//
Photo: Martin w at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The last surviving city gate, it was part of the second walls of Brussels, and built in 1381 as an extension of the first walls which started to become too small to accommodate the growing Medieval city. It is named after the city of Halle which it faces. The original design included a portcullis and a drawbridge over a moat, the structures that housed these are still visible. Already in the 16th century, it became evident that the fortifications and gates were insufficient to protect the city against newer siege weapons, and in 1564 the Gate was relieved of her defensive function. The function of the Halle Gate first changed to a prison, later it saw use as a customs house, as grain storage, and as a Lutheran church. At the end of the 18th century the fortifications had lost nearly all their functions, and demolishing started under pressure of the expanding city. Whereas the other 6 city gates were demolished together with the defensive walls, the Halle Gate survived because it of its function as an archive, but maintenance started to be neglected. Between 1868 and 1870, architect Henri Beyaert restored the building, changing the medieval tower to a more Neo Gothic look. The outer entrance, now facing St. Gillis, is closer to the original appearance. Beyaert added a circular tower topped by a conical roof, containing a monumental spiral staircase, as well as turrets and a large roof. The Gate became a museum in 1847 when it was assigned to the Museum of Armour, Antiquity and Ethnology (now named the Royal Museums for Art and History). It soon became too small, and in 1889 the collection was moved to the Centenary Museum. By 1976 the building was in a dangerous state of disrepair which forced it to be closed to the public. Lack of funding stalled restorations, and part of the Gate was reopened in 1991 but only for temporary exhibitions. New extensive restorations began in 2007, and the Gate was returned to its 19th-century glory a year later when it reopened with its prestigious entrance completely restored. The Gate houses a permanent exhibition on its history, and on the defenses of the city. The collection includes parade armor of Archduke Albert of Austria, among many other armaments and armour. The Guild Room offers an impression on the history and importance of guilds in medieval Brussels. The walkway around the battlements offers visitors a wonderful panorama of the city.
The Halle Gate is a former medieval city gate and the last vestige of the second walls of Brussels, Belgium. Built in the 14th century, it was heavily restored in the 19th century in its current neo-Gothic style by the architect Henri Beyaert. It is now a museum dedicated to the medieval City of Brussels, part of the Royal Museums of Art and History (RMAH).
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Église Notre-Dame-Immaculée/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Onbevlekt-Ontvangenkerk
This Italian neo-Romanesque church was built to the north-west side of the Fox Square between 1854 and 1862, and was part of the Capucin convent. Its history dates back to 1587 when Parma requested the Capucines to settle in Brussels. Unfortunately, in 1796 their monastery was raided by the French during their occupation of Belgium, and sold just like most other religious buildings at the time. The Capucines returned in 1852 and the church was built to allow them to settle near the Fox Square. Charle-Albert manufactured the oak altar, with other interior elements made by Oscar Tinel. The church received considerable media attention when prince Laurent celebrated his marriage with a service here, although the actual wedding took place in the St. Gudula and St. Michael Cathedral.
Palais de Justice/Justitiepaleis
Built between 1866 and 1883 in eclectic style by celebrated architect Joseph Poelaert, the Courts are the most important of their kind in Belgium. The total cost of the construction, land and furnishings was 45 million Belgian Francs, or 1.1 million euro. A notable landmark in Brussels, it is said to be the largest building constructed in the 19th century, and larger than the St. Peter's basilica in Rome: it is 160 m by 150 m, with a total build surface of 26.000 m². The 104 m high dome weighs 24.000 tons. The building has 8 courtyards with a surface of 6.000 m², 27 large court rooms and 245 smaller court rooms. Its conception started in 1860, when Belgium was only 30 years old, during the reign of King Leopold I who announced the building of the courts with a royal decree, followed by an international architectural contest for its design. All entered designs were found to be unacceptable and rejected however, and then minister of justice Victor Tesch appointed Joseph Poelaert as the designer. Poelaert died in 1879, four years before the building was finally completed. For its construction, a section of the Marollen neighborhood had to be demolished, leading to the expropriation and forced relocation of hundreds of inhabitants. As a result, the word architect became one of the most serious insults in Brussels! Ironically, Poelaert himself lived in a house only a few hundred meters away of the construction site, in the Marollen. The location of the courts is symbolic, being the hill where convicted criminals were hanged during the Middle Ages. The building includes many interior statues by sculptor Pierre Armand Cattier, and figures of Roman jurists Cicero and Ulpian, by Antoine-Félix Bouré. According to a story, Adolf Hitler was so fond of the building that he dispatched Albert Speer to study it in 1940. Events turned out unfavorably however, and at the end of the Second World War, the retreating Germans started a fire in the courts in an attempt to destroy them, leading to the collapse of the cupola and heavily damaging other parts of the building. By 1947 most of the damage was repaired, and the cupola rebuilt 2.5 meters higher than the original. In 2003 a new series of renovations have begun, aiming to strengthen the roof structure and walls, and applying a new layer on the gilded cupola. Because of financial problems the renovation works are progressing slowly, however, and in 2013 it was determined that the decade-old scaffolding was, ironically, in need of renovation itself because it had started to rust and became unsafe.
Place Poelaert/Poelaertplein
Poelaert Square, named after the architect of the adjacent Palace of Justice, is the largest square in Brussels and provides the best view point over the city. On the border between the upper and lower city, the square is on Gallows Hill (Galgenberg), where in Medieval Brussels convicts were executed on the gallows. Famously, anatomist Andreas Vesalius frequented Gallows Hill to collect corpses of executed convicts for his anatomical research. When the weather is clear, Poelaert square offers a view over the north-western part of the city, including the city hall, the Koekelberg basilica, and the Atomium. A free elevator connects Poelaert square with the Marollen quarter of the lower city.
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ter-Kapellekerk
One of the most famous Gothic Catholic churches in Brussels, it derives its name from a chapel outside the city walls founded by the duke of Brabant in 1134. It started as a church in roman-gothic style in 1250, followed by a gothic choir a quarter century later. Destroyed by a fire in 1405, the church was rebuilt in a Brabantian Gothic style between 1421 and 1483, with the exception of the west tower. Shortly after the French assault of 1695, the tower was completed in its characteristic baroque style, a design of masonry expert Antoon Pastorana. The interior of the church is decorated with many engravings and sculptures, including work of Hiëronymus Duquesnoy de Jonge and Lucas Faydherbe. The church also serves as a tomb for Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel de Oude, one of the Flemish Masters, who was buried here in 1569.
Musée Juif de Belgique/Joods Museum van België
Dedicated to the craft, folk art, culture and religion of the Jewish people in Belgium.
Église Notre-Dame des Victoires au Sablon/Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Zege op de Zavelkerk
The history of this Roman Catholic church dates back to the early 13th century when Henry I, Duke of Brabant, recognized the Noble Serment of Crossbowmen as a guild, thereby granting them privileges and allowing them to build a small chapel on a plot of land just outside the city walls, then known as the Zavel after the structure of the sand. It became known as the chapel of the Crossbow Guild. According to the legend, a local devout named Beatrijs Soetkens, had a vision in which the Virgin Mary instructed her to steal a statue from the cathedral of Antwerp, bring it to Brussels, and place it in the chapel of the Crossbow Guild. Through some miraculous events she managed to bring the statue to Brussels by boat in 1348, and venerated as the patron of the Guild. From then on, they held an annual procession through the city, called the Ommegang, which grew into an important religious event. The construction of the current church, which replaced the chapel, started in the 15th century and lasted almost a century. The choir was finished in 1435, as testified by mural paintings of that date. In the 16th century the church was sacked by Calvinists, and the statue brought by Beatrijs Soetkens was destroyed. After demolition of the city walls and completion of the Regentschapsstraat in 1872, numerous buildings constructed adjacent to the church were torn down, and the construction turned out to be heavily dilapidated. Renovations were carried out immediately, and the church was restored to its former glory. With its 24 m width and 65 m height, it remains one of the most important gothic brabantine churches in Belgium.