Last winter of 2013, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Belgium in December, at Christmas, which is considered one of the main holidays in Western Europe, including Belgium. And, of course, my excursion was not complete without visiting the main square of Brussels. La Grande Place in winter turns into a real fairy tale, decorated with a Christmas tree, illuminated along the entire perimeter. Not only tourists, but also the Belgians themselves come to see this magic.
That year the Light Show was organized. It lasted throughout December. Every day you could come, but only at a certain time (I was there at 5 pm), and enjoy this fairy tale. Organ music echoed in rhythm throughout the entire square and went into the nearby streets, and the multi-colored illumination itself flooded the entire square with its tints. I saw this for the first time in my life, and I must say, I was very surprised and touched, it’s as if you are merging with the Middle Ages.
There are cafes along the entire perimeter of the square. There you can always drink a cup of hot coffee and relax - watching while sitting and enjoying hot coffee is much more pleasant than just standing and watching in the square. I won't lie, the price of coffee in the square is different from regular cafes in Belgium. 3 or 3.5 euros, although on the next street coffee will cost 2 euros. But it’s nice, because with coffee they always bring a bar of Belgian chocolate, or a Leonidas candy, mini cookies or muffins.
Last winter of 2013, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Belgium in December, at Christmas, which is considered one of the main holidays in Western Europe, including Belgium. And, of course, my excursion was not complete without visiting the main square of Brussels. La Grande Place in winter turns into a real fairy tale, decorated with a Christmas tree, illuminated along the entire perimeter. Not only tourists, but also the Belgians themselves come to see this magic.
That year the Light Show was organized. It lasted throughout December. Every day you could come, but only at a certain time (I was there at 5 pm), and enjoy this fairy tale. Organ music echoed in rhythm throughout the entire square and went into the nearby streets, and the multi-colored illumination itself flooded the entire square with its tints. I saw this for the first time in my life, and I must say, I was very surprised and touched, it’s as if you are merging with the Middle Ages.
There are cafes along the entire perimeter of the square. There you can always drink a cup of hot coffee and relax - watching while sitting and enjoying hot coffee is much more pleasant than just standing and watching in the square. I won't lie, the price of coffee in the square is different from regular cafes in Belgium. 3 or 3.5 euros, although on the next street coffee will cost 2 euros. But it’s nice, because with coffee they always bring a bar of Belgian chocolate, or a Leonidas candy, mini cookies or muffins.
Last winter of 2013, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Belgium in December, at Christmas, which is considered one of the main holidays in Western Europe, including Belgium. And, of course, my excursion was not complete without visiting the main square of Brussels. La Grande Place in winter turns into a real fairy tale, decorated with a Christmas tree, illuminated along the entire perimeter. Not only tourists, but also the Belgians themselves come to see this magic.
That year the Light Show was organized. It lasted throughout December. Every day you could come, but only at a certain time (I was there at 5 pm), and enjoy this fairy tale. Organ music echoed in rhythm throughout the entire square and went into the nearby streets, and the multi-colored illumination itself flooded the entire square with its tints. I saw this for the first time in my life, and I must say, I was very surprised and touched, it’s as if you are merging with the Middle Ages.
There are cafes along the entire perimeter of the square. There you can always drink a cup of hot coffee and relax - watching while sitting and enjoying hot coffee is much more pleasant than just standing and watching in the square. I won't lie, the price of coffee in the square is different from regular cafes in Belgium. 3 or 3.5 euros, although on the next street coffee will cost 2 euros. But it’s nice, because with coffee they always bring a bar of Belgian chocolate, or a Leonidas candy, mini cookies or muffins.
Last winter of 2013, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Belgium in December, at Christmas, which is considered one of the main holidays in Western Europe, including Belgium. And, of course, my excursion was not complete without visiting the main square of Brussels. La Grande Place in winter turns into a real fairy tale, decorated with a Christmas tree, illuminated along the entire perimeter. Not only tourists, but also the Belgians themselves come to see this magic.
That year the Light Show was organized. It lasted throughout December. Every day you could come, but only at a certain time (I was there at 5 pm), and enjoy this fairy tale. Organ music echoed in rhythm throughout the entire square and went into the nearby streets, and the multi-colored illumination itself flooded the entire square with its tints. I saw this for the first time in my life, and I must say, I was very surprised and touched, it’s as if you are merging with the Middle Ages.
There are cafes along the entire perimeter of the square. There you can always drink a cup of hot coffee and relax - watching while sitting and enjoying hot coffee is much more pleasant than just standing and watching in the square. I won't lie, the price of coffee in the square is different from regular cafes in Belgium. 3 or 3.5 euros, although on the next street coffee will cost 2 euros. But it’s nice, because with coffee they always bring a bar of Belgian chocolate, or a Leonidas candy, mini cookies or muffins.
Last winter of 2013, I had the lucky opportunity to visit Belgium in December, at Christmas, which is considered one of the main holidays in Western Europe, including Belgium. And, of course, my excursion was not complete without visiting the main square of Brussels. La Grande Place in winter turns into a real fairy tale, decorated with a Christmas tree, illuminated along the entire perimeter. Not only tourists, but also the Belgians themselves come to see this magic.
That year the Light Show was organized. It lasted throughout December. Every day you could come, but only at a certain time (I was there at 5 pm), and enjoy this fairy tale. Organ music echoed in rhythm throughout the entire square and went into the nearby streets, and the multi-colored illumination itself flooded the entire square with its tints. I saw this for the first time in my life, and I must say, I was very surprised and touched, it’s as if you are merging with the Middle Ages.
There are cafes along the entire perimeter of the square. There you can always drink a cup of hot coffee and relax - watching while sitting and enjoying hot coffee is much more pleasant than just standing and watching in the square. I won't lie, the price of coffee in the square is different from regular cafes in Belgium. 3 or 3.5 euros, although on the next street coffee will cost 2 euros. But it’s nice, because with coffee they always bring a bar of Belgian chocolate, or a Leonidas candy, mini cookies or muffins.
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 square 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 the 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 site of 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, causing casualties. After the attacks, city residents left numerous drawings around the Grand Place to commemorate the event, with messages of peace, love and solidarity:
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 square 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, on the 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 whose appearance can be determined which guild it belonged to. Look at the top floor. Have you guessed? That's right, this is the stern of the ship! Which means the boatmen's guild settled here. On the floor below the stern, the façade is decorated with statues of tritons and sea horses.A postal horn is depicted 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 tallest building on this side. Quite a contrasting building, the first floors are very austere, then the higher, the more the architect's imagination ran wild. In fact, the house was built in several stages; in the 18th century it was bought by a rich guild of butchers and apparently decided to decorate the building to suit her butcher's 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 here its "Capital", but it 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).
The magnificent Grand Place in the center of Brussels is majestic and graceful at the same time. When you find yourself in this square, you understand that all other attractions of Belgium simply pale in comparison to this masterpiece of true Gothic art.
Through the pages of history
The history of this city square is rooted in centuries of ancient times. All the significant events of this city took place here; the Grand Place saw many rulers and statesmen, great people and celebrities. Each stage of its history is a recording of pages of urban history:
- XII century - the city Market Square was built on the site of dried marshes;
- XIII century - the Bread House was erected, where bread was stored: it is unlikely that anyone at that time could have known that this building would soon turn into the King’s House, the main decoration of the square;
- 1402-1455 - the Gothic town hall building was built;
- 1695 - the square was destroyed as a result of the shelling of the city by the French army that lasted for several days; many landmarks of Brussels died this year;
- beginning of the 17th century - the Grand Place was rebuilt by wealthy guilds; Now here you can see luxurious guild houses of that time, built in the Baroque or Louis XIV style.
Each building on this square is a true masterpiece of world Gothic art. There are Brussels hotels nearby where you can relax after all the excursions.
Grand Place: architectural appearance
The beauty of the square lies in the buildings that are located on it. For example, the 15th century town hall is unique in its architecture:
- the original town hall tower is 91 meters high;
- its spire is crowned with a weather vane in the form of a 5-meter copper figure of the Archangel Michael;
- the façade of the building is decorated with hundreds of statues;
- the interior of the Town Hall is richly decorated with paintings and carpets;
- in the courtyard you can see two picturesque fountains.
The King's House, which now houses the Belgian City Museum, is a fine example of the neo-Gothic style of architecture. You can also visit the wonderful museum complex Royal Museums of Fine Arts.
One of the magnificent traditions of the Grand Place is the creation of a huge carpet of flowers every two years. An incredible sight is the pattern of millions of multi-colored begonias. Its size is 24 x 77 meters and its total area is 1,800 square meters. meters.
Once in the very center of Brussels - on the Grand Place - you cannot pass by this Gothic splendor. Here you want to walk endlessly, exploring the sights of Brussels that decorate this square with their Gothic lace.
Working hours: The large market is open daily from 9:00 to 20:00.
And from all sides we found ourselves on the Boterstraat street, leading us to the Grand Place.
The Grand Place, or as locals also call the most important square in Brussels, the Grote Markt, is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe with architecture from three different eras (Baroque, Gothic and the style of King Louis XIV). There are two important attractions here - the town hall and the Bread House or the King's House (Broodhuis/Maison du Roi). The entire complex has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
In essence, this was a place where merchants and townspeople sold and bought food. As a result, all the streets surrounding the square are named after foods such as chicken (poulet), herbs (herbes), cheese (fromage) and so on.
In addition to the town hall and the Bread House/King's House, there are almost forty buildings around the square from the 14th to 17th centuries.
Since 1971, every two years on August 15, a colorful carpet measuring 24 by 77 meters is created on the square using more than 700,000 colorful begonias.
The Grand Place has acquired the status of a town square since the 12th century (it was then called "Nedermarckt").
She also played a negative role in the history of the Belgian city. In the 16th and 17th centuries, hundreds of people were executed in the city square for various reasons. Witches and Protestants were burned at the stake, and rebels and other evildoers were beheaded.
The Brewers' House is the headquarters of the Belgian Brewers' Association. In the basement is the country's main brewing museum. The museum is open daily from 10.00 to 17.00, on weekends it opens at 12.00. Price ~ 6 euros. Here you can get acquainted with the brewing process and try beer in the museum bar at the end of the tour.
Restaurants and cafes around the square are not cheap, but if you are tired, order something light, even just a drink. But you will admire the square and relax. In the small alleys nearby there are many Greek, Turkish or Italian style restaurants that are good for a quick snack. There are also many Belgian waffle shops around. Under no circumstances buy cheap ones, otherwise you will be disappointed and throw it away before you finish it. It's better to pay more, but enjoy the taste.
