Welcome to my blog. A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Brussels on a business trip. I had two evenings to walk and take photos. It was my first time in Brussels. Somehow I had managed to miss seeing any photos or video footage of La Grand Place. I stepped into the square and was rooted to the spot. It took my breath away. Enjoy the photos.
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| The Spire of the Town Hall lit up by the setting sun...... |
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| ......beckons you to La Grand Place..... |
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.....and here it is!
The square is the most important tourist destination and most memorable landmark in Brussels. It measures 68 by 110 metres (223 by 361 ft), and
it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site |
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| The public and private buildings in the square date mainly from the late 17th century |
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| Guildhalls on La Grand Place |
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| Detail |
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| Just lovely! |
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| The square from a different perspective |
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| A cluster of private buildings on the west side of the square |
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| From 1504 to 1536 the Duke of Brabant built a large building across from the city hall as symbol of ducal power. It was built on the site of the first cloth and bread markets, which were no longer in use, and it became known as the King's House (Middle Dutch: 's Conincxhuys), although no king has ever lived there. It is currently known as the Maison du roi (King's House) in French, though in Dutch it continues to be called the Broodhuis (Breadhouse), after the market whose place it took |
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| The Brussels City Hall
was built on the south side of the square in stages between 1401 and
1455, and made the Grand Place the seat of municipal power. It towers 96
metres (315 ft) high, and is capped by a 3 metre (12 ft) statue of Saint Michael slaying a demon |
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| The Grand Place was voted the most beautiful square in Europe in 2010. A survey by a Dutch website (stedentripper.com)
asked its users to rate different squares across Europe. Moscow’s Red
Square and the Place Stanislas in Nancy, France, took second and third
place |
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| Night gathers pace and lights illuminate the beauties of La Place |
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| The Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), which covers most of the south side of
the Grand Place, consists of a group of buildings around a rectangular
internal courtyard. The part facing on to the square is from the 15th
century, consisting of two L-shaped buildings. The entire facade is
decorated with statues dating from the 19th century |
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| Dusk turns..... |
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| .....into dark... |
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| ....beauty |
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| The Monument Everard 't Serclaes. One of the greatest works of Julien Dillens (1849-1904). It is badly damaged (it's meant to be black) and will be restored |
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| The architecture is from 3 different eras (Baroque, Gothic and Louis XIV) giving it an eclectic but still harmonious flavour |
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| Historically, the Grand Place was essentially a market place
where traders and citizens sold and bought food. Therefore you will
notice that all the streets surrounding the square are named after foods
like chicken (poulet), herbs (herbes), and cheese (fromage) |
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| In 1523 the first Protestant martyrs, Hendrik Voes and Jan Van Essen, were burned by the Inquisition in the square |
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| Every two years since 1986, La Place
is covered on August 15 with a
splendid and ephemeral flowers
carpet of 1.800 square metres, made up of a million
colourful begonias, which
attracts thousands of visitors coming from the whole world |
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| The following morning I travelled to Amsterdam and then back to Singapore |
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| I loved my time in this gorgeous square |
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and found it hard to drag myself away
Next time I'll take you on a walk so you can see other parts of this lovely city |
