. The roof of the house of the Spanish King is crowned with a weather vane with Mercury. On the ground floor there is the most famous cafe of the Grand Place, which is also called “King of Spain.” At the very least, I recommend going in and having a beer.

The next building with a funny name " Cart"(2) belonged to the guild of an oil merchant (or fat? Translator from French from me is so-so).

The building Bag" (3) owned by the guild of carpet weavers.

"She-wolf"(4) belonged to the guild of archers. The pediment (a triangular piece of garbage under the roof) is decorated with a bas-relief of Apollo piercing a python with arrows (here is the guild of archers, after all). Cough, cough, the travel bloggers from whom I read this, this is not at all a snake, but a real dragon. Python guarded the entrance to the Delphic oracle, and he himself could prophesy, on his behalf the Pythian soothsayers went (I think everyone watched the Matrix). Under Python and Apollo there are four medallions with Roman emperors: Trajan, Tiberius , Augustus and Julius Caesar. Let's go down to the floor below and see four statues - allegories of Truth, Lies, Peace and Troubles. Above the door is the image of the Capitoline Wolf, which gave the name to the house. The roof is crowned with a statue of the Phoenix - a symbol of the revival of the Grand Place and Brussels after the wars and destruction.

"Horn"(5) the only house in appearance which can be determined which guild he belonged to. Look at the top floor. Did you guess it? That's right, this is the stern of the ship! This means that the boatmen’s guild settled here. On the floor below from the stern, the façade is decorated with statues of newts and sea horses. There is a postal horn above the entrance to the building.

And, completes the side of the guild houses" Fox"(6). Here was the center of the haberdashery guild. As you already understood, there is a gilded figurine of a fox above the door. Just don’t ask what the fox has to do with haberdashery. However, this also applies to other guilds. The first floor is supported by Atlanteans. On the second The façade is decorated with statues representing four continents: Europe, Asia, Afica and America, in the center is the Statue of Justice, the third is supported by caryatids, and on the roof is a statue of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of these merchants (now under restoration).

You will be surprised, but when I walk around the city, the last thing I care about is how I will later describe my walk in a magazine. If I were a normal blogger, I, of course, would have photographed every detail of the guild houses that I wrote about above so that the story would be better illustrated. But this time I did capture something. I hope that in this form the details of the lush decor can be seen a little better. In the picture below are the houses “Bag” (with caryatids, i.e. half-columns in the form of aunts) and “Trolley”.

Statues of the continents on the facade of the Fox. In the center is Justice with a giant sword. Atlases supporting the balcony are also good.

Allegorical statues on the façade of the She-Wolf. On the right with saggy tits is Trouble, then with a scroll (why?) - The World, Untruth, is aiming at tourists with some kind of stone, and the far left Truth is holding a book (but not explicitly reading it), while Truth is wearing the least amount of clothing out of all honest four.

At night, the Grand Place is beautifully illuminated; I came here almost every evening in Brussels, since the Grand Place is located on the road from our hotel to the famous Dellirium.

The beauty is incredible, I think.

I was in Brussels for four evenings (returning from trips around the area) and one full day, and each time I went to the Grand Place, so don't be surprised at the number of identical photos at different times of the day.

The next side is five more houses. On right " Star"(8) is one of the narrowest houses in the Grand Place. Its roof is decorated with a golden six-pointed star. On the ground floor there is a gallery in which a monument to Everard t" Serclaes is installed (already laid then, probably). I’ll write more about it below.

"Swan"(9) - the most high building on this side. Quite a contrasting building, the first floors are very strict, then the higher you go, the more the architect’s imagination runs wild. In fact, the house was built in several stages; in the 18th century, a rich guild of butchers bought it and apparently decided to decorate the building to suit their butchery taste. In The Swan, Karl Marx, who lived in Brussels for five years, celebrated the New Year of 1848. In some reports about the Grand Place, I came across a statement that he lived here and even wrote his “Capital” here, but this is not so.

"golden tree"(10) - the most magnificent and useful house of the five. Why useful? Yes, because it is the house of the Brewers' Guild! The roof is decorated with a statue of Charles Alexander of Lorraine, governor of the Netherlands. As a governor, he earned good fame for his wise and gentle rule. As a person he was strict, but not angry and easygoing. A lover of life and a subtle connoisseur and lover of art. He patronized famous musicians. Which, apparently, earned him a golden statue.

"Rose" (11) and " Mount Tabor"(12) do not stand out in any way, but they are also pleasant.

Let's take a closer look at the roofs of the Swan and the Golden Tree. There are three angels on the roof of the Swan, under the central one there is the inscription “This house was built by wool.” I must admit, I don’t quite figure out where the butchers, whose guild “Swan” belonged to, got the wool from, it seems like industrial waste.

It was getting dark and lights began to come on in the windows of the houses. And, despite some smallness, the buildings began to look cozy and warm.

Gallery of the house "Star". Do you see the Japanese people taking pictures on the left? And just behind them in a niche is monument to Everard t"Serclaes. This resident of Brussels in the 14th century led the liberation of the city from the occupying Flemings. The monument is located on the site where the house stood where Everard died from his wounds. The statue of the dying knight is made in the style of the Italian Renaissance, which at one time outraged some critics, allegedly it is an anachronism, because the hero of Brussels lived during the Gothic era, so the monument should have been made Gothic.

The monument also depicts three scenes from the history of Brussels. It's funny that in at least three places the author of the monument played on the nickname of the Brussels residents, like " chicken eaters"(well, city residents used to love to eat this bird in its finished form): a woman is dragging a cart with poultry, a cook is holding a chicken, a prankster is holding a mug with the inscription “chicken eaters.”

Tradition requires tourists to rub their hand, knee or dog at the knight’s feet, while making a wish that must come true. Allegedly, this custom originated during the occupation of Brussels by the Germans during the First World War, as the city's residents demonstrated their patriotism (hmm).

What is the Grand Place in Brussels famous for, where is it located and how to get there. The Town Hall, the Royal House and other famous houses on the Grand Place.

Sightseeing tours of Brussels

More democratic group excursions - as an option - do not imply personal preferences, but they still give a general idea of the Grand Place and its attractions.